On Tuesday, we took a look at five players who stood out and made tangible and noticeable impacts for Pitt football in nonconference play.
On Wednesday, we're looking at five players who may be off to slower starts than anticipated and have much more that they can show as the ACC schedule begins on Saturday night against Georgia Tech.
Would you add/subtract anyone from this list? Who are your five standouts and five who you feel need to step up in conference play? Leave your thoughts in the comments.
Let's get right into it.
1. DE Haba Baldonaldo
We're holding Pitt's star defensive end to a higher standard, because we know that he's an NFL-caliber player who has all of the physical skills and tools to make a career out of playing at the next level.
We should also recognize that Baldonaldo was injured in the Western Michigan game and did not play against Rhode Island, so we'll just take the Backyard Brawl and the Tennessee games as examples.
Baldonaldo has played fine. But, there's clearly still some meat left on the bone for him. Eleven total tackles and 0.5 sacks, with 1.5 tackles for loss are fine numbers. But, one quarterback hit in two and a half games can surely be improved on. Pitt's defense has done fine in the sacks department -- Pitt's 12 sacks as a team are two fewer than Virginia's ACC-leading mark -- but Baldonaldo has the potential for more.
2. DT Calijah Kancey
Again, we're holding Pitt's preseason All-American defensive tackle to a higher standard. Another NFL-caliber player. Dominant in the middle. Has the quickness and the freakishly athletic ability to be a force in the ACC.
He has faced some double teams in nonconference play, and that was expected. He has earned the respect from the opposing teams' blocking schemes, and this back-half of the season will be more about learning how to fight through those.
Credit him for this: A team-leading four tackles for loss and two sacks in four games this season. Those are solid numbers.
Only one Power Five defensive lineman has earned a grade of 80 or greater by Pro Football Focus College over the last two seasons. It's Kancey.
Only Power Five Interior DL with 80+ grades in each of the past two seasons:
— PFF College (@PFF_College) May 12, 2022
Calijah Kancey👀 pic.twitter.com/4O28enLz9a
He took a step forward last week, as he earned a 91.2 grade from PFF College as a pass rusher.
But, has he passed your eye test? Do you feel Kancey has been as dominant as he should or could be? I'm nitpicking here, but I think there is more to come from Kancey. He can have a special, special season with this ACC-only schedule.
Remember, this isn't about who has "disappointed" through nonconference play. It is about who can step up even more in ACC play.
Let's see if Kancey can maximize his potential with heightened competition.
3. WR Bub Means
Means had a key drop in each of Pitt's first two games, and the one play cost Pitt points and resulted in points for the other team.
Against West Virginia, Means fumbled away a possession and misjudged and couldn't haul in a nearly perfectly thrown deep ball by Kedon Slovis in the third quarter, which would have been a catch and run for a touchdown and would have tied the game.
Against Tennessee, Means had to make a play in the endzone on a high ball thrown by Slovis -- to where only Means could have caught it -- and he ended up tipping it into a Tennessee defender's hands, which cost Pitt a touchdown drive and subsequently resulted in a Tennessee touchdown drive.
Means has racked up 13 catches on 22 targets for 126 yards with zero touchdowns for Pitt. He has mostly worked underneath and is asked to do the dirty work in utilizing his 6-foot-2, 215-pound frame, but he started off slow in Pitt's aforementioned two toughest games.
In those two games, Means combined for six catches on 13 targets for 70 yards, with 21 yards coming after the catch.
Since, he has combined for seven catches on nine targets for 56 yards -- 43 after the catch. He had his best game of the season in his most recent one, against Rhode Island, where he caught 6 of 8 targets for 38 yards -- 37 after the catch.
Pitt should air it out more in conference play, and that would also mean more opportunities for Means, especially in the redzone. Georgia Tech's pass defense isn't bad, having allowed 202.5 yards per game and just four total touchdowns in four games, so it may not happen this week. But, I'd expect more from Means, who has the talent but has to match it with production on the field.
4. CB A.J. Woods
Woods was just usurped by M.J. Devonshire on the depth chart as a starting cornerback. Let's see how he responds to it.
To his credit, Woods leads the team with six pass break-ups. This is also not to say that he is playing poorly, because I don't think that's the case. But, moving Woods from his starting spot and potentially having him move inside in nickel packages could be a bit of an adjustment to make.
5. RB C'Bo Flemister
I understand having Rodney Hammond Jr. go for 74 yards and two TDs against West Virginia, and then Israel Abanikanda having three straight 100-yard games and scoring six TDs in his last two. Maybe more was expected from the Notre Dame transfer, but I thought there would be a lot more of Flemister than we have seen through four games.
Flemister has carried the ball nine times -- fewest of all running backs, two carries behind Daniel Carter, and seven fewer than Hammond, who has missed three games. He has rushed for 41 yards (4.6 per carry), and he has not been targeted in the passing game.
He played just one game last season as he was suspended for fleeing the scene of a car accident in the spring of 2021. In two seasons prior, however, Flemister had accumulated 461 yards on 106 carries (4.3 per carry) with 10 rushing TDs. Perhaps he can get back into that form with some added playing time. Abanikanda has already taken a massive workload, but he will have to supplant Vincent Davis (23 carries, 148 yards, TD) for that supplementary role.
If it doesn't come soon, Flemister could be a key piece for Pitt down the stretch and later in the season, given Abanikanda's workload and Hammond's injury. We'll monitor his progress and workload over the next few weeks.