By TRACY WATSON

For The Times Leader

PITTSBURGH — After a late-season winning streak and a surprising trip to the Atlantic Coast Conference championship game against eventual National Champion Clemson, Coach Pat Narduzzi’s Pitt squad will be taking a wait-and-see type approach to the 2019 football campaign.

The Panthers return two of the finest skill position players in the ACC’s Coastal Division, but also lost a ton of production at running back and their leading receiver in catches from a season ago. Not to mention four of their five starting offensive linemen.

Add to that a defense that was set to return six starters before the agonizing loss of potential all-conference defensive end Rashad Weaver, who will miss the upcoming campaign after tearing his ACL over the summer.

Weaver led the team with 6.5 sacks as a sophomore last year while recording 14 tackles for loss and recovering three fumbles.

“Rashad Weaver embodies what Pitt football is all about,” Narduzzi said earlier this summer after the injury. “He is an outstanding player, student and leader. Everyone in this program shares his disappointment, but we know he will overcome this adversity and return better than ever.”

Sitting at 3-4 a season ago, the Panthers rattled off four consecutive victories, including a win over then-No. 23 Virginia, before moving into the Top 25 at No. 24. However, the season ended with losses to Miami (24-3), Clemson (42-10) and a hard-to-swallow 14-13 defeat to Stanford in the Sun Bowl.

In all, Narduzzi’s squad played 12 of their 14 games in 2018 against teams that finished the season bowl-eligible. The team’s biggest downfall was being outscored in the second half in each of their seven losses by a combined total of 89 points.

Offensively Pitt will look to junior quarterback Kenny Pickett (6-foot-2, 225 pounds) to lead the way, especially as running game looks to get its footing following the losses of Qadree Ollison and Darrin Hall. That duo combined for 347 carries, 2,422 yards (with both going over 1,000 yards on the season) and 21 touchdowns. Fullback George Aston, who opened up many holes for the pair and is considered one of the school’s all-time best, has also departed.

Pickett was 180 of 310 for 1,969 yards, 12 touchdowns with six interceptions a year ago and is also the team’s leading returning rusher with 485 yards and three scores. He will be backed-up by promising redshirt freshman Nick Patti (6-3, 215) or senior transfer Jeff George, Jr. (6-3, 220).

There is plenty of potential behind Pickett with junior tailback A.J. Davis (6-0, 215) slated to get the bulk of the carries along with a pair of sophomore lettermen in Todd Sibley, Jr. (5-9, 225) and V’Lique Carter (5-9, 170). However, those three combined for just 351 yards and two touchdowns last season.

Redshirt freshman Mychale Salahuddin was one of the Panthers’ highest rated recruits in 2018 and could make an impact as well as well as a pair of promising freshmen in Daniel Carter and Vincent Davis.

Pitt’s most explosive playmaker is senior wide receiver Maurice Ffrench (5-11, 200), who caught 35 passes for 515 yards and six scores as a junior. Ffrench was also huge on special teams, leading the ACC with a 27.4 kickoff return average and a pair of touchdowns. Ffrench scored 10 touchdowns in all by receiving, return and rushing.

Junior Taysir Mack (6-2, 205) had a quick impact also after transferring from Indiana, racking up 557 receiving yards on 25 grabs to lead the ACC and finish second nationally with a 22.28 yards per catch average. Seniors Aaron Mathews (6-4, 220) and Tre Tipton (6-0, 185) will be major targets and will be complimented by sophomores Donatvius Butler-Jenkins (6-0, 215), Shocky Jacques-Louis (6-0, 185) and Michael Smith.

Last year’s starting tight end, sophomore Carson Van Lynn has moved to the offensive line opening the door for sophomore Grant Carrigan (6-7, 280) and senior Will Gragg (6-4, 245).

The only returning offensive lineman is center Jimmy Morrissey (6-3, 305), a two-year starter who is coming off an All-ACC campaign. Van Lynn (6-5, 300) is battling sophomore Carter Warren (6-5, 320) for the left tackle spot while juniors Bryce Hargrove (6-4, 315) and Brandon Ford (6-5, 310) are fighting for the left guard spot.

Sophomore Gabe Houy (6-6, 310) and freshman Blake Zubovic (6-4, 315) could share time at right tackle with senior Chase Brown (6-5, 310) and Rashad Wheeler (6-3, 280) competing at right guard. Michigan graduate transfer Nolan Ulizio could also end up being a factor at one of the tackle spots along with freshmen Liam Dick and Matt Goncalves.

The Panthers will also begin the season with a new offensive coordinator in Mark Whipple.

“Mark Whipple is a guy that has turned every quarterback he has been involved with into gold and now he is starting with a guy in Kenny Pickett that is already a big piece of gold,” Narduzzi said earlier this summer. “Kenny touches the ball every play and has to have confidence in himself and everyone around him. He is a very talented kid and I really believe you could see him explode under Mark Whipple this year.

While Weaver was expected to be the anchor of the defense junior Patrick Jones II (6-5, 260) will have to pick up the slack on the other end of the line while sophomore Deslin Alexandre (6-4, 265) will try to fill Weaver’s shoes with redshirt freshman John Morgan (6-2, 255) also getting a look.

A pair of prominent contributors at tackle the last two years are back in Amir Watts (6-3, 295) and Keyshon Camp (6-4, 285) and they will be joined by sophomore Jaylen Twyman (6-2, 290) and freshman Devin Danielson (6-1, 295). Others who could see action are Tyler Bentley, David Green and Noah Palmer.

There are seven lettermen available at linebacker to help make up for the loss of a pair of multi-year starters. Junior Elias Reynolds is back in the middle after starting the final seven games last year and finishing fourth on the team with 49 tackles.

Senior Saleem Brightwell (6-0, 230) is back in the middle after spending last year at the Money spot and is competing with redshirt freshmen Wendell Davis and Jackson Henry. Junior Chase Pine (6-2, 250) will be the Money backer with sophomores Kyle Nunn and Albert Tucker in pursuit while junior Phil Campbell III (6-1, 220) and sophomore Cam Bright (6-0, 225) battle for the Star position.

University of Florida graduate transfer Kylan Johnson could also see plenty of action on the outside.

The defensive backfield could be the strong point with three returning starters and five additional lettermen. Senior free safety Damar Hamlin (6-1, 195) was the team’s leading tackler with 90 stops, along with a pair of interceptions, in 2018 and is considered one of the best in the conference.

There is also experienced depth with senior Jazzee Stocker and junior Therran Coleman.

Sophomore Paris Ford (6-0, 190) and junior Bricen Garner (6-1, 190) are battling for the strong safety spot while senior Dane Jackson (6-0, 190) is a veteran at cornerback who has started 25 games the past two campaigns. Jackson led the defense with 14 pass breakups.

and forced four fumbles last year. The other corner spot will go to either junior Jason Pinnock (6-0, 200) or Damarri Mathis (5-11, 195) with additional competition coming from Marquis Williams, Judson Tallandier and Erick Hallett.

The Panthers have one of the top kickers in the ACC in junior Alex Kessman, who led the team with a career-high 79 points last season, including hitting 13-of-17 field goal attempts and 40-of-42 PATs. He also set a school record with four field goals of 50-plus yards. Jake Scarton is the team’s holder and back-up kicker.

Kirk Christodoulou is back to handle the punting duties after averaging 41.4 yards a kick as a freshman while junior Cal Adomitis is in his third season as the long snapper.

The Panthers are 28-24 overall in Narduzzi’s four campaigns on the sidelines including three bowl bids. Pitt has also participated in a bowl game in 11 of the previous 12 seasons.