Oldtimers like to say with age comes wisdom, and Tre Tipton has plenty of both.
Tipton, a senior wide receiver from Apollo-Ridge, is the second-oldest player on the Pitt football team, 42 days younger than linebacker John Petrishen.
Tipton joined the team in 2015. Coach Pat Narduzzi and assistants Andre Powell and Tim Salem have been around longer, but only by a few months.
He knows the history of recent Pitt football, and he wants to see his last Pitt team reach beyond it.
“As for the seniors,” he said last week during the final days of training camp, “it’s the last go-around. So how do you want to be remembered?
“Nobody remembers the 5-7 team. Nobody remembers the 7-6 or the 8-5. The only way you’re going to be remembered is how you leave your legacy. We want to leave a true legacy here.”
What’s notable about Tipton’s declaration is Pitt achieved all three of those records in the past eight years. Maybe Tipton picked them at random while he spoke on a variety of subjects with reporters last week, but his point is this:
No one remembers mediocrity.
Kenny Pickett????Oakhurst, NJ
3️⃣rd most total offensive yards in Pitt history
First☝️ Pitt QB with two 400-yd passing games#H2P | #ManningAward pic.twitter.com/ASa8MoBhbi— Allstate Sugar Bowl (@SugarBowlNola) August 23, 2021
Since Pitt’s most recent 10-win season (2009), the Panthers are 75-66 under four head coaches: Dave Wannstedt, Todd Graham, Paul Chryst and Narduzzi. That’s an average of 6.8 victories and six losses per season. Narduzzi (7/5.6 in six seasons) brings up the overall average.
Still, mediocrity.
The beauty of sports is every season presents a new opportunity to rise above the past. Pitt opens the 2021 season Saturday against UMass at Heinz Field. Kickoff is 4 p.m.
Pitt has lost at least three games each year since the last of three consecutive 11-1 seasons in 1981. How long ago was that? Narduzzi wasn’t old enough to drive a car. That’s 39 seasons of waiting for a notable achievement to emerge.
Why should Pitt fans believe this team is different? Tipton has his reasons.
“Everybody is more up front. We all believe we can go out there and win a championship,” he said. “We’re more together than we’ve ever been. We’re stronger than we’ve ever been. The key word: together.
“And we love each other. And that is one of the biggest, brightest things I’ve seen from this team overall.”
But games are played in pads and between the lines — happily, with fans in the stands this season — when no one is thinking about riding the Pittsburg Plunge at Kennywood or dinner with Kenny Pickett at Spirits and Tales.
For my first NIL deal, I want to make sure I can take care of the big guys who take care of me. I’m excited to announce my association with the Oaklander Hotel & their restaurant, Spirits & Tales, where I will be treating my linemen to our weekly Hog Dinners! #OaklanderPartner pic.twitter.com/hek0x0ujB3
— Kenny Pickett (@kennypickett10) July 15, 2021
It’s a sport, but it’s time to get down to business.
Pitt is facing a difficult schedule after its four nonconference games to start the season (UMass, Tennessee, Western Michigan and New Hampshire). The ACC is loaded with talented quarterbacks, including D.J. Uiagalelei of Clemson, D’Eriq King of Miami and Sam Howell of North Carolina — all on Pitt’s schedule in a span of 20 days at midseason. That stretch starts a week after the Oct. 16 game in Blacksburg, Va., where Pitt is 2-7 all-time against Virginia Tech.
But Pitt has a quarterback who could be the equal — or close to it — of most quarterbacks on its schedule. Pickett is the only quarterback in school history with two 400-yard games. With 8,552 total yards, he needs only 40 to pass Tino Sunseri and move into second place all-time at Pitt.
If his pass catchers stay healthy, Pickett will have several from whom to choose, led by sophomore wide receiver Jordan Addison, a Freshman All-American last season; acrobatic senior Taysir Mack; 6-foot-3 junior Jared Wayne; and 6-foot-6, 260-pound senior tight end Lucas Krull.
The line needs to give Pickett time to peruse the secondary, but Narduzzi said he was pleased with how the blocking unit has developed over the summer. He wasn’t naming many names, but the starting five probably will include tackles Carter Warren and Gabe Houy (Upper St. Clair), guards Marcus Minor and Jake Kradel (Butler) and center Owen Drexel.
Izzy Abanikanda and Vincent Davis will carry the bulk of the load at running back. Both earned much praise during training camp, with Abanikanda, only a sophomore, perhaps a stride ahead of Davis, a junior.
Pickett believes in Abanikanda’s potential.
“I told him the only one who’s going to hurt him is himself,” Pickett said. “If he doesn’t know his playbook, or he doesn’t go out there and play hard, he won’t succeed. He has all the tools and coach Powell is getting him right.”
The defense is well-stocked with depth, according to accounts from Narduzzi and several players. Outside linebackers Cam Bright and Phil Campbell III are developing into leaders, and junior SirVocea Dennis is coming off a season when he had 14 1/2 tackles for a loss — tied for the team lead with defensive end Rashad Weaver, now with the Tennessee Titans. Dennis can play all three linebacker positions.
“The guy who’s really smart on defense and has been impressive is (Dennis),” Pickett said. “He made one (play) on me where I don’t think anybody else on the team makes. He’s a step ahead of everybody in the knowledge aspect of the game.”
Meanwhile, Wendell Davis, a starter at the outset of last season before an injury interceded; Chase Pine, who’s played in 45 career games with 11 starts; and Petrishen are pushing for playing time.
In the secondary, Damarri Mathis (5-11, 195) has the look of an NFL cornerback, and Aliquippa’s M.J. Devonshire is trying to take the other corner position from Marquis Williams. Narduzzi has yet to name a starter at free safety between Erick Hallett and Rashad Battle while strong safety Brandon Hill should fill in nicely for the departed Paris Ford.
What makes this season so interesting and unique is the presence of 21 seniors, increasing the urgency for some players who could be strapping on pads for the last time.
”We work all year for 12 opportunities,” Pickett said “You blink and (time’s) up.”
Jerry DiPaola is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Jerry by email at jdipaola@triblive.com or via Twitter .
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