‘Always open’: Pitt’s receiving corps looks to take next step in Year 2 of Cignetti’s offense
Receiver coach Tiquan Underwood’s group knows it has something to prove. Although there are many players on Pitt’s roster that enter the 2023 season with something to prove, no position group has more questions to answer than the wideouts. Following a 2022 season where throwing the football was Pitt’s obvious weakness, the Panthers entered camp this week striving to have a much more balanced offense in Year 2 under Frank Cignetti Jr.
While many believe an improved effort through the air begins and ends with the quarterback, those within the Panthers locker room know that in order to take a step forward, those responsible for catching the ball must step up. “We’re going to be able to run the ball and pass the ball efficiently,” senior receiver Bub Means told reporters during spring ball. “There were a lot of plays left on the field last year, and I feel like [Cignetti] is going to make up for every one of them.
He’s like, ‘Oh, yeah, we’re trying to score 60 points a game if we can. ’ I’m looking forward to what our offense can do this year. ” Means is one of two returning starters at receiver, with the other being junior Konata Mumpfield.
After transferring into the program prior to the 2022 season, the duo combined for 85 catches, 952 yards and three touchdowns. While that stat line would look a lot better had it been from one player, rather than two, those numbers are all the Panthers receiving corps has to boast at the moment. Aside from Means and Mumpfield, no other receiver on the roster caught a pass in a Pitt uniform last fall.
Jaden Bradley, Jaylon Barden and Myles Alston, who all saw time as backups in 2022, are no longer with the program. Pitt did add a bit of experience to the receiver position by bringing in redshirt sophomore Daejon Reynolds, who is expected to fill the third starting position, but even he is a bit raw, having only caught 11 passes for 244 yards and a pair of touchdowns. That lack of experience means someone, sometime, will be forced to step up.
Pitt’s young receiver room includes six freshmen, and there is a strong chance the Panthers will rely on at least one of them to play meaningful snaps this season. While the idea of relying on young newcomers to have an instant impact is a bit foreign to his program, Narduzzi boasted over the spring about how well the two veteran wideouts on his team have done at setting a proper example. “I’d say they’ve done an excellent job,” Narduzzi said.
“Those two have been the leaders since January, since we’ve got back to school. They’ve taken over. Bub is a bit more verbal and Konata kinda leads by example — he comes out here and plays his tail off.
” Redshirt freshmen Che Nwabuko and Addison Copeland III should each be in the mix for a rotational spot, as should redshirt junior Jahvante Royal. As far as true freshmen go, Israel Polk and Lamar Seymore were two players who enrolled early and managed to make an impression during spring ball. But that doesn’t mean Narduzzi’s staff will overlook Kenny Johnson and Zion Fowler-El, the other two true freshmen, who each arrive in camp with their own buzz.
Pitt’s receiving corps could also be a spot on the roster where a walk-on works his way into the mix. Redshirt junior Jake McConnachie, specifically, was a player the Post-Gazette heard had a strong spring camp from numerous sources. Young, old, experienced or raw, one thing that Pitt’s 2023 receiver room won’t lack is confidence.
The Panthers believe they will have more success throwing the football this fall, and that belief comes from the efforts each player on the depth chart put in throughout the offseason. “As a group, we call ourselves ‘Waffle House’ because you know we’re always open,” Means said with a smile. “We gotta work to get open all the time.
We’re working on off days, getting on the Jugs machine, running routes, doing everything, and we’re bringing the young guys along so we can make sure we’re developing them and have them ready to play. ” .