You are viewing the chat in desktop mode. Click here to switch to mobile view.
X
John McGonigal's Pitt football chat: 08.01.19
powered byJotCast
John McGonigal
11:00
What's up, everyone? It is 11 a.m., which means my first-ever Pitt football chat is here. Thanks for joining me this fine Thursday. FYI, during the season, the chat will return to the old time slot of Wednesdays at 2 p.m. But figured this would be the best time to hop on here, given fall camp begins tomorrow — which is a blessing because I think we all need college football back in our lives. Any questions, fire away.
Nick
11:03
Who from this team is getting drafted in the 2020 draft?
John McGonigal
11:03
Nick, thanks for the first question. You deserve some kind of medal. We'll work on that. Anyway, who is getting drafted... Well, I was curious where some of these guys stacked up — at least from a national perspective — when I started on the job earlier this month. And according to DraftTek, three guys are ranked as top-300 draft prospects: DE Rashad Weaver (#214), CB Dane Jackson (#260) and S Damar Hamlin (#285). There were 254 selections in the 2019 draft, so this trio would be cutting it close. Thankfully for those three and other Pitt players, pre-camp NFL draft rankings mean virtually nothing. Weaver is a good bet, in my opinion. After starting all 14 games as a redshirt sophomore, he can certainly make that leap in 2019. Jackson and Hamlin have prove-it, senior seasons ahead of them, as does wide receiver Tre Tipton. He hasn't been a consistent presence in the offense — yet. If Tipton can stay healthy, I like his athleticism and what Mark Whipple can do with him in a new passing offense.
#1 Pitt Fan Arthur
11:05
Welcome! Which position on the o-line is the biggest question mark at this point?
John McGonigal
11:06
Thanks for the welcome, Arthur. Right tackle, to me, is the most intriguing question mark entering camp given the long-term implications. Gabe Houy, a redshirt sophomore, is listed as the starter on the preseason depth chart. Blake Zubovic, a redshirt freshman, is his backup. However, grad transfers weren't included on the two-deep, and Michigan transfer Nolan Ulizio might be your starter come Week 1. Ulizio has only one year of eligibility. So if all things are equal between, say, Ulizio and Houy, who do you go with? The older guy who has playing experience at Michigan, or a guy who could be a multi-year starter? If Ulizio is slightly better than Houy and/or Zubovic, does it make sense to stunt the growth of a younger, long-term option? That's a decision Dave Borbely and Narduzzi have to make in camp.
Tyler K
11:08
Am I crazy for being confident going into the Virginia game?
John McGonigal
11:09
You're not crazy at all for being confident going into the Virginia game. It's the first day of August, everyone ought to be confident about their team entering the season. But I'll say, too, that Bronco Mendenhall is confident his squad will win the Coastal, and Bryce Perkins can be a pretty electric quarterback. Tough test to start the season.
FatBuddy
11:11
JM, who’s going lead Pitt this year in yards from scrimmage?
John McGonigal
11:11
I like that question, FatBuddy (what a name, btw). Give me Maurice Ffrench. There may be a *little* recency bias in there after spending a day with his former HS coaches down in New Jersey this week for a story and hearing them pump him up. But I think the backfield will be crowded, and depending on how Whipple uses Ffrench, I think he could rack up scrimmage yards with regularity.
Yinzer Style
11:13
This may be an unpopular opinion but I think one of the most improved players over the course of last season was Kirk Christodoulou. He obviously struggled mightily early (Penn State) but I thought he did a really nice job down the stretch and it seemed like he was even battling an injury in that time. I think a good season from him could go a long way towards putting our defense in good field position and taking some pressure off the new look offense. Are you hearing anything about his offseason progress and outlook for 2019?
John McGonigal
11:14
I tend to agree with you that Christodoulou was a tad overlooked as an improving player last year. Of course, he had to improve from a pretty woof non-conference run. But in conference play, he averaged the fourth-best yards per attempt average in the ACC. Not shabby. Looking forward to watching him up close once camp begins tomorrow.
Jersey Gary
11:16
Hi John .....based on the excellent recruiting year for next year....should I be more excited about next year’s team or this years?  Also do you see Picket significantly improving this year( which to me is critical)?
John McGonigal
11:16
It's definitely easy to look ahead. But there are some seniors worth watching this season — Ffrench, Tipton, Jackson, Hamlin, Amir Watts, to name a few. As far as Kenny Pickett is concerned, I think you'll see noticeable improvement simply based on the responsibility he'll shoulder. In Whipple's last four years at UMass, the starting quarterback averaged 346 passing attempts per season. In 2018, Pitt logged the third-fewest passing attempts per game (22.57) among Power 5 teams. Pickett will get his chance.
Larry
11:19
GM John and welcome.  Will we see a more "open" offense this year as compared to last year?  It seems that the RBs this year are not the big punishing RBs of past.  Is there a hidden gem amongst them?
John McGonigal
11:19
Mornin' Larry, and thanks for the welcome. Whipple works a pro-style system, so don't expect Dennis Dixon's Oregon Ducks out there. But If by "open" you mean throwing the ball more, then yes. As far as running backs go, freshman running back Daniel Carter is intriguing. He didn't enroll early, so this will be first go of it in fall camp. He had offers from Georgia, LSU, Miami, Michigan and Ohio State in the recruiting process, and St. Thomas Aquinas in Florida produces top-tier talent. He's one to watch.
Darnell Dickerson
11:22
Hi John. Welcome to the beat! On paper, our secondary should be experienced and athletic. As a group, it looks like we have a lot of options for the LB and DL corps, but few standouts (other than possibly Rashad Weaver). How do you see our LB and DL units playing out - can they be strengths? Thanks and H2P!
John McGonigal
11:23
Thanks for the welcome, Darnell! Along the defensive front, I like Watts, and Weaver/Jones II off the edge is a solid combo (could end being one of the ACC's best). But the depth at defensive end is a bit concerning. At LB, there are 10 or 12 different starting combinations that could be rolled out against UVA. The Brightwell/Reynolds competition at Mike is intriguing because of Brightwell's experience at Money. If Reynolds takes the Mike from Brightwell, how that might affect Chase Pine and Kyle Nunn is something to keep an eye on. In general, though, they have options at LB, and Phil Campbell II could really emerge at Star.
Tino time
11:25
Who do you think has a chance to be a breakout player on this offense.? I'm thinking Davis or Shocky.
John McGonigal
11:26
With a name like Shocky Jacques-Louis, you have to break out on offense, right? I like that pick, and I also like Tre Tipton's chances to put it all together as a senior if he stays healthy.
OttoW
11:30
I know it is early but do you see Whipple improving the passing game significantly?  It can't get much worse than last year
John McGonigal
11:30
It's veryyyyy early, Otto. But yeah, it really can't get much worse.
Hank Poteat
11:32
Am I crazy to be so worried about the Ohio game in week 2? They had a top 10 offense in the country last year and it sandwiched in between the Virginia and Penn State game. It has the Pitt yearly let down written all over it.
John McGonigal
11:34
Not at all. Frank Solich knows what he's doing, dual-threat QB Nathan Rourke is back, and, like you said, the positioning of the game on the schedule is tricky.
MIKE
11:35
Is this Narduzzi's best defense since he has been here?
John McGonigal
11:36
I genuinely think it's too early to tell, Mike. But there is certainly depth at linebacker and in the secondary. The non-conference slate will tell us a lot about this Narduzzi defense. How do they cope with UVA's Bryce Perkins, Ohio's Nathan Rourke and (should he produce how PSU is expecting him to) Sean Clifford?
11:37
"Non-conference" meaning the first three games of the season, in this case
Chevon Troutman
11:40
Hi John. Since you know both teams pretty well, what’s your prediction on the point spread for Pitt-PSU? I’m guessing somewhere between 10-14.5
John McGonigal
11:42
Thanks for the question, Chevon. SuperBook USA released the spread at Penn State -14.5 last month, and I see it opening there game week. But I wouldn't be surprised if money moves on Pitt and pushes it down to 10.5. Penn State's defense is going to be stellar, maybe best in the Big Ten. And playing in Beaver Stadium certainly helps the Nittany Lions. But there are questions on offense for Penn State. Specifically, what will the chemistry be like between new QB Sean Clifford and his young, promising receivers at such an early part of the season? I won't make any predictions yet — I'll protect my mentions until Week 3. But I'd expect the spread to sit between that 10.5-14 range.
Uniforms Win Games
11:44
Based on your current knowledge (and hopes), Will the football team’s future alternate uniform be an all black combo, some kind of combo with a yellow jersey, or something else entirely?
John McGonigal
11:46
I'm not privy to anything at the moment, but hoo boy do I love alternate unis. Something similar to Iowa's black & yellow alternates would be slick.
11:49
Also, while you're all here: the PG has got a sports podcast. And it's dope. Subscribe, unsubscribe, subscribe again and listen. First ep we've got Brian Batko (y'all know him) and Ray Fittipaldo talking Steelers training camp, and Matt Vensel and Mike Defabo analyzing the Penguins' offseason moves.
H2P
11:52
What's a bigger "season" success for Narduzzi... Winning the Coastal and getting slammed by Clemson in the Championship (again) or 2nd place in Coastal and a PSU victory?
John McGonigal
11:54
That's a good one. So, six different teams have won the Coastal the last six seasons. If Narduzzi broke the trend and took it back-to-back, that'd be a feather in the cap for his program and a sign things are going in the right direction. But ask anyone in Oakland, and I'm sure they'd take that Penn State win — especially because it's the 100th meeting and the last for the foreseeable future. Bragging rights until 2030(?) or another drubbing at the hands of Clemson? Think it's an easy choice.
Rick Pastin
11:56
What is your win loss prediction for the season?   I think they will be lucky to pull out a winning season.
John McGonigal
11:57
I'll hold off on a season prediction for now. But don't worry, by the end of camp you'll get one you can eventually make fun of.
11:59
That's all for today, but want to thank everyone for the questions and the welcome to the beat. If you don't already, you can follow along on Twitter @jmcgonigal9 as camp starts tomorrow. Football is back, folks. Until next time...
Connecting…