Four more Pitt players opted out of the Sun Bowl Monday morning and will begin preparations for the 2023 NFL Draft.
SirVocea Dennis, Deslin Alexandre, Israel Abanikanda, and Gabe Houy all tweeted on Monday they will forgo the Sun Bowl on Dec. 30, joining Brandon Hill (opt-out), Kedon Slovis (transfer portal), John Morgan III (transfer portal), and Calijah Kancey (injury) as Panthers starters who announced they will miss the game against No. 18 UCLA.
Forever, Hail to Pitt! pic.twitter.com/G1stbt4K0e
— Voss (@Sirvocea) December 19, 2022
— Izzy GetsBusy (@IAbanikanda) December 19, 2022
Blessed🙏🏾 #H2P pic.twitter.com/K4sXawezQ5
— Deslin Alexandre (@_Deslin) December 19, 2022
Thank you Pitt #H2P pic.twitter.com/OGd5koi6KA
— Gabe Houy (@GabeHouy) December 19, 2022
Pat Narduzzi tweeted a farewell to the four players later Monday morning:
Pitt Men, forever. 🟦🟨 pic.twitter.com/rCuPZspx41
— Pat Narduzzi (@CoachDuzzPittFB) December 19, 2022
Later Monday afternoon, safety Erick Hallett II tweeted that he is entering the NFL Draft, but will play in the Sun Bowl:
To the City of Champions ✨H2P pic.twitter.com/IN3PyWoRjZ
— E.P.H II (@Erick_Hallett4) December 19, 2022
MORE FROM THE SOUTH SIDE
• Narduzzi met with media members for the first time since his post-game press conference following the Panthers' dominant 42-16 win at Miami to close the regular season on Nov. 26. He was unable to comment on the latest transfers and recruiting commits to the program, as nothing is official until Wednesday's National Signing Day, but there was talk regarding the players sitting out the Sun Bowl and those declaring to transfer away from the program.
The elephant in the room to address is the quarterback position, as Slovis entering the transfer portal leaves either of Nick Patti or Nate Yarnell as the starter for the Sun Bowl in 11 days.
Narduzzi would not tip his hand nor reveal a starter on Monday, but he did note that the two quarterbacks are vying for the start throughout the team's practices.
"It's a battle right now," Narduzzi said after Monday's practice on the South Side. "I would say based on today's practice, and again we'll do a daily (assessment), Nick Patti was on fire today. Off of today, it's Nick Patti. We'll see what happens tomorrow."
• Narduzzi said Slovis is a "great kid," but did not break into specifics over conversations and the methodology in which Slovis made his exit:
"It's life, and again, I'm going to support all our guys," he said. "I'm going to support all of them, I'm going to be positive ... I love Kedon. Kedon's a great kid and did a nice job for us. Helped us win eight football games. I believed (during the season) he was the best quarterback to lead our 2022 season, and we'll leave it at that. He did a nice job."
• Narduzzi said middle linebacker Brandon George is in line to play in the Sun Bowl. He has played in just three games this season.
"Brandon's good," he said. "He could've played against Miami, but Brandon played three games, and the fourth game will be this bowl game. So, it's kind of saved for him. He's feeling great, and we're excited to have Brandon George back, for sure. He's a guy that -- we've been kind of waiting -- he came back too early. Got rolled up on. He could've been ready six weeks ago. We had him ready to go, and all of the sudden, somebody fell on him. But he's back healthy, and we're fired up to have him back."
• Narduzzi specifically said he is looking to "upgrade" the punter, left tackle, right tackle, and tailback positions into the 2023 season.
"That's what we do," he said. "That's why we go on the road and recruit. You're looking for constant upgrades at every position, so not just at the quarterback position, but every position, we want to get better. There's going to be a battle every -- you know I can't really talk recruiting -- but there's going to be a battle and a competition at every position when we get to spring ball. Period. That's why we coach, and that's kind of what it is unless you've got Kenny Pickett sitting in that room or Haba Baldonado at right (defensive) end, he's probably going to be the starting right end."
• In addition to the tweet mentioned above from Narduzzi, he spoke more about the players opting out of the Sun Bowl to prepare for the 2023 NFL Draft. Though the handful of players will not be on hand for a Sun Bowl, there is a positive to draw from how Pitt is developing NFL talent and players which are primed to make that jump to the next level:
"It's a great thing," he said. "We wish those guys luck. They all have decisions to make. It tells you they've gotten good reviews from their agents that they've either signed with or will sign here in the next couple of days. They're going to have opportunities at the next level. I mean, they want to set up and get ready for that Pro Day, for the (NFL) combine, Senior Bowl, whatever it may be that they've been invited to, and it's a good thing. We wish all those guys luck. We obviously wish they were playing, but that's their decision, and all I can do and all our staff can do is educate them on what we think, and they've got to make a decision on what's best for them."
• There are still players, namely Kancey, Baldonado, and Jared Wayne, who could still realistically declare for the NFL Draft or even forgo the Sun Bowl altogether. Narduzzi has a good idea of which players will be on hand on Dec. 30:
"I know," he said. "I have all the answers, (but) I can't tell you. That's my decision to make, that's their decision, when they want timing-wise. I can't tell you. We've got more surprises for you."
• Narduzzi was also candid and realistic over the situation, as he remarked about the current times he and his staff are operating through in this era of college football.
"Why is there this thing called a transfer portal?" he remarked. "It's all the same question. I think it's the age we're living in. Fifteen years ago, 10 years ago guys would've given their left leg to go play in a bowl game. I don't think it's the case anymore. It's sad, because I think the bowl games are so much fun. It's a reward for a great season. We're looking forward to going down to the Sun Bowl. It's a great bowl. We're excited, I'm excited, our families are excited. But it's kind of the world we're living in.
"There's a lot of things we could say, like, 'why do we do this? Why do we do this? Why is the world like it is today?' and I can't really answer that. Kids nowadays, they want to move on and go to the next thing. It's a great thing. I want everybody to go -- everybody wants to go to the NFL -- except me, I don't want to go to the NFL. But everybody wants to go to the NFL. Thats a lifelong dream of theirs is to go do that, and sometimes some guys want to jump and do it too early. They get all excited. 'Oh, I'm going to go train, I'm going to get to the next step,' and it's OK. This team right here, the guys in the indoor (facility) are worried about finishing the season the right way and try to go 5-0 in November and December."
