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Brian Batko's Pitt football chat: 12.5.18
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Brian Batko
2:00
Welcome, everybody. Pitt football is in sort of a strange place right now. Barely above .500 and on a two-game skid, but just played for the ACC championship. Let's chat through it.
Harbor Creek Legend
2:00
Hello Brian, I hope you had a wonderful weekend!  Do you have any information regarding next year's possible starters on the offensive line.  I know we lose a lot, but it seems as if the defense will be strong, and if we can sure up the OL we could have a special season and reach that 10 win plateau we have been craving for over 30 years!
Brian Batko
2:03
Hey there, HCL. I had a weekend full of traveling, then travel scheduling for El Paso, but it was swell. i don't mind.

I do wonder about Pitt's OL for next year. Obviously, Jimmy Morrissey will be back at center once he's healthy. I think the three most likely to have a role after him are Bryce Hargrove (already starting at LG), Gabe Houy (started the opener) and Carson Van Lynn (a spot starter at TE). After that? Anyone's guess. Brandon Ford is an experienced guard from Upper St. Clair. Lots of size and potential behind him. Maybe Narduzzi gets a grad transfer again? That wouldn't shock me.
Jason Kerkes
2:04
Do you know if any of the Pitt OL or DL are former high school wrestlers.  I remember Myles Caragein was a productive DL for Pitt a few years ago and a lot of his success was based on his ability to get leverage using his wrestling skills to dominate the line of scrimmage.
Brian Batko
2:06
Thanks for the curious question, Jason. I do know that Shane Roy from the DL wrestled. More of em on the OL: Connor Dintino, Stefano Millin for sure. More former basketball players, though. Rashad Weaver, Rashad Wheeler, Gabe Houy, Jake Kradel, Noah Palmer. I'm sure there are more.
Amy Bunny
2:07
Stanford has lost to Notre Dame, Utah, Washington State, and Washington this year - all were pretty close games.  Do we have a legitimate shot to pull this out?
Brian Batko
2:09
I think so, Amy. Weird stuff can happen in bowl games. You can't help but wonder how much any given team is locked in to playing a middle-tier bowl like the Sun. Stanford just played there two years ago, too. Stanford is favored by 5.5, I think, last I checked. Wouldn't shock me at all if a senior-laden Pitt team is hungry to finish 8-6 and end this roller-coaster season on a high note.
Tyler
2:10
Not sure if you saw the Pittsburgh Sports Now article from yesterday regarding the recruitment of TE Travis Koontz. He decommitted from Pitt because of the lack of TE use in the offense. So what did Tom Salem talk about when he visited Travis this week? How much they would like to use him to run block. Why even go visit him if that’s your approach?
Brian Batko
2:13
Hi, Tyler. Yeah I saw some talk about that on Twitter yesterday. I'll say this, Pat Narduzzi often insists he doesn't lie to kids in recruiting. Now, you're not gonna find a coach in any discipline who would admit to doing that. We all know it happens. What do you think this same Pitt staff told Arkansas grad transfer TE Will Gragg, a pure pass-catcher for the most part, to get him to come here?

Maybe they figured they'd be upfront about it rather than have yet another TE transfer out after getting here. Also, it's not like one prospect is going to make or break the program, even if he is someone who could help at a position of need. For what it's worth, I have heard from people who claim Narduzzi is pretty straight-up in recruiting, for better or worse.
Mark Templeton
2:14
Did you sense any frustration from Pat Narduzzi with the performance of Shawn Watson from Saturday night?  Would it surprise you to see a possible change at OC this offseason?
Brian Batko
2:17
Oh, I definitely sensed frustration after that one. How could there not be? If you go back to earlier in the season when the offense was sputtering, there were some truthful answers given by Narduzzi. Like when he agreed the offense maybe was too conservative after the Notre Dame game https://www.post-gazette.com/sports/Pitt/2018/10/22/pitt-football-shaw...

I guess it wouldn't surprise me if he goes in a different direction, but keep in mind this offense has had some really good performances this year, too.
Brian B.
2:18
All season, the pass blocking seemed to be inconsistent at best and porous most of the time.  Is there any hope that the offense can improve their passing game (specifically pass blocking) so they aren't so one dimensional?
Brian Batko
2:20
Maybe not in time for the Sun Bowl, BB. I really do think the Jimmy Morrissey has thrown a wrench into things for, as you point out, an OL that already struggled with protection. Just as they started to shore it up, albeit against a less than imposing Wake Forest front, Morrissey goes down. Alex Bookser is still something of a guard playing tackle, at least to me, so it really is a unit built for the run.
Pete Pitt
2:21
I'm sorry if I've missed this, but what in the world happened to Paris Ford? I thought there were some "mental errors" early in the year, but I also heard talk during training camp that he was aiming for something like 10 interceptions this year.
Brian Batko
2:23
I don't think that was ever said, Pete. Defensive coordinator Randy Bates mentioned that Ford was making interceptions in camp. But he's been pretty much out of the picture since the UNC game, where he made the grave mistake of basically committing a mental and physical error on the same play that allowed the go-ahead touchdown and, as such, the win for the Heels. Perhaps this offseason, even starting with the bowl practices, the staff will start to try to transition him (back?) to safety, which he was recruited for. Especially with Dennis Briggs' graduation opening up a starting spot there, although Jazzee Stocker will be entering his senior year and has played a good bit.
JR
2:24
Brian: do believe the team is excited about playing in the Sun Bowl?
Brian Batko
2:26
That's a good question. I'm not sure there's a collective answer, even if you injected each player with truth serum and asked. When you're talking about 100 guys on a roster, have some probably checked out and moved on to next season? Possibly. Is El Paso a sexy destination? Not exactly. Have any of them grown up dreaming to play in the Sun Bowl? Highly doubtful. But as I wrote earlier, lots of veterans on this team who haven't won a bowl game ever at Pitt. And I think not finishing 7-7 would be pretty solid motivation.
Jersey Gary
2:27
I believe that Picket can get better each year( seems esp true if we had better OC).  But can we agree he is not going to be a great college Power Five QB.  Isn't it obvious a big recruiting priority should be finding a 4/5 star QB?  We need that to take the step to real top 20 program.  Thoughts?
Brian Batko
2:29
Well yeah, of course. At least to your second part. Every program wants that. Even one as powerful as Alabama had a bit of an Achilles heel in that department until Tua came along. I do think we're seeing that Kenny Pickett isn't quite the guy that he seemed to be last year against Miami. But I'm not ready to write him off, and not sure Pat Narduzzi is either. We'll see if current freshman Nick Patti and/or incoming QB Davis Beville can push him more than Ricky Town and/or Jeff George currently are.
Neil
2:30
Once more, without citing the absence of Jimmy Morrissey, what’s your take on the offensive woes @ Miami, vs Clemson. Watson or Pickett. Or both? Should we predict the former returns as OC next season, and should we anticipate the latter forgoes any competition heading into next season?
Brian Batko
2:33
Well, without citing that, can I cite the talent of those two defenses? Geez, those teams have some dudes. Arguably the two best Pitt has faced all season, and things didn't go all that well against Notre Dame or Penn State's front sevents either, if you recall. One thing that I think will factor into the future for Shawn Watson is how much Narduzzi believes in Pickett. If he's still adamant that he's the man for the job, maybe that pushes him toward giving him a fresh start with a new OC/QB developer. If he doesn't, to your last question, maybe he gives Watson a new QB.
GhostOfIvanToncic
2:33
(Might be before your time, Brian, but Carlton Haselrig, of Pitt-Johnstown, was one of the great wrestler-turned-footballer stories of all time.)
Brian Batko
2:34
Definitely before my time, considering he left Pitt two years before I was born. But wow, what a name. Carlton Haselrig. A very Johnstown name, at that. I might have to read up on him.
GhostOfIvanToncic
2:35
Kenny Pickett doesn't seem to be much of  a mudder to me. Certainly Pitt was overmatched against Clemson and Penn State, and Kenny isn't the next Dan Marino to begin with -- but I wonder if he performs a bit better against both if the weather plays out differently. Seems like he really struggles when throwing conditions aren't optimal. Small sample size, I know, but it's hard to ignore the 8 net yards against Clemson or the 50 against PSU. Have you gotten that sense? Or am I reading too much into those wet-weather performances?
Brian Batko
2:38
Yeah, don't forget the UVA game too, which might've been worth conditions than both. He threw for 61 yards in that one, though the running game was dominant that night. Pickett has even said as much. After the Clemson game, he admitted that throwing a wet ball is one thing, but throwing a muddy one is much harder. He frequently asked the refs for new ones, but they didn't always come through for him. But then again, Hunter Lawrence seemed to rough it OK.

Speaking of Lawrence, I had (I assume) a Clemson fan send me a disappointed email about Lawrence not making the AP all-ACC first or second team. Guess he just emailed everyone on the panel, and while I believe Lawrence is incredibly good for a true freshman QB, I'm not sure he's quite at that level JUST yet.
Sports guru
2:38
I no alot is asked about P.Ford but he has to mentally make the transition from high school to college everyone has natural ability. Its bigger than athletic ability. My ? Is do we gire watson after signing day so that we possibly dnt loose QB commit
Brian Batko
2:40
That's usually a strategy around recruiting time, yes. But Matt Canada left, and Pitt still kept Pickett in the fold, though not without a fight. I'm not sure how much that would weigh into it. Defensive coordinator Josh Conklin took the Wofford job in between the two signing periods last year.
Alex
2:41
Hey Brian, hope your day is going well! How much of an impact does Gipson truly have over getting Devonshire to commit to Pitt? Can you think of any other time in the past where a high school teammate has convinced another to commit to the program?
Brian Batko
2:43
Thanks, Alex, my day has been fantastic. It's my wife's birthday, actually. Where should we go to dinner tonight?

But the package deal that immediately comes to mind for me is the Killer T's out of Clairton a while back: Tyler Boyd, Titus Howard, Terrish Webb. I know there was some thinking that the latter two were offered just to get Boyd, or at least Terrish Webb, and lo and behold Webb became a starter in his Pitt career. That was before my time covering the beat. Devonshire and Gipson do seem pretty tight, but I think for the most part, those story lines can be overstated. Lots of kids are going to decide on what's best for them, personally, when it comes to one of the biggest decisions they'll ever make.
Neil
2:44
Thanks for response. Appreciate the insight
Brian Batko
2:44
My pleasure, Neil
Pickett's Charge
2:44
Odds that Watson is still around next year? I'm hovering 50/50 right now after watching him coach for 2 years.
Brian Batko
2:46
Yeah, hate to speculate on a guy's job status, but that's kind of the nature of the beast. I'd say 50/50 sounds about right, even if it is a bit of a cop-out. On one hand, Narduzzi is always preaching loyalty. On the other, loyalty can only take you so far, and he's loyal to the program most of all. The guy wants to win.

But hey, we're only a few weeks removed from a 300-plus yard passing day for Kenny Pickett that helped clinch the Coastal Division. A week before that, the offense made VIrginia Tech look like a grade school team. And the week before that, Virginia had no answers for the run game. ANd the week before tha - OK, you get the point.
Pink Rabbit
2:47
Brian - that was a tough one on Saturday night.  The fans were so jacked for this game and to only have 8 yards of passing in a championship game was unbelievable.  What was the issue - players, scheme, weather...?  At a complete loss.
Brian Batko
2:50
Yeah, that was brutal, no doubt. I think that all factored in. Kenny Pickett did not play well. As Pat Narduzzi often says, "No doubt about it." But I can't disagree with the crush of humanity who don't understand what's behind the total lack of attention paid to the middle of the field. Smart football people say this, not just angry fans like you or media hacks like me.

I also wonder how much consternation the first-half interception caused. You think about some of the other games Pitt abandoned the pass, or at least maybe some elements of it - Penn State, Syracuse, even back to Albany - those were games Pickett got picked off.
Lucky
2:50
What will it take to throw the ball between the nunbers on the field, specifically to the TEs.  It only helps the QB.
Brian Batko
2:53
Strangely enough, Lucky, in the Wake game, Pickett was 11 of 15 for 212 yards just over the middle. That's according to the fine folks at Pro FOotball FOcus (college). Maybe it just needs to be a sunny day in North Carolina.
LosingHope
2:53
Ok, since we are not getting an on-campus stadium this year, can we at least get an ace WPIAL recruiter on the staff?  Bob Palko and Mike Zmijanac are currently looking for work.
Brian Batko
2:54
I could see Bob Palko helping out in an off-field recruiting role, but not sure he would even want that, and not sure he has the resume to be one of the 10 full-time assistants, as I've had a few people suggest. Mike Zmijanac as a recruiter? Man, it'd be hilarious to see him assigned to kissing the butts of some high school kids.
Como Se Dece
2:55
Hola Brian!!! I only have 2 questions, thank you for taking the time to answer them.  1) What was your assessment of how the defense played on Saturday?  I think they played very well and have given us hope for next year! 2) If you had to choose you favorite Pitt football road venue to cover a game what would it be?  Gracias!  Feliz Navidad!!!!
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