Jaylen Twyman's decision to opt-out of the 2020 season was a big loss, but it nowhere near crippled Pitt's plans for its season.
In his first time speaking with Pittsburgh media after Twyman's decision, Narduzzi took the opportunity to state his support.
"We wish Jaylen the best," Narduzzi said at the UPMC Rooney Sports Complex. "He had ... some family things to take care of that were pretty important to him, and to me. These kids have two big families, their family and our family."
But Narduzzi wasted no time to show his excitement for the defensive linemen he still has.
"It's an opportunity for those other guys, and don't think they're not excited," Narduzzi said of his defense. "You've got Tyler Bentley who's really stepped up. Calijah Kancey is a guy you haven't seen much of, but he's electric. Look at what Devlin Danielson and Patrick Jones II did with their opportunities last year. There's depth there, any time there's an injury, it's more opportunity for other guys. Devin Danielson and David Green have really been stepping up in practices."
I went over Jones' profile in my camp preview, and he has more than just the quick burst highlighted. Watch this swim move to the inside gap where he splits the tackle and guard. You can see his initial step to the outside before using his inside hand to gain leverage on his man, then swimming over his head to get the clear path to the sack:
Jones is joined by fellow senior edge-rusher Rashad Weaver, who also spoke after Pitt's practice on Monday. Weaver missed 2019 with an injury, but had 6.5 sacks and 14 tackles for loss in his sophomore 2018 season.
Weaver isn't worried about a drop-off in performance and sees himself as a much better player.
"I'm stronger, faster, I worked on pass rushing a lot more last summer," Weaver said on Monday. "I'm a more complete player, and I really focused on being violent. Even when the ball isn't coming my way I'm focused on resetting the line of scrimmage. I'm locked in to watching my film to find the things I didn't like about it."
Weaver isn't always the most physically dominant on the edge, but he's shown the ability to use different moves to win matchups. Watch how he (No. 17) plays the right edge by engaging his man while keeping his head up to see the backfield. Once he sees the play break outside the tackle, he uses a quick spin move to keep the play contained:
Weaver used this swim move a lot in 2018 to offset opponents that overplayed their position. Watch how it works to get him a sack against Virginia Tech when Jones' rush flushes the quarterback out of the pocket:
But Weaver didn't just praise himself, he also talked about teammates he expects to step up.
"We've got Keyshon Camp back; you remember what he did to Virginia with just 18 plays," Weaver said, mentioning Camp's half a sack in the only 2019 game he played. "If he plays the whole season, who knows what kind of numbers he has. We have guys who got plenty of reps like Tyler Bentley and Devlin Danielson."
Camp joins Jones and Weaver to fill out Pitt's four-man front with three redshirt seniors, with the other projected starter being Bentley, a redshirt sophomore from West Chester, Ohio, who totaled two tackles for loss last season. The 6-foot-2, 300-lbs. redshirt sophomore would be the youngest to start if he wins the job, and has fellow redshirt sophomores Danielson and Green to compete against.
"We've got a lot knowledge up front," Weaver continued. "Coach [Charlie] Partridge does a good job keeping us grounded. What we did last year is nothing. We've got a chance to be a better defensive line, even without Jaylen. We can be just as good or better with me and Keyshon back, and Patrick's back. Those guys that were role players last year stepping up."
That knowledge and chemistry could propel Pitt to a strong year, even with Twyman being gone. Both Weaver and Jones were on the cusp of breaking out in their last full seasons to become elite ACC edge rushers.
They'll need Camp and one of the interior rushers of Bentley, Green or Danielson to at least be reliable in their gaps. But their expectations are high, based off what they've seen.
"We're solid," Weaver said of his defense. "We want to get better every day, we're not getting lost in the sauce — that's the whole key for us this camp and this season. I think we'll be great. We wanted to be top 10 last year, now we want to be number one."
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• Narduzzi was emphatic that his players have the power to opt-out and that his program will do the best to support them in their decisions:
"The NCAA? Who is the NCAA? I don't even know who they are," Narduzzi said sarcastically. "They're non-existent. I don't even think they can fine me, maybe the ACC. This isn't about the NCAA. They're not making decisions, these kids are making decisions."
"I'll make a decision with a kid, with his parents, whatever the situation may be. If the kid has to take a leave for a couple days, then he has to go. If the kid opts out but then wants to come out and play, how can I say no? I don't want guys opting out and then coming back three days later, but hopefully we have a good enough discussion prior to their decision that they don't have to leave and come back."
Narduzzi also gave a glimpse into the UPMC protocols in place to help his players, coaches and staff keep the team on the same page about COVID-19 and limit any potential outbreaks:
"Every morning, everybody that comes in for practice has to follow the protocol from UPMC. They fill out this four part questionnaire, and they're not supposed to come in if they don't feel well or are experiencing symptoms."
• Transfer redshirt freshman quarterback Joey Yellen spoke at his first media availability since he was declared eligible by the NCAA last Friday.
When asked why he chose to transfer to Pitt from Arizona State, Yellen cited the approach of the Panthers' coaching staff.
"They were very transparent," Yellen said. "The coaching staff was intriguing because I liked coach Narduzzi and coach [Mark] Whipple."
Narduzzi had positive comments about Yellen's first experiences in camp, saying he's added to the competition for backup quarterback.
"There's going to be a backup quarterback battle," Narduzzi noted. "We've got three really good backups to Kenny. We're fired up about Joey being out there. He ran a 2-minute drill today, took the offense down there and got a field goal. He looked a little more juiced up today."
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