After cleanup at the end of the Pittsburgh Steelers’ preseason game Saturday night, Pitt takes the stage Sunday at Acrisure Stadium for its second and final intrasquad scrimmage of the summer.
It’s an important session for several players seeking to earn playing time, especially on the defensive line and linebacker, two areas hit hardest by the transfer portal and graduation.
Coach Pat Narduzzi will take special note of the defensive tackle position that is home to former WPIAL standouts Nahki Johnson (West Mifflin), Sean FitzSimmons (Central Valley), Anthony Johnson (Jeannette) and Elliot Donald (Central Catholic). They are eager but inexperienced.
Another question: How will Narduzzi and his staff sort out the linebacker spot around seniors Brandon George and Keye Thompson, who man the middle of the 4-3 defense? Sophomores Jordan Bass, Braylan Lovelace (Leechburg) and Rasheem Biles and redshirt sophomore Kyle Louis are competing for two starting jobs, but it appears all six will play significant minutes at least early in the season.
There has been almost no mention this summer of linebackers Bangally Kamara and Solomon DeShields, who were lost to the portal. But that doesn’t mean their experience and knowledge will be easy to replace.
After the scrimmage (closed to the general public), camp will break at the end of next week, fall semester classes start Aug. 26 and preparations will begin in earnest for the opener Aug. 31 against Kent State.
Narduzzi said, as of Thursday, he had not looked at Kent State.
“We have to worry about Pitt first,” he said. “Right now, we have to make sure Pitt doesn’t beat Pitt.”
Redshirt freshman defensive tackle Isaiah Neal is happy to be on the cusp of the season. After all, prep started way back at the dawn of winter.
“It’s a little harder to get the juices flowing in January and February because it feels so far away,” Neal said. “Now, it’s here. It’s right around the corner.”
Here are few other thoughts to help pass the time before kickoff:
1. It’s the same ball
The quarterbacks change, but the football looks the same to Konata Mumpfield. Which is why Pitt’s senior wide receiver is on the precipice of 2,000 career receiving yards after playing beside eight quarterbacks since his freshman year at Akron.
In 2021, he worked with three quarterbacks, each of whom attempted at least 69 passes for the Zips. Mumpfield even threw one himself — it was incomplete — and set career highs with 63 receptions for 751 yards and eight touchdowns.
At Pitt over the past two seasons, Kedon Slovis, Nick Patti, Phil Jurkovec, Christian Veilleux and Nate Yarnell have played the position. Count redshirt freshman Eli Holstein as No. 9. He is competing with Yarnell for the starting job.
Mumpfield has collected career totals of 165 receptions, 1,878 yards and 14 touchdowns. He could become the quarterback’s favorite target.
“(Playing with several quarterbacks) is not something that you want to get used to, but it’s not something that’s bothering me,” Mumpfield said. “Next man up. Whoever’s in I can make a play for them.”
Meanwhile, he is hoping to forge a strong connection with Yarnell, who threw him a touchdown pass in the Western Michigan game in 2022.
“Nate and I have been trying to build that trust,” he said. “We’ll come in (at the end of the day) and pick each other’s brain.”
At this point in camp, it appears the top pass catchers, not counting tight end Gavin Bartholomew or any running backs, will be Mumpfield, Daejon Reynolds, Kenny Johnson, Censere Lee and Poppi Williams. Narduzzi said he would like for a few more to emerge.
2. Daejon vs. Konata
This isn’t the first time Mumpfield and Reynolds have been on the same field.
They were high school rivals in Georgia, with Reynolds at Central Gwinnett and Mumpfield at Dacula.
“He played corner against me. It was a long day for him,” Reynolds said, smiling.
Nonetheless, they have been friends for a long time.
“I’ve seen his growth since high school all the way until now. It’s been incredible,” Reynolds said. “The type of person he is, the type of player he is. The work that he puts in goes unnoticed.
“Believe this or not, there have been times we’re up late, we can’t go to sleep and I call him 1, 2 in the morning, ‘You want to go catch balls?’ He’s there.
“We’d rather be catching jugs (using the jugs machine) at 1 o’clock in the morning than doing something we aren’t supposed to be doing. At the end of the day, we just love the game of football. We hate being complacent.”
3. A challenge, not a problem
Reynolds caught 28 passes for 316 yards and no touchdowns last season, but he believes offensive coordinator Kade Bell’s offense will better showcase his route running and yards-after-catch capabilities.
“Those are two skills I need to excel in,” he said. “It’s definitely something I want to put on tape and show guys that I can’t just high-point the ball and run vertical routes. I can definitely, at my size (6-foot-2, 210 pounds), get in and out of routes and run after the catch.”
Reynolds questioned using the word “problems” to describe what the team is experiencing in the transition to a dramatically different offense. The defense won the scrimmage last week.
“I would just say more challenges,” said Reynolds, noting he has been exposed to four different playbooks in three seasons at Florida and Pitt. “A problem to a lot of people might just be another challenge for us. It’s going good, better than I expected, at least.”
4. Ignored by the pollsters
The ACC preseason poll and All-ACC team were released recently after a vote of 170 media members. Pitt was picked to finish 13th among 17 schools, ahead of Boston College, Wake Forest, Virginia and Stanford. No Pitt players were chosen among the 27 on the All-ACC team. Miami quarterback Cam Ward, a transfer from Washington State, was named preseason player of the year.
“We don’t pay attention to the media,” Reynolds said. “We definitely have a big chip on our shoulder. Coach Kade has brought more energy into the offense. “I’m telling people every day, ‘Look out.’ ”
5. Acrisure’s secret safe with Sauls
Kicker Ben Sauls is returning for his fifth season for many reasons, but right up there is Pitt’s home venue.
“If you can kick at Acrisure, you can kick anywhere,” he said. “You look up at the flags. They’re all going in different directions.”
It’s not unusual for kickers from other schools to reach out to Sauls for advice.
“Kickers will reach out to me and just chop it up about what’s it like kicking there,” he said.
Sorry, fellas. You’re talking to the wrong guy.
“I don’t spill the beans,” Sauls said. “I definitely have little tricks, little keynotes that I can read. Nothing specific that I would say out loud.”
Jerry DiPaola is a TribLive reporter covering Pitt athletics since 2011. A Pittsburgh native, he joined the Trib in 1993, first as a copy editor and page designer in the sports department and later as the Pittsburgh Steelers reporter from 1994-2004. He can be reached at jdipaola@triblive.com.