At the start of every Pitt practice, quarterbacks and specialists warm up on their own on while the rest of the Panthers stretch on the adjacent turf surface. Cal Adomitis practices his long-snapping, Alex Kessman kicks field goals, and Kenny Pickett loosens his arm. That's the usual on the South Side.
The question entering Tuesday morning, though, was whether or not Pickett, who missed last weekend's game against Delaware, would be testing out his throwing shoulder. Would he suit up for Pitt's first practice of the week? Would he chat up offensive coordinator Mark Whipple like he normally does?
Well, the answer was yes. To all of the above.
Pickett was active and throwing in full pads Tuesday morning. In the 30-minute window available to reporters, the junior zipped stick routes to tight ends, connected on corner routes to receivers and handed the ball off to his backs without issue.
It was pretty routine stuff in a non-competitive atmosphere. Media members were not permitted to stay for 7-on-7s, which is normal. But Pickett looked comfortable in the limited reps open to reporters, a positive for the Panthers as a trip to Duke looms.
Pitt scraped by without Pickett over the weekend, managing 17 points in a three-point win over FCS program Delaware. Pickett, who left with an injury and later returned during Pitt's upset win over UCF, tried to warm up prior to the Panthers' Week 5 tilt, but couldn't go.
Backup quarterback Nick Patti was solid in Pickett's absence. He completed 23 of 37 passes for 271 yards, and a fourth-quarter touchdown pass lifted the Panthers to their third win of the season. But approaching a full ACC slate — after falling behind in the divisional standings in Week 1 — Pitt would love to have its starting quarterback going on the road to face a Coastal foe.
When asked Monday if Pickett would play in Durham, Panthers head coach Pat Narduzzi offered zero indication either way.
"I thought he'd play last week, so I don't know," the coach said. "We're going to find out. I don't know. I wish I could tell you everything. But I can't tell ya. Don't know."
Tuesday was not confirmation that No. 8 will be full-go against the Blue Devils. But after Pickett "didn't take many snaps at all" last week, per his coach, seeing him sling it around to start Duke week was, at the very least, a step in the right direction.
Return worries
Last season, Maurice Ffrench ranked fifth in the country in yards per kick return (27.4) among those with at least 20 attempts, and his two kick-return touchdowns put him in a tie for tops in the ACC. But 2019 hasn't been Ffrench's year so far on special teams — largely because of a lack of opportunities.
Through five games, Pitt has six kick-return attempts. That's the third-fewest in the conference. Ffrench has returned three kicks for a total of 69 yards, his longest scamper being a 26-yarder in Week 1. Meanwhile, Taysir Mack, Todd Sibley and A.J. Woods have one 20-yard return each.
Still, special teams coordinator Andre Powell is remaining optimistic.
"Any day now we may split one," Powell said Tuesday. "So we're not panicking. We're not awful. We're really close. A foot here, an inch there, a little better angle, then this conversation is totally different. We're going to stay the course and see if we can get it right."
Perhaps that means allowing Ffrench to focus on offense and giving Woods, a true freshman, more of a shot. Woods earned his first opportunity against Delaware "just to give Maurice Ffrench a blow," Narduzzi said Monday.
Ffrench, Woods and Mack were listed as co-starting kick returners this week, a diversion from the previous five depth charts, which featured Ffrench at the top.
"We gave A.J. that opportunity because he's fast," Narduzzi added. "He may be the fastest guy on our football team."
Duke has allowed 2.8 returns per game, which ranks 94th nationally. So perhaps this is the week for Ffrench — or Woods — to get Pitt's return game going.
John McGonigal: jmcgonigal@post-gazette.com and Twitter @jmcgonigal9
First Published: October 1, 2019, 5:05 p.m.
