Special teams, Desmond Reid play big role in Pitt victory, but kicker Ben Sauls is willing to wait his turn

The football rested on the Kent State 10-yard-line, fourth down, 5 yards to go.

It was early in the second quarter Saturday, and Pitt was leading the Golden Flashes by a mere touchdown.

Decision time for coach Pat Narduzzi.

Should he opt for the 28-yard field goal and an easy three points? Kicker Ben Sauls is seven of eight from that distance in his career. Or should he put the burden on redshirt freshman quarterback Eli Holstein and try for a no-sure-thing seven points?

Pittsburgh Steelers coach Chuck Noll used to tell people during his Hall of Fame career, “If they’re giving you the three points, take them.”

But this is a different Pitt team, one trying to reassert some offensive muscle that was missing last season. This was a point in the game that called for aggressiveness.

Narduzzi eschewed the field goal and gave Holstein the green light. The play call – a swing pass to running back Desmond Reid – was stopped short of the first down, but a targeting penalty against Kent State linebacker Khalib Johns gave Pitt a second chance. Three plays later, running back Derrick Davis Jr. was in the end zone.

Narduzzi had a feeling that, if fourth down failed, he would get another chance to score later in the game. He was right. He had several chances.

Pitt ended up having its way with the Kent State defense, recording points on 8 of 11 possessions. Pitt’s 55 points were its most in a game since the 2020 opener.

Sauls got his chance later, hitting two field goals, including the second-longest of his career (50 yards). Asked if he second-guessed his coach, Sauls answered immediately.

“Never,” he said. “I know my kicks will come. When my name’s called, I’ll do my job. I like to be aggressive. I’m all about it. I fit that aggressive play style, too. It worked out in our favor. If he wanted to do it again, go ahead.”

Pitt didn’t need a kicker to win its opener, but tougher challenges are ahead. Special teams coach Jacob Bronowski said Sauls, a fifth-year senior, is ready.

“He’s loving the process,” the coach said. “He doesn’t take it for granted. He’s a true leader. He’s a fierce competitor. He’s so dang talented.”

Bronowski liked most of what he saw from his unit Saturday, but he was far from satisfied.

“There is plenty of stuff we can clean up,” he said. “That’s always the encouraging thing after a win, being able to come in and have that mindset we can still get better.”

A great teaching moment surfaced later in the second quarter.

Senior Konata Mumpfield fielded a punt on a bounce, never secured the football and fumbled it into the air. Kent State’s Naim Muhammad grabbed it and sprinted into the end zone. Such mistakes can be excused in the context of a 55-24 victory, but that was little solace for Bronowski.

“I’m sick about that one,” he said. “Our defense takes a lot of pride, as they should, in what they do, and that hurts them. You have to understand the difference between being greedy and being aggressive. It’s one of those things, an older guy, let’s move on. There’s nothing you can do about it now. We can get that corrected in practice. It starts with me as a coach. I have to do a better job of preparing those guys.”

Usually, he has a two-hop rule. If it bounces twice, stay away. Otherwise, use your head as well as your hands.

“I want him to be aggressive. I want us to lead the nation in punt return attempts,” Bronowski said.

Added Narduzzi: “He apologized right after. That’s what you love about Konata and a lot of players on our team. He’s like, ‘My bad. I’m a knucklehead.’ ”

The rest of the day worked out well for Bronowski, including tight end Gavin Bartholomew reaching 1,001 career receiving yards. Bronowski also coaches tight ends.

Earlier, Reid picked up a one-hop punt and returned it 78 yards for a touchdown, simply running away from Kent State defenders.

“The thing about Des, I wish he was a little more explosive,” Bronowski said, joking. “What a fun player to watch. You wish you could give him the ball every single time.”

Which raises another point: Reid is Pitt’s starting running back, and it’s imperative he remains healthy after senior Rodney Hammond Jr. was declared ineligible for the season. Reid (5-foot-8, 175 pounds) had 18 touches Saturday while sharing punt return duties with Mumpfield.

“You have to be in tune to that as a coach, try to take care of him at times and give him some spells,” Bronowski said. “But we’re going to try give him the ball a lot. I think everybody knows that.”

“That dude is as tough a guy as I’ve seen around,” said Narduzzi on Monday, noting a portion of the next staff meeting would be devoted to discussions on Reid’s workload. “You don’t want to do too much with him. Our running back position can be by committee, but he’s a special guy back there. He can handle it.”