No need for a crowbar to pry the truth from Pitt tight end Gavin Bartholomew ... he enjoys blocking, receiving equally

The life of a tight end often can be cloaked in anonymity, with true celebrity difficult to attain.

Travis Kelce excluded, of course.

Pitt tight ends coach Jacob Bronowski did nothing to dispel that notion when he decided to put crowbars on players’ desks before a meeting Sunday.

The idea, senior co-captain Gavin Bartholomew said, is to underscore the important task of blocking that Pitt’s tight ends must undertake Thursday night against Syracuse.

“To pry the (defensive) ends open,” Bartholomew said. “We have a big responsibility this week. We have some big-time blocks we have to make. That’s our mindset.”

Players were confused when they walked into the meeting room and found the crowbars, but Bartholomew said they quickly began to understand what’s expected. If there was any doubt, Bronowski showed players a power point demonstration on crowbars.

And now?

“We bring them in every day,” Bartholomew said.

Bronowski isn’t afraid to try different ways to motivate his players. In the spring, he quoted Chinese general and philosopher Sun Tzu before picking up a trash can, smashing it against his head and kicking it like it was a football.

At last check, the NCAA has not approved Pitt’s tight ends carrying crowbars onto the field at Acrisure Stadium, but that’s OK. Bronowski made his point.

Not that Bartholomew needed to be reminded.

He has been the picture of loyalty since his freshman season when he backed up Lucas Krull and helped Pitt win the 2021 ACC championship by setting career highs in catches (28), receiving yards (326) and touchdowns (four). Since then, he has been a reliable pass catcher — when the ball is thrown his way — and a steady and willing blocker.

Presented with transfer opportunities after last season even while he did not put his name in the portal, Bartholomew ignored them and returned for his senior year. He has 17 catches for 146 yards and no touchdowns. Among Pitt’s nine leading pass catchers, only Bartholomew and backup tight end Jake Overman have not scored.

Bartholomew said blocking and catching passes are all the same to him.

“My mentality every play is to dominate the play that I’m on,” he said. “I’m never looking back or looking forward to what could have happened, what’s going to happen. I always try to stay locked in on every play I’m in. The ball’s going to find me. I’m not worried about it. I never have been.”

With 84 career receptions for 1,018 yards, Bartholomew is on pace for 100 and 1,200, which would be close to an all-time record for Pitt tight ends. Every player among Pitt’s top 20 pass catchers is a wide receiver with at least 108 receptions. For comparison, tight ends J.P. Holtz (2012-15) and Scott Orndoff (2013-16) caught only 81 and 58 passes, respectively. In another, distinctly different era of football when freshmen were ineligible, Mike Ditka had only 45.

None of this even remotely matters to Bartholomew while he navigates and plans to enjoy the last half-season of his collegiate career.

He said he likes working with Eli Holstein, a quarterback who makes himself accountable for any problems that arise.

“That shows a lot for an offense, knowing you have a quarterback who can take the blame and point the finger at himself,” Bartholomew said. “He’s always trying to figure out what he can do to be better at what he did. He’s always the guy who’s going to come in and try to find solutions to problems.”

With so much at stake for the undefeated Panthers (6-0, 2-0 ACC), Bartholomew said numbers on his personal stat sheet don’t determine his state of mind.

“You really have to enjoy everything you do,” he said. “When things don’t go your way, you still have to be happy. I truly am blessed to be here. I wouldn’t have come back if I didn’t think this place was home.”