Sophomore receiver Kenny Johnson was one of the more promising young Pitt players to return for the Panthers after their 2023 season. Johnson didn’t explode for major stats in his freshman year, but his athletic profile and skill set turned heads and made him one of most talked about players coming into the 2024 season.
On Wednesday, Pitt seniors assembled into their groups of captains that would draft and lead the intrateam Blue-Gold game scheduled for 2 p.m. this Saturday at Acrisure Stadium. The first player selected was Johnson, and that wasn’t much of a surprise.
On Thursday, Pitt’s players assembled for their final official spring practice before the Blue-Gold game with their new teams, and Johnson spoke to media afterward in the team’s meeting room at UPMC Rooney Sports Complex.
“I’m really close to a lot of the captains, so I had a good feeling I had earned more respect from the guys,” Johnson said when asked if he was surprised by being the first overall pick. “Making plays is what you’re supposed to do. That’s normal, but it’s everything else that gets people to respect you. I’ve tried to be a good teammate. I want to be nice, kind and encouraging. You get on teammates when you need to, but you have to build people up; you can’t just tear them down.”
Beyond being a good person, Johnson knew he had to work on his game, specifically his route running and how he can get open.
“My footwork,” Johnson said about what he prioritized during the offseason. “My footwork last year was a little sloppy. Last year was my first year really running routes. In high school, I really played running back, and at wide receiver, it was really just to get me the ball with jet sweeps. The biggest thing I cleaned up was my routes and my footwork. There’s a lot of free access stuff that I wasn’t getting. Now, I’m coming in motion and getting more free releases. I didn’t get a lot of free releases last year and was always in the same spot. There’s just a lot of movement, and I love the amount of movement [new offensive coordinator Kade Bell has] incorporated into this offense.”
Johnson went on to say that his receivers coach from last year — Tiquan Underwood — was the main person who pushed him to get better with his routes at the end of last season. Underwood left Pitt to join the coaching staff of the New England Patriots as an assistant receivers coach back in February, but Johnson said the two remain in contact and he gets advice from him regularly, calling Underwood “the best receivers coach in college football” and saying he earned his path to the NFL.
Gold team captain and senior tight end Gavin Bartholomew made sure Johnson was the team’s first choice in the draft and was excited to get a playmaker receiver who had put in the work in the offseason to improve.
“We wanted him as our receiver,” Bartholomew said. “We needed him as a weapon. He’s shown tremendous growth from last year. We saw what we did last year, and I think he’s just grown a ton more this year during the offseason and spring ball.”
But on top of Johnson’s personal growth, the 6-foot-1, 195-pound receiver from York, Pa., also said he’s found new opportunities in the Panthers’ new offensive scheme under Bell.
“As a receiver, I like that I get one-on-one matchups,” Johnson said of Bell’s offense. “I like [proving] I’m the better man. But it’s really nice to just get a free and easy touchdown. I’ll never complain about that, and Kade gets you some free and easy touchdowns.”
According to Sports Information Systems, Johnson was only put in motion 12 times on passing plays last season. That was the 39th most in the ACC, ranking far behind other top receivers in the conference like Virginia’s Malik Washington, who led the Cavaliers with 95 routes run after using motion.
Bell’s predecessor, Frank Cignetti Jr., coordinated the offense through one of its worst statistical seasons under head coach Pat Narduzzi last season. If Bell’s offense does get a receiver like Johnson more open looks without him having to win routes by pure skill, it could be a resource for the Panthers quarterbacks to make easier reads and get the ball in the hands of their playmakers in space for big plays.
Christopher Carter: ccarter@post-gazette.com and @CarterCritiques on X
First Published: April 11, 2024, 7:51 p.m.
