When you think about offensive prowess in college football, how many people do you think of before you get to Pittsburgh Panthers head coach Pat Narduzzi? Precisely. The man was a noted defensive coordinator under Mark Dantonio, first at Cincinnati and then at Michigan State. While his greatest player at Pitt was arguably quarterback Kenny Pickett, the same cannot be said for Phil Jurkovec ...
The former Notre Dame backup to Ian Book first transferred to Boston College where had, like, one good season playing for Jeff Hafley in Chestnut Hill. Injuries derailed his once-promising playing career, but then he transferred to Pitt, a place where non-Pickett quarterbacks go to die. Whether it be Max Browne or Kedon Slovis right before him, Jurkovec had not shot whatsoever to get this right.
Rather than see what he has got in Jurkovec the rest of the way, Narduzzi is reportedly moving him to tight end because that will most definitely help reshape his awful 1-4 football team, whose only win came against ... Wofford. A panther should beat a terrier, all things equal, but nothing is equal when you "share" a stadium with the Pittsburgh Steelers. Man, has Pitt turned to s**t since Pickett left them.
This is why you do not voluntarily transfer to play in an offense with Narduzzi fimly at the helm of it.
Slovis may have transferred to Pitt for soccer girlfriend reasons, but he wisened up, got more mature and went to the land of Mormons to help jumpstart Kalani Sitake's BYU Cougars into their new league.
Pat Narduzzi is the Rex Ryan of quarterbacks at the college football level
Pitt may be on a bye this week, but ooh child, things aren't gonna get easier for the Panthers. They have lost four games in a row, all to Power Five teams. After getting to 1-0 over Wofford, they dropped a pair to Big 12 opponents and former Big East rivals of theirs in the Cincinnati Bearcats and the absolutely hated West Virginia Mountaineers. Losing the Backyard Brawl put this team into a tailspin.
Commencing ACC play, the Panthers lost by 17 points to both North Carolina at home and then to atrocious Virginia Tech in Blacksburg. Next up for Pitt is No. 25 Louisville, who still has not lost yet. Maybe they can get Wake Forest the following week? After that, it is a lot of Notre Dames, Florida States and Dukes the rest of the way. Pitt is not going bowling, and Jurkovec is not going to the NFL.
Overall, this is the latest notion of how quickly things can change in the game of football. First, you are on top of the world. Then, you get toppled on. Pitt went from ACC champions led by The Fake Slide King himself to a team that might challenge Virginia for the worst team in the Power Five. Pitt should win about eight games annually with their current infrastructure. They may only win two more games.
Trusting Narduzzi to know what is best for an offense is like trusting Fletcher Reede in a court of law.
