You wanted a quarterback update?
Here it is: There is no update.
Pat Narduzzi reaffirmed the ongoing battle between Kedon Slovis and Nick Patti for the team's starting spot, and there isn't a timetable for a starter to be named prior to the Sept. 1 kickoff against West Virginia.
If he revealed one thing that's considered new, it's that the starter is expected to be named before Sept. 1, at some point.
Two weeks remain on the decision.
"I don't really have a time table; I don't think it'll be September 1," Narduzzi said before Wednesday's practice. "We'll name it when it's time."
Slovis and Patti have been duking it out since the former transferred over from USC, with the frontrunner being kept top-secret within the walls of the UPMC Rooney Sports Complex.
The contenders have shared equal reps in drills during allotted media viewing sessions, and Narduzzi hasn't tipped his hand at his preferred choice. The quarterbacks offer differing styles, with Patti having the ability to escape the pocket and scramble, whereas Slovis is the traditional pocket passer among the two.
"If it's an athletic guy or non-athletic guy, it's not knowing," Narduzzi said. "We're going to go back and watch (Former USC QB, current West Virginia QB) JT Daniels and every pass he's ever thrown at USC and do it. So you can go back and look at different stuff. How deep do you go? What are you looking at?"
Slovis is the quarterback with more in-game experience, after starting 26 games over three seasons with the Trojans. Patti has been with the Panthers' program since 2018, when he redshirted as a true freshman and followed by backing up Kenny Pickett for three seasons.
LOWLY FOLLOW-UP
Narduzzi wasn't pleased with the tone of Tuesday's practice, after coming off of what he considered a "clean" team scrimmage on Saturday morning.
"We had an OK day yesterday," Narduzzi said. "I was kind of a little disappointed. I relate it to having a good Saturday and everybody's feeling good about themselves, and head coach says, 'Hey, you did a nice job, guys. Good job. Good work.' Then they come out yesterday just sloppy. Not as much details and focus as I wanted."
The Panthers practiced indoors on Wednesday, with threats of rain lurking around the South Side all morning. The team was full-go in full pads, once again. The Panthers' next day off is Sunday, and Narduzzi mentioned that another closed team scrimmage could be in the works for Saturday.
Defensive line coach and assistant head coach Charlie Partridge said that the "disappointed" tone changed during Wednesday's practice.
"Sometimes when you walk off the field or you're coming out here and thinking about it, you're thinking from a certain perspective," Partridge said. "I'm happy with how the guys are working every day. I know they were intense yesterday, I thought they were intense today. Every day you're going to see a back and forth between the offense and defense, and I think we're feeling that on any given day."
STRENGTH IN STRENGTH
Narduzzi has consistently given props to the Panthers' strength and conditioning staff throughout camp. During the initial media day he said that the team as a whole is "significantly stronger" with numbers up in the bench press and squat. This is also the case for the recovery process, as Narduzzi noted last Wednesday that more players than ever before have been in the recovery room during days off.
No group could be benefitting more from this than the defensive line, which is already considered among the best in college football, led by All-American Calijah Kancey and fellow superstar Haba Baldonado.
"Coach Stacc (Michael Stacchiotti) and his crew do an amazing job with our players," Partridge said. "They do a great job of building the culture. We're bigger, we're stronger, we're in great shape."
Partridge brought up the culture of accountability being built during the summer months.
"Our strength and conditioning staff did a great job with us," Kancey said. "Offseason, in season, they continue to do a great job with us. Keeping us strong, keeping us healthy."
