Narduzzi's recruiting focuses on building strong run game

Pitt football has been active with plenty of visits since the dead period ended, giving Pat Narduzzi and his program the opportunity to employ one of Pitt's biggest recruiting tools in allowing recruits to be wowed with the beauty of the campus.

I wrote about how that will help Pitt win over recruits with a Talking Point weeks ago, and Pitt has already capitalized on that with one of their recent visits committing to the program Saturday:

Jordaan Bailey is a three-star running back from Tampa Bay, Fl. at 5-foot-11 180 lbs. He exhibits the speed and explosiveness of playmaking running back that could be a spark plug for Pitt's offense in future years. Pitt lost one of the better recruits from its 2020 class in Malik Newton, who was another three-star running back from Virginia, but couldn't pass the physical to join the program due to undisclosed reasons.

Bailey is a quick and nimble back with impressive acceleration out of the backfield to get big plays started. Here's a long run he had during spring football in Florida:

Narduzzi's top two running backs in Vincent Davis and Israel 'Izzy' Abanikanda both who show explosiveness and speed once given open space.

But what's also important is the ability to make players miss in that space with quick, light footwork to create extra yards on their own. That's something else Bailey flashes in his high school tape, as he often keeps his head up to find the next man he has to make miss while picking up momentum in his runs:

And he's still working on that footwork, even as a receiving back.

Watch this rep from a camp practice where he lined up as a receiver on the outside. Even though he wasn't targeted for the pass, you can see him get the kind of separation that would make him an easy target for a quarterback:

Of course that's not a starting ACC cornerback, but It shows the makings of an athletic back who can win in those situations and be more than just a threat out of the backfield.

Bailey's the fourth of Narduzzi's hard commitments in his 2022 recruiting class. The others are two defensive linemen in Sean Fitzsimmons of Central Valley, Pa., and Elijah Statham of Smyrna, De., as well as a safety in Aveon Grose of Mansfield, Oh. But getting a three-star running back so quickly after losing a prospect like Newton is a sign of the direction Narduzzi is trying to take the Panthers.

One of Narduzzi's best seasons with the Panthers was 2018 when they won the ACC Coastal Division and got to play in the ACC Championship Game against Clemson. During that year the Panthers' offense averaged 227.9 rushing yards, the highest rushing average during Narduzzi's tenure. Since then Pitt hasn't resurrected that offense, averaging just 119.2 rushing yards in 2019 and 120.1 rushing yards in 2020.

Even with the return of Kenny Pickett, the Panthers' offense needs that balance of a run game built around an athletic linebacker for 2021, and will need it for the future when Pickett goes into the NFL Draft in 2022. Bailey could be part of that future plan, but the Panthers could have the answer for now in their backfield right now as Davis and Abanikanda have been in a battle for the top running back spot all spring.

Narduzzi started Pitt's spring practices with Davis as the team's starter, but said during those practices that Abanikanda was gaining ground. Then in the spring Blue-Gold Game in April, Abanikanda shined bright with six carries for 77 yards even while his Blue team was getting crushed 30-0 by the Gold team. Narduzzi even compared Abanikanda to prime Le'Veon Bell, after his performance.

Abanikanda didn't just take what was there in the spring game, he made defenders miss in the hole and flashed both the kind of explosiveness and speed I mentioned earlier. Watch how quickly he shot up the middle of the hole and bounced outside for a big gain:

And combine that ability to put his foot in the ground to change direction with his speed, Abanikanda is a running back who Pitt fans have waited to see flourish.

Here's that speed on a 44-yard off-tackle run where he even beat a cornerback who had the angle on him to the sideline to finish the play:

Whether Abanikanda continues his ascent this spring is one thing, but it's still not a given that he'll take the job from Davis.

Davis finished the 2020 season strong with a rushing performance of 247 yards on 25 carries with a touchdown against Georgia Tech in the season finale. Narduzzi praised his progress as a developed player who embraced the various responsibilities of a running back all last season, and that will hold weight.

But whoever wins the job this year will need to be the speedy explosive playmaker that brings balance to Mark Whipple's offense and open up more opportunities for Pickett to make plays with the talented receiving threats on the roster in Jordan Addison, Lucas Krull and Taysir Mack.

If there's success on the ground game this year to be one of the ACC's best, future recruits like Bailey could be inheriting a reputable offense that carries the program into the future even while it searches for its next quarterback.

And speaking of Pitt's recruiting, since Bailey announced his commitment Saturday, Narduzzi has twice tweeted out his 'Pat signal' to signify the commitment of new recruits that have yet to be identified. So there's plenty of action going on for Pitt football: