Jerry DiPaola stories, Page 15

A popular query from local college football fans over the past month has been, “How is Pitt looking?” Beyond the unoriginal, not-funny-anymore answer — “big and sweaty” — it’s difficult to come up with a definitive response. The most consequential moments of practice, plus two scrimmages, are closed to the...

Before kickoff next Saturday when Pitt opens its 2024 season against Kent State, tradition will prevail, and players — properly dressed in shirt and tie — will follow coach Pat Narduzzi into Acrisure Stadium. Inside, more memories will be made over the course of the season, perhaps similar to M.J....

When Pat Narduzzi spoke to his team one day early in training camp, he made the 2024 season personal for his players. “I told the guys … ‘This is team 135. This is the 135th edition of Pitt football. The 2024 team will be one team — it’s you. What...

When he played the game, Pat Narduzzi was a captain. That should come as no surprise to anyone who knows him and watches him go about his daily business as Pitt’s head coach. Narduzzi revealed the names of Pitt’s four captains Friday at the annual Kickoff Luncheon at Acrisure Stadium....

Tyler Palko could be conducting a business meeting, walking through an airport or lining up a putt on the golf course, but that game 20 years ago when he led Pitt to a 41-38 upset of Notre Dame — and the postgame interview on NBC-TV — still follows him. “It’s...

The last day of Pitt’s summer camp Thursday offered bright morning sunshine, football-like weather more suited for the fall and the opportunity for three members of the defense to reflect on the previous 23 days. Senior safety Donovan McMillon, sophomore cornerback Ryland Gandy and freshman defensive tackle Francis Brewu said...

Pitt conducted one of its last practices of training camp Thursday morning, but there’s plenty of work to do even before players and coaches begin to singularly focus on Kent State and the opener Aug. 31. Among the so-called “fun” activities over the next few days will be posing for...

At the age of 21 and with three seasons and 36 games of collegiate experience behind him, P.J. O’Brien has ascended to a position of leadership on the Pitt defense. He will talk trash with the best of them, but he has grown up since arriving on campus from Pompano...

Pitt released its men’s basketball nonconference schedule Wednesday, with the hope that it turns out to be challenging enough to help the Panthers return to the NCAA Tournament. The 11-game schedule (seven home, four away from Petersen Events Center) includes five against opponents from power conferences: West Virginia, LSU, UCF...

Everybody wants to talk about quarterbacks at Pitt’s training camp, but there’s a position battle at center that looks to be reaching a resolution. Coach Pat Narduzzi said Lyndon Cooper has a late lead over junior Terrence Moore. ”I think we’re getting close (to naming a starter),” he said Wednesday...

For anyone wondering if Pat Narduzzi is taking proper care of his health during training camp, please note that he slept well Sunday night after Pitt’s second and final scrimmage of the summer. “I was disappointed with the offense in the (first) scrimmage (Aug. 10). This one (Sunday at Acrisure...

After nearly three weeks of summer camp and with the first game upcoming Aug. 31 against Kent State, outside linebacker Kyle Louis said the new offense is helping prepare the defense for anything opponents might try. “It’s definitely challenging our coverages, our pacing, our conditioning,” he said. “The first week...

The American Volleyball Coaches Association released its annual preseason rankings, and it’s no surprise that the Pitt women are again among the top 10. Pitt is ranked No. 4 in the nation (after No. 1 Texas, Nebraska and Wisconsin), making it back-to-back appearances for the Panthers in the top 5...

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,...

Funny thing about Pitt’s new fast-paced offense, at least over the past week: When coach Pat Narduzzi ratchets up the intensity at practice by playing loud music to simulate crowd noise, there are fewer mistakes. You’d think while everyone is lining up in a hurry without huddling, trying to catch...

By the time the miserable 2023 season ended, Caleb Junko had lost confidence in himself after finishing 11th among ACC punters with an average of 42.3 yards. Pitt was struggling, and Junko believed he partially was to blame. “I didn’t really do my job last season in giving the defense...

Although it’s been assumed Nate Yarnell will start Pitt’s season at quarterback, coach Pat Narduzzi said Thursday morning there’s a battle going on between Yarnell and redshirt freshman Eli Holstein that wasn’t decided after the first 12 practices. “You can be a starter at the end of spring ball,” Narduzzi...

A few minutes into Pat Narduzzi’s answer about freshmen who may play this season, a loud “whoop” from the locker room door interrupted his thoughts. “There’s Francis right there getting excited,” the coach said Wednesday morning. He was talking about freshman defensive tackle Francis Brewu, who was getting himself ready...

There is a short list of people in Isaiah Neal’s circle of friends, teammates, family members and coaches who have license to call him by his given name. The list begins and ends with Tina Neal, his mom, and Pat Narduzzi, his coach. To everyone else, he’s “Ghost.” If Neal...

No one should read too much into the first scrimmage — and you can bet fans will do so, anyway — but Pitt entered the second half of training camp with the defense ahead of the offense. Coach Pat Narduzzi said Tuesday morning that the defense won the scrimmage Saturday,...

By the time coach Pat Narduzzi called for lights out in the team hotel Monday night, Pitt was in training camp for 13 days. When players get back to work Tuesday morning — after the first intrasquad scrimmage of the summer last Saturday — 12 more remain before game-week practices...

In 54 years on this Earth, Dan Burt has enjoyed few days better than Monday. For starters, Duquesne announced it extended Burt’s contract to coach women’s basketball four years through the 2027-28 season. Meanwhile, he was invited by Saint Vincent College to attend Pittsburgh Steelers training camp where he and...

Imagine doing a pushup and holding it as long as possible while leaning on your forearms or hands and staying off the floor with your upper and lower body and butt in a linear position. It’s called a plank, and the typical YMCA athlete uses it to help tighten the...

The words stare at Pitt’s players from the sidewalk every day when they leave their locker room for the practice fields. “PROVE IT.” What does it mean? “We got a lot to prove,” coach Pat Narduzzi said. “Every unit’s got something to prove, and, obviously, this team has something to...