Stephen Thompson

Stephen Thompson's Pitt football chat: 08.05.25

Doing this now. Please ask me questions.
www.post-gazette.com/sports/pitt/...

Last useless observation from practice: We saw Caleb Junko punt 3-4 times. All of them had good hang time before landing 45-50+ yards past LoS. You think about his career and it's remarkable how far he's come since 2023. Cade Dowd had a nice kick that rolled for probably 50+ too.

Meanwhile, Kieth Gouevia, who has experience at guard and center, was snapping today during team drills.

I'd expect him to play almost exclusively guard by the time the game week rolls around (assuming everyone's healthy) but with a lot of camp left, he's cross training a bit.

We saw Kendall Stanley working at left guard today during some 11-on-11 drills. Stanley told us yesterday that he had never played guard before arriving at Pitt, but the coaches want to see if he can fit at another position and give them the 5 best players in the lineup together.

Narduzzi on freshman OL Torian Chester: "This guy's a big beast. He's loud. He's aggressive. He's intense. This guy's going to be a great lineman for us. ... I was like, 'Hey, BJ (Williams) played as a freshman.' Started as a freshman, I believe. So it can be done."

Pat Narduzzi said there's a "major battle" for snaps at OLB behind Biles/Louis going on between Jayden Bonsu and Cam Lindsey.

"Bonsu's healthy. He lost a lot of reps in the spring. Cam Lindsey kind of moved ahead of him because of reps. But that is a battle going on."

Stephen Thompson's Pitt football chat: 08.05.25 ""

Stephen Thompson's Pitt football chat: 08.05.25

Pitt Sports News: Football, Basketball & More Get the latest Pitt sports news from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette including coverage of football, basketball, baseball, & more. Join the conversation.

Trying something new (or new to me) this afternoon. At 1 pm I'll be hosting a Pitt live chat on the PG website. Bring your questions about the Panthers and I'll give you my best answers. See you then!
www.post-gazette.com/sports/pitt

Being super respectful of Raffy Devers from
The bleachers.

Pat Narduzzi on Brookins pulling down interceptions: "Cruce is a ball hawk. The great thing about Cruce — other guys have opportunities, but when Cruce gets this opportunity, he catches them, okay?"

He added that Pitt defenders dropped *19* potential interceptions last year.

If there's any kind of analysis to take away from this, it's great to see Deuce Spann and Zion Fowler El making big plays. Pitt wants to go deeper at wideout so some (presumed) reserves standing out is a welcome sign.

Of note from Narduzzi’s morning briefing:

- Pitt is on practice 5 of camp (Weds-Fri, off Sat, back Sun)
- Off “ahead” of def on Sun (10 explosive plays from combo of Zion Fowler El, Deuce Spann, others; mostly in pass game vs 2nd/3rd def)
- 1st off didn’t commit a turnover Sun

Through 4 practices, Cruce Brookins has 2 TAKEAWAY stickers on his helmet. Hard not to get excited about him.

At least imo, 7-5 is almost always disappointing. 9-3 is almost always pretty good. 8-4 hinges on who the 8 are and who the 4 are.

Eli Holstein halted Pitt's QB carousel, but can he respond to heightened expectations? Eli Holstein was a spark plug for a Pitt team desperately in need of dynamic quarterback play in 2024. He demonstrated the kind of arm talent and moxie...

Pitt invested in Eli Holstein and his success. Now the dynamic second year starter is tasked with being more than a spark plug.

"I want a guy back there ... You don’t win championships with game managers"
www.post-gazette.com/sports/pitt/...

We gotta do something about Verizon. I think Halliburton might be a more ethical corporation.

Jeff Capel sought greater toughness in Pitt's offseason roster rebuild Jeff Capel hit the recruiting trail this spring with a sour taste in his mouth. Pitt lost 13 of its final 18 games to close out the 2024-25 season, falling...

There was no gentle way to put it: Jeff Capel thought his team got “pushed around” late last season. So the goal of this offseason was to get bigger, stronger and tougher.

On an critical roster rebuild and the possibility of a Damian Dunn return:
www.post-gazette.com/sports/pitt/...

Taking a scheduled day off from Pitt camp coverage to move so @abbyschnable.bsky.social will have everything you need to know from the South Side. See you Monday 🫡

Jeff Capel sought greater toughness in Pitt's offseason roster rebuild Jeff Capel hit the recruiting trail this spring with a sour taste in his mouth. Pitt lost 13 of its final 18 games to close out the 2024-25 season, falling...

There was no gentle way to put it: Jeff Capel thought his team got “pushed around” late last season. So the goal of this offseason was to get bigger, stronger and tougher.

On an critical roster rebuild and the possibility of a Damian Dunn return:
www.post-gazette.com/sports/pitt/...

Barry Dunning Jr. just knocked down a pair of catch-and-shoot 3s off passes from Brandin Cummings in 5-on-5 action.

One very loose observation from some team drills and 4-5 possessions of 5-on-5 at Pitt's open practice: Omari Witherspoon looks pretty good. Good size, nice handle, active hands on defense.

Capel confirmed Damian Dunn is pursuing an extra year of eligibility. Played 16 games last season.

"The reality is that he probably shouldn't have come back after he had the first injury. But he really wanted to play for us, really wanted to help our team, and he rushed back.”

Jeff Capel said they want to play the exhibition game against Providence next year in the Fitzgerald Field House as an homage to Jerome Lane's backboard breaking dunk in 1988. Doesn't sound like that is likely to happen but we'll see.

But they're hoping Roman is on campus sometime before the first week of August.

Henry Cody Lau is. They're still working on getting Roman's visa together.

I'm morbidly curious in the kind of seasons a defensive end and wide receiver (at Boston College, no less) would need to beat out the starting quarterback at Clemson for ACC Player of the Year. At least 20 sacks and 1,700 receiving yards? More?

And in about 25 minutes, we’ll check in with Jeff Capel, then get a sneak peek at his rebuilt team during an open practice.

Stay tuned…

Search for Gavin Bartholomew's replacement led Pitt to deeper, more diverse tight ends group Of the 973 offensive plays Pitt ran a year ago, Gavin Bartholomew was on the field for 70% of them. The Panthers’ starting tight end of the past...

Really happy my first story of training camp includes the phrase "nasty, eating males type of guy.”

On how Pitt plans to replace Gavin Bartholomew with depth and a diverse set of tight ends:

Pitt ranked 2nd in the league with 3 players named to the preseason all conference team. Clemson led with 11 selections.

Here’s the full Player of the Year voting results: