PITTSBURGH (93.7 The Fan) – Never one to divulge injury information, Pitt Head Coach Pat Narduzzi did say at the end of his final media gathering before hosting Virginia Tech, he liked the way running back Israel Abanikanda is trending.
The ACC’s second-leading rusher with 510 yards and six touchdowns, Abanikanda suffered an injury (apparent shoulder) in the second quarter against Georgia Tech. The Panthers already were without tailback Rodney Hammond, who has been out since the West Virginia game with an unspecified leg injury.
Vincent Davis came in and rushed for 84 yards, but a pair of fumbles in the second half were costly for Pitt. That hasn’t lessoned what Narduzzi thinks of his senior, saying he’s been outstanding in practice.
“We were going to a period and he had a ball in his hand and I came from behind trying to punch it out,” Narduzzi said Thursday. “He said ‘c’mon coach, that was last week. I got this’. That’s how he is. It’s not like he’s like ‘oh my gosh, I’m nervous about ball security.’ You remember a couple of years ago he played with a cast on his hand (and he never dropped a ball).”
Narduzzi said there are options for fullback Daniel Carter, voted the most improved in Spring practice, to get some tailback reps. It’s something the junior for Florida has asked for. Narduzzi said he’s a guy that can bang for a few yards, but doesn’t have the burst of an Abanikanda.
Listen to Me
Narduzzi said they talk ball security every single day. In the second half against Georgia Tech they had turnovers on three straight possessions. He also said, it’s not as if they wanted to start slow. The Panthers punted on their first four possessions and turned it over on downs on the fifth. It triggered a thought about preparation for the Yellow Jackets.
“My number one key to victory last week,” Narduzzi said. “Start fast and be plus in the turnover ratio. We didn’t do either one of them. We are supposed to start fast. We can talk about it, we got to go do it. We can tell them what to do. We have to execute. We got to make plays and play Pitt football.”
Practice Makes…
While Narduzzi said they’ve had good intense practices this week and he would like to hope it carries over to Saturday. You really don’t know. There have been times where he had great practices with little results and visa versa. He feels good about the Virginia Tech matchup.
“They have had great energy this week,” Narduzzi said. “They are ready to go. You got to go out and take it too. No one is going to give you a game.”
“We went through some battles last year. We had Kenny Pickett and we didn’t win every game 52-7. Nobody is going to give you a game, these are all hard games. For anybody to think you are going to beat a Georgia Tech or a Virginia Tech just because you showed up at Acrisure Stadium. You’re crazy.”