Before the hitting starts, Pitt's Pat Narduzzi, 3 players have some fun with ACC media

Wednesday, July 26, 2023 7:59 p.m.
The calendar says July, but summer is ending for college football players headed to training camp next week.
Before they start sweating, tackling and bruising, three Pitt players and coach Pat Narduzzi mixed business with pleasure Wednesday at the ACC Kickoff Media event in Charlotte, N.C.
Among the highlights telecast on the ACC Network:
• Cornerback M.J. Devonshire raising his voice a few octaves and doing his best impression of an angry Narduzzi at practice. (“C’mon, guys. You have to get after it. You guys don’t want it.”)
• Offensive tackle Matt Goncalves doing the same, but toning it down to a G-rated version for television.
• And Narduzzi telling the story of how senior quarterback Phil Jurkovec ended up at Pitt.
“It was a great fit five or six years ago,” Narduzzi said. “We recruited him out of high school (Pine-Richland). He goes to Notre Dame and then he comes out, leaves Notre Dame. We want him again.
“We recruit him a second time. Swing and miss.”
That time, Jurkovec chose Boston College, but Narduzzi said he understood. “We had this guy, No. 8, Kenny Pickett, I wouldn’t have come, either,” the coach said.
“We put (Jurkovec) in a little pool until we needed him in 2023. There was no tampering. It was time. We’re excited to have him back in Pittsburgh.”
The fit appears right for Jurkovec, reunited with Frank Cignetti Jr., his offensive coordinator at Boston College. The most recent instance of a Pitt quarterback building a strong relationship with his play-caller happened when Mark Whipple helped Pickett break records and Pitt won the ACC in 2021.
Narduzzi suggested Pitt might have Jurkovec in its blood, noting his high school coach, Eric Kasperowicz, was a part-time member of the staff two years ago.
Narduzzi is also hoping Jurkovec coming home for his last collegiate season will be an added benefit.
“His family’s there. It’s his last season. There’s a lot on the line for him,” Narduzzi said.
Finally, he boldly proclaimed, “The best is yet to be seen.”
Narduzzi said he is eager to see Jurkovec take charge in huddles, on the sideline and in the locker room.
“I want to be on the same sideline with him. I want to see him on game day. I want to see him lead that team. I want to see how he interacts with our guys.”
Said Jurkovec: “I’m trying to earn their respect. I know it will come slowly, but through working hard this offseason and getting on the field, just showing I’m committed.”
Narduzzi also boasted Wednesday about his depth at quarterback, including backups Christian Veilleux and Nate Yarnell, who will continue competing for the backup job when camp opens next week.
“Our quarterback (meeting room) is as good a room as we’ve ever had at Pitt since I’ve been there,” he said. “It was as poor as it could have gotten when I first arrived (in 2015), as far as just the depth in that room.”
Boston College plays Pitt this season at Acrisure Stadium, a fact not lost on Jurkovec.
“They’ve knocked out, like, half of the opposing quarterbacks,” he said of the Pitt defense, stretching the truth just a bit. “I want that streak to continue, can’t wait for those D-linemen to tee off on the opposing teams’ quarterbacks.”
Although it’s true that Pitt leads the nation with 199 sacks since 2019, Jurkovec had one of his best games in 2020 when Boston College defeated Pitt, 31-30, in overtime. He threw for 358 yards and three touchdowns, both career highs. But you can see what he means about Pitt’s defense. Jurkovec was sacked six times in that game.
Narduzzi talked about more than quarterbacks Wednesday. Some other highlights:
• The coach said Devonshire has been one of the leaders in the players-only offseason conditioning sessions.
“He’s been vocal. He’s on our leadership council,” Narduzzi said. “If those corners (including Marquis Williams and A.J. Woods) have a good year, we’ll be pretty good on defense.”
• Asked about his pass rushers, the coach mentioned defensive end Dayon Hayes, among others, and said he is “expecting big things” from Nate Temple. “Kid from South Carolina, we stole him out of your backyard,” he said on the ACC Network.” He also said to be on the lookout for Nahki Johnson and Sam Okunlola.
• Of freshman wide receivers Zion Fowler-El, Kenny Johnson, Israel Polk and Lamar Seymore, Narduzzi said, “One of those guys is going to play for us this year, maybe two.”
• Narduzzi said tight end Malcolm Epps, a transfer from USC, may be worth watching.
“I don’t know if anybody knows about him. Big, freaky guy (in an athletic sense), who’s 6-6, 255, who can really run and catch. Just adds another element of weapon for Phil Jurkovec and the offense.”