Jimbo Covert wasn’t supposed to find out until Friday, but got a sneaking suspicion earlier in the week that something might be up.
Wednesday, he figured it out. Pitt was going to retire his No. 75 jersey at halftime of the game Saturday against Notre Dame.
“It was intended to be a big surprise and I think they did a pretty good job for a while,” Covert said.
“When I [found out], I just had the same feeling that I thought I would have, and it was just overwhelming.”
A cavalcade of Covert’s former teammates and coaches — including Dan Marino, Tony Dorsett, Bill Fralic, Mike Ditka and Jackie Sherrill — were on hand at Heinz Field to honor their friend.
“I don’t want to say a role model, but kind of,” Fralic told Covert. “I always have been a little rough around the edges; you were pretty buttoned up and still are.”
Marino added that it’s the relationships he developed at Pitt that make reunions like this one special.
“I love the university,” Marino said. “I grew up in Oakland. On my front porch, I could see the Cathedral of Learning. That’s it. It’s relationships, it’s the people you live with and work with and learn from and love over the years. That’s why you come back, and it’s important. It really is.”
The alumni were also unanimous in their support for new athletic director Scott Barnes, as well as football coach Pat Narduzzi.
“There’s a few [Miami] Dolphins coaches that worked with Pat, and when the university here hired him, they were like, ‘You should be excited because he’s a real guy. He’s a real coach,’ ” Marino said.
Covert said he feels that Pitt has made a “recommitment to excellence.”
“When the chancellor [Patrick Gallagher] came in, he brought a team that he’s assembled with Scott Barnes and Pat Narduzzi, and some other folks, that have been pretty special,” Covert said.
“That’s what it is here. It’s not just one person, it’s a team commitment.”
Sam Werner: swerner@post-gazette.com and Twitter @SWernerPG
First Published: November 7, 2015, 4:14 p.m.
