The sixth practice of Pitt’s summer camp Tuesday was a big day for the players who put on full pads for the first time and were permitted to do what most of them enjoy most — hit someone as hard as they can.
It also was one of the hottest days of camp, with temperatures hitting the 80s before noon.
Yet that wasn’t the reason for coach Pat Narduzzi’s anxiety. The risk of injury is always present, a concern that is heightened on live days as the opener Aug. 31 gets closer.
“We won’t go live the whole time,” he said before the start of practice that included two live periods. “You always get scared any time you go in pads and you’re going live periods and guys getting rolled up on. If you can guarantee that there was nobody going to be hurt, we’ll go live the whole day. What do you do? How much do you do? Just to protect our guys.”
He said he wants to teach players that those so-called thud periods are just as important “without everybody falling all over the place.”
“Anytime you have people falling on the ground, you get scared.”
Nonetheless, Narduzzi wants to see some spirited activity during live periods, and he expects to get that from junior running back Desmond Reid and senior wide receiver Konata Mumpfield.
Reid (5-foot-8, 175 pounds) has not allowed his size to be an impediment in his first year at Pitt after transferring from Western Carolina.
“You don’t have to be the tallest guy in the world. The smallest guy we got out there might be the toughest guy we have out there,” he said, referring to Reid. “Size doesn’t really matter. It’s the size of your chest cavity that matters. If you can find a way to measure that thing, you’d be great recruiters because you can go in high schools and just measure his heart instead of his size, his girth or his 40 time. That, to me, is what’s important.”
Reid and wide receivers Raphael Williams Jr. and Censere Lee came from Western Carolina and are under 6-foot.
“They’re just athletic guys who can catch the ball,” the coach said.
• Meanwhile, Narduzzi called Mumpfield a “War Daddy.”
“Every day he’s consistent,” the coach said. “Watching him every day do his business, he’s tough. He knows how to take care of his body. He’s got the whole package down.”
Where did the term “War Daddy” originate?
The nickname was first given to World War II tank-platoon commander Lafayette Green Pool, who drove the 3rd Armoured division into Nazi Germany and was credited with 12 confirmed tank kills and 258 armored vehicle and self-propelled gun kills.
The term is often used by football coaches to describe the toughest players on the team, perhaps a big defensive lineman. The fact that Narduzzi used it on an 185-pound wide receiver is an indication that Mumpfield is having a good camp.
• The competition at center continues with N.C. State transfer Lyndon Cooper being pushed by Terrence Moore, who started nine games there last season.
”Cooper came out (as the first center), because Terrence didn’t finish spring ball as the guy, and Terrence is closing on him,” Narduzzi said. “He was closing on him in the summer. It’s a battle. You love that.”
Moore was injured in the spring, giving Cooper an early edge.
”Coop did a nice job, but we’ll find out what goes on here,” the coach said.
Both players have the ability to move to guard, but that’s not the current plan.
“It would be unfair to move a guy and let him play a lot of guard and say you lost that (center) spot,” Narduzzi said. “We’ll try to get to that as soon as we can so we can get the best guy on the field.”
Narduzzi said Moore played well last season. “He helped us win three games. We want more competition at that spot. It’s never good enough. It was great for his first year, but obviously we want better.”