2025 Pitt Panthers

Don Wassall

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Pitt was 7-6 in 2024. Head coach Pat Narduzzi has become Pittsburgh's college version of Mike Tomlin, a mediocre coach who is now in his eleventh season despite a number of disappointing seasons and yet is signed through 2030.

Since 2005 Pitt has started 8, 8, 8, 9, 9, 11, 11, 10, 9, 7, 8, 6, 10, 4, 6, 6, 5, 7 and 5 Whites. 6 this year.

QB Eli Holstein is a redshirt sophomore transfer from Alabama. He started 10 games last year while missing 3 others with an injury and acquitted himself well -- 180 of 291 for 2,228/17/7 while adding 318 yards and 3 TDs on the ground. He has good size at 6' 4" and 225 pounds.

The other bright spot on offense is that Pitt starts Whites at both tackle positions, Jeff Persi at LT and Ryan Baer at RT. Persi is 6' 8" and 315 pounds and was a four star recruit who transferred to Pitt from Michigan.

Jake Overman starts at tight end. He takes over for Gavin Bartholomew, who was drafted by the Vikings in the sixth round this year but who missed training camp with an injury and will likely end up on a practice squad, whether Minnesota's or someone else's.

LT Sean Fitzsimmons is the sole White starter on defense, with end Joey Zelinsky the only other overachiever on the two-deep. There are no White receivers or running backs on the three-deep. Typical Narduzzi team.

QB: Eli Holstein
LT: Jeff Persi
LG: Keith Gouveia
RT: Ryan Baer
TE: Jake Overman

LT: Sean Fitzsimmons
 
Nice write up Don....

Eli Holstein has what it takes to be an NFL QB. He played HS Football abt 16 miles from the house at Zachary HS in Louisiana
. Watched him play a few times; you could tell his Junior year he would be a starting college QB. Hopefully he can stay healthy.

Pitt is a par for the course caste position team.
 
Pitt crushed Duquesne 61-9 in their opener, a not unexpected result. What caught my eye reading the sports section of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette today was a headline: "WR Isabella Hangs With the Big Boys." Duquesne WR Joey Isabella, a sixth year player who is a graduate student, caught 8 passes for 120 yards against Pitt, "the one bright spot in an otherwise tough game" as the article put it.

I'm sure you know where I'm going with this. Seeing the name Isabella I immediately wondered if he was related to Andy Isabella, the speedster and highly productive receiver at UMass who was drafted in the second round by Arizona but never got a genuine chance to play, even though he flashed during the few opportunities he was on the field. "Team chemistry" or something like that.

Anyway, while the article about Joey didn't mention Andy, a search quickly showed that Joey is indeed Andy's little brother. He had 11 receiving TDs last year, including an 85 yarder, so he undoubtedly has the family speed. Playing for Duquesne he'll never get a whiff at the NFL but figured I'd share it here in the Pitt thread as we won't be doing any write-ups on Duquesne any time soon.

 
Me too Don! Immediately thought of Andy Isabella when i saw Joey's name

Yes indeed....Put out those stats Sunday in POST #85 Week One thread

Who could forget Rookie WR Andy Isabella's 89 yard TD vs 49ers...still only 28 years old; supposed to be entering the prime of his career

AI Overview
UMass wide receiver Andy Isabella had a dominant individual performance against the heavily favored Georgia Bulldogs in a 2018 game, recording 15 catches for 219 yards and 2 TDs despite his team's eventual 66-27 loss. Isabella's impressive showing, which included scoring the last two touchdowns of his UMass career, highlighted his speed and ability to get open against one of the nation's best secondaries. His performance was so notable that Georgia's star cornerback Deandre Baker was notably unable to cover him, and Isabella's 15 receptions were the second-most Georgia had ever allowed.
 
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