PITTSBURGH (93.7 The Fan) – Pitt head coach Pat Narduzzi is giving his players a couple of days off before they meet again in Atlanta on Christmas Day. With the rise in COVID cases, Narduzzi told the team to be smart.
"You certainly worry about it," Narduzzi said. "We educate them about wearing their masks and taking care of themselves. They are going home to see their families, not home to see their buddies. You don't know where they have been."
Narduzzi said they are 99% vaccinated and will test players that have symptoms and the few that are unvaccinated.
No Coordinator Announcement
Officially, Pitt will head into bowl week without an offensive coordinator.
"I may have, right in here (pointing to heart) decided, we got four coaches on offense that are ready and willing to game plan," Narduzzi said Wednesday. "They all do their jobs during the week anyway. I'm not going to share that with you right now."
Narduzzi said he expects to announce who will call plays during the Peach Bowl when he gets to Atlanta. The first media availability is December 27.
He also said he will wait until after the bowl to make the permanent hire. Saying he needs to focus just on that position without the recent distractions of recruiting and game week.
New QB
Kedon Slovis announced on social media he's leaving USC and transferring to Pitt. He will have two years of eligibility. Narduzzi called his recruitment a 'process' adding that when they decided not to sign a freshman in this year's recruiting class, they were going to look in the transfer portal.
"We were looking for the best available," Narduzzi said. "We hunted and we searched and we were able to land the number one guy that we wanted. We are excited to have him. He will be here in January."
Narduzzi believes Slovis is a good fit in their building and the quarterback room. The 6'3", 205-pound right hander played 27 games at USC completing 68% of his passes for 7,576 yards with 58 touchdowns and 24 interceptions. In nine games this season, Slovis threw for 2,153 yards with 11 touchdowns, eight interceptions and 65% completion.
"He's obviously played at a high level," Narduzzi said. "He has a great arm, great pocket presence. I think he's a leader. I think we can get even more out of him. I think there are some things he was looking for that he found here. He's looking for more too, more development and I think that's something we can give him."
Narduzzi said he communicated with the other quarterbacks about his recruitment to a point, but said he has to do what is best for the team. Narduzzi said it's all about competition whether it's a freshman, junior, senior. It's about getting better.
He believes Slovis was drawn to Pitt by the success Kenny Pickett had, the offensive line returning and the opportunity to throw to Jordan Addison, Gavin Bartholomew, Jared Wayne and others.
New goal
Only the Pitt 1976 National Championship team ever won 12 games in a season. Narduzzi believes this group is inspired to match and not just be content with the ACC Championship.
"This senior class, these captains, this football team has set the mark with 11," Narduzzi said. "I think they want more. I think they are hungry. I think it's something-that's not enough, let's just keep going."
"That's the attitude I sense in this room. I don't think there will be any hangover from that victory."
