Tag: ACC football kickoff

Narduzzi: NIL has become ‘pay for play’

Patt Narduzzi has made his perspective on name, image and likeness crystal clear. In the past, Pittsburgh’s head football coach has called NIL “legalized cheating,” saying that although it’s a positive thing that student-athletes can now profit …

Patt Narduzzi has made his perspective on name, image and likeness crystal clear.

In the past, Pittsburgh’s head football coach has called NIL “legalized cheating,” saying that although it’s a positive thing that student-athletes can now profit financially off of their name, image and likeness, NIL creates a disparity in college football. He expressed that guidelines need to be implemented before NIL gets out of control and that a cap should be put in place, similar to the NFL.

When rumors began circulating this spring that Biletnikoff winner and former Pitt wide receiver Jordan Addison was transferring to Southern Cal on a huge NIL deal, ESPN reported that Narduzzi phoned Trojans coach Lincoln Riley multiple times to voice his displeasure after hearing of Southern Cal as a potential transfer destination for Addison. Pitt officials, according to that ESPN report, suspected that tampering could have occurred.

Narduzzi discussed the topic of NIL again this past week at the 2022 ACC Football Kickoff in Charlotte, and didn’t shy away when asked if he thinks NIL has tampered with the loyalty and fairness for players at the collegiate level.

“I do,” Narduzzi told reporters. “I love the opportunity for our players when you talk name, image, and likeness to make money. I want our players to make as much money. And we talk a lot about branding. I told our guys on our trip down yesterday, this is a big and a great opportunity to brand yourself. Who are you as a person? What do you stand for? Those type of things.

“I think the initial name, image, and likeness was to sell your brand, sell your jersey, to watch No. 5 or No. 7 walk around, No. 77 walk around with their jerseys and sell their jerseys, and the more jerseys you sell, the more money you make. I think that’s where initially it stood with name, image, and likeness. You have heard the story, this is old news. Now it’s become more of a pay for play.”

While Narduzzi doesn’t like the direction things are heading in that regard, he believes the NCAA will take measures to better regulate it in the future.

“Obviously, you can’t like where that’s going,” he said, “but I think the NCAA, somebody will get ahold of it and try to put some constraints and some borders on the whole thing.”

Pitt has chip on shoulder as it prepares for ‘challenge’ of defending ACC crown

In the 2021 season, the Clemson Tigers suffered only two ACC losses. One of the losses was at the hands of the University of Pittsburgh led by first-round draft pick Kenny Pickett. The Clemson Insider was able to catch up with Pitt coach Pat …

In the 2021 season, the Clemson Tigers suffered only two ACC losses. One of the losses was at the hands of the University of Pittsburgh led by first-round draft pick Kenny Pickett.

The Clemson Insider was able to catch up with Pitt coach Pat Narduzzi, offensive tackle Carter Warren, linebacker Sirvocea Dennis and defensive lineman Deslin Alexandre to get an insight to their approach for the 2022 football season.

Often it is said that getting to the top is a journey, but staying at the top is the struggle. Pitt enters the new season as the reigning champion. The previous six years, Clemson had claimed the crown of ACC champion, holding a lockdown dominance on the league only to be halted by Pitt’s breakthrough in the previous season.

Fans across the ACC were shocked when the Panthers beat Clemson 27-17 on their home turf only for the Panthers to continue on to beat Wake Forest in Bank of America Stadium for the league crown. Narduzzi addressed the shock with the following comment, “I think Dabo (Swinney) made a comment yesterday about everybody talks about Clemson had a down year, and he is exactly right. People need to wake up. How about the teams that are getting better? I think Pittsburgh is getting better, so we’ll start there,” when the Panthers were ranked to finish fourth in the Coastal Division at the beginning of the 2021 season.

A proverbial chip lies on their shoulder with the primary focus on the intention of defending their ACC title. Narduzzi addressed these circumstances by saying, “That’s always a challenge, but I would rather have that challenge than be sitting at the bottom trying to get my way up the ladder. But it’s never easy I think.”

Which is the mentality the Panthers possess when it comes to Saturdays on the field. An asset Pitt has this season is that a large portion of returners will suit up for the Panthers once again.

Offensively, there are open positions at quarterback, wide receiver and tight end. However, the Panthers are prepared to fill the void with the return of its top three running backs, two wide receivers and the addition of two top transfers. Narduzzi quickly voiced his opinion with, “I think we’ve got a good football team returning.”

From a coaching perspective, Mark Whipple and Brennan Marion have bid Pitt farewell only to be replaced by incoming offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Frank Cignetti Jr. and passing-game coordinator and wide receivers coach Tiquan Underwood. On the news of new additions to the team, quarterback transfer from the University of Southern California, Kedon Slovis, enters the battle against Nick Patti to battle for Pickett’s starting spot.

When addressing the battle of the quarterbacks, Narduzzi stated, “Replacing Kenny is never easy. Kenny Pickett was an outstanding football player. He was the leader of our football team.” Building off of this statement, Narduzzi addressed the battle of the quarterbacks by saying, “Those two guys are battling. They both had great springs. I think we can win a lot of games with both of them. I think that we’ll have a very, very competitive August at camp with them.”

With an unfortunate postseason injury to Patti, many Panther fans believe that the starting quarterback position is to the advantage of Slovis. Although the Tigers do not face Pitt in the regular season, it is possible the two may see each other in the ACC Championship.

–Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images 

Dear Old Clemson’s first event is July 24. Now there is a new way to support Clemson student-athletes. Come out and meet the freshmen football players at this meet and greet autograph session. If you sign up for certain club levels you get free access to all Dear Old Clemson events. Purchase your tickets today at Dear Old Clemson.

After being ‘criminally overrated’ last season, Brown ‘much more excited’ about Tar Heels entering 2022

The University of North Carolina met with the media at the annual ACC Football Kickoff on Thursday. Head coach Mack Brown, alongside running back British Brooks, wide receiver Josh Downs, and linebacker Cedric Gray, addressed expectations they have …

The University of North Carolina met with the media at the annual ACC Football Kickoff on Thursday. Head coach Mack Brown, alongside running back British Brooks, wide receiver Josh Downs, and linebacker Cedric Gray, addressed expectations they have for the 2022 season.

Brown was confronted with questions about the disappointing 2021 season and how he plans to turn the tide for the Tar Heels.

UNC came into the 2021 season ranked No. 10 nationally and, as said by Brown, “criminally overrated.” Tar Heels fans had high hopes for the team under the leadership and guidance of Brown, a Hall of Fame coach. However, with a 6-7 record at the end of the season, there is a lot of speculation surrounding the Tar Heels’ offense in 2022.

Brown addressed his own performance coaching. He believes he failed the team last season in his consistency throughout the season. According to Brown, “The team takes on the mentality of the coach.”

Brown thinks the mentality revival the team had in the spring started with the implementation of three key ingredients: passion, accountability and toughness. Brown stated a focus for the team is “doing a better job
at fundamentals.” The Tar Heels seem to be taking a revamped approach to the foundation of their offense and are using what they learned from the woes of last season to make positive changes for the season ahead.

Brown expressed his high hopes for the offense. Brown said the Heels need to tighten up their sacks, change their offensive schemes and reignite that excitement on offense if they want to improve their ACC record this season. Downs discussed the youth of the wide receiver room but has high hopes for the difference the receivers’ performance can make for the UNC offense.

Many questions were directed toward UNC’s defense and how
defensive coordinator Gene Chizik can be an integral part in orchestrating more success on defense for the Tar Heels. Gray discussed how Chizik’s coaching is going to make an impact and hopefully get momentum going for UNC next season.

“Coach Chizik is creating a standard amongst the defense and a culture amongst the defense,” Gray said. “He is really just honing in on the little details.”

As one of the leaders on the UNC defense, Gray believes the defense under Chizik can be a threat in the upcoming season. That sentiment was backed up by Brown.

“I am really excited about what Gene Chizik brings to our defense,” said Brown, who believes the success and experience of Chizik at both Texas and Auburn will be reflected in how he leads the Tar Heels’ defense this season.

When asked about hope for the season as opposed to the expectations placed on the Tar Heels before the 2021 season, Brown expressed, “I am much more excited about where we are.”

Brown believes the work the team put in during the offseason will help the team make strides in its performance in the season ahead.

Dear Old Clemson’s first event is July 24. Now there is a new way to support Clemson student-athletes. Come out and meet the freshmen football players at this meet and greet autograph session. If you sign up for certain club levels you get free access to all Dear Old Clemson events. Purchase your tickets today at Dear Old Clemson.

Swinney goes to bat for Uiagalelei, bluntly defends his QB

Clemson’s head coach is “All In” on his quarterback heading into the 2022 season, and Dabo Swinney went to bat in defense of D.J. Uiagalelei this week. During an interview on SiriusXM at the 2022 ACC Football Kickoff, Swinney was very forthright …

Clemson’s head coach is “All In” on his quarterback heading into the 2022 season, and Dabo Swinney went to bat in defense of D.J. Uiagalelei this week.

During an interview on SiriusXM at the 2022 ACC Football Kickoff, Swinney was very forthright while explaining why he has no shortage of confidence in Uiagalelei, delivering candid commentary defending the rising junior signal-caller who is coming off a difficult 2021 campaign during which he was tasked with taking over for Trevor Lawrence as the Tigers’ starter.

“My quarterback, and you mentioned him, this dude’s a freak,” Swinney said. “And people talk about him like he’s some slapdick from Eastaboga Community College, and this guy can play the game at the highest level. He’s going to play the game at the highest level. And he wasn’t great last year. He was awesome as a freshman. He was awesome his whole career in high school. He’s a winner. He’s got all the tools, all the intangibles. But he is better because of what he went through.

“He’s had a lot of challenges and then, all of a sudden, we’ve got three different centers, we’ve got six OL, one’s a true freshman, a true freshman running back, all of our receivers are out. Well, now, he tries to do too much. He loses his confidence. The first time in his life he’s had to deal with some criticism. This guy ain’t never been criticized. He’s been the GOAT his (whole) life. Now, all of a sudden, he’s got MilkBone underwear on and they’re chomping at him everywhere he goes.”

Uiagalelei completed only 55.6 percent of his passes while throwing more interceptions (10) than touchdowns (nine) in his first full season as a starter last year, after bursting onto the scene as a true freshman in 2020 with four touchdowns and no interceptions in two starts vs. Boston College and Notre Dame.

Dear Old Clemson’s first event is July 24. Now there is a new way to support Clemson student-athletes. Come out and meet the freshmen football players at this meet and greet autograph session. If you sign up for certain club levels you get free access to all Dear Old Clemson events. Purchase your tickets today at Dear Old Clemson.

 

ACC Football Kickoff: Phillips Q&A Session

The 2022 ACC Football Kickoff in Charlotte kicked off Wednesday morning with ACC Commissioner Jim Phillips taking the podium at The Westin Charlotte. Phillips touched on a number of different topics, including conference realignment, College …

The 2022 ACC Football Kickoff in Charlotte kicked off Wednesday morning with ACC Commissioner Jim Phillips taking the podium at The Westin Charlotte.

Phillips touched on a number of different topics, including conference realignment, College Football Playoff expansion, the Grant of Rights, revenue and much more.

Check out Phillips’ question-and-answer session at the ACC Football Kickoff in The Clemson Insider’s video below:

Dear Old Clemson’s first event is July 24. Now there is a new way to support Clemson student-athletes. Come out and meet the freshmen football players at this meet and greet autograph session. If you sign up for certain club levels you get free access to all Dear Old Clemson events. Purchase your tickets today at Dear Old Clemson.

Cristobal: Clemson has set ‘very high standard’ for Miami, rest of ACC

CHARLOTTE – Before taking the job at his alma mater late last year, Mario Cristobal spent the last four seasons in the Pacific Northwest leading Oregon’s program. It’s been much longer than that since the last time he was in the ACC as an assistant …

CHARLOTTE – Before taking the job at his alma mater late last year, Mario Cristobal spent the last four seasons in the Pacific Northwest leading Oregon’s program. It’s been much longer than that since the last time he was in the ACC as an assistant on Larry Coker’s Miami staff in the mid-2000s.

Now that’s he back in the league at the helm of the program he once coached and played for, the Hurricanes’ head man said, from his perspective as least, the outside perception of the ACC hasn’t matched the general view that the league is among the weaker of the Power Five conferences.

Cristobal pointed to Clemson as Exhibit A.

“He’s built a great program,” Cristobal said Thursday of the success Dabo Swinney has had at Clemson. “He’s certainly set a very high standard for their program and for the conference. He’s done a great job.”

Cristobal also mentioned the history of Florida State and Miami, though the two storied programs are still trying to regain their elite status after dropping off in recent years. Miami has just one 10-win season since 2003 and hasn’t won an ACC title since that year, and FSU, the only other ACC program to make a CFP appearance, has averaged just 5.2 wins a season over the last five.

Cristobal noted Wake Forest’s success over the last couple of seasons, including achieving its highest Associated Press ranking last fall (No. 10), as well as Pittsburgh winning its first-ever Coastal Division title a season ago. The “hard-nosed toughness and discipline” of teams like Boston College hasn’t gone unnoticed either, he said.

“I could go on and on about the teams,” Cristobal said. “We’ve always felt that the ACC is a very strong conference, and it’s our job as coaches to continue to elevate the standards for the conference.”

But he again pointed to Clemson, which has won six of the last seven ACC championships, as the league’s clear standard bearer, a program he’s seen up close twice on the sport’s biggest stage. Cristobal was Nick Saban’s offensive line coach and run-game coordinator when Alabama faced the Tigers in the 2016 and 2017 national championship games. The Crimson Tide won a five-point game the first time around before Clemson exacted its revenge with a win in the rematch, its first of two CFP titles in a three-year span.

“ If not for a couple of spectacular special teams plays (in the 2016 title game), who knows how that could’ve gone, right?” Cristobal said. “A surprise onside kick and a kickoff return for a touchdown. It’s a game-changer. And then a year later, a very tight game as well that went down to the wire and Clemson won.”

Cristobal and his Hurricanes will see Clemson again this fall when Miami travels to Memorial Stadium on Nov. 19.

Photo credit: Jim Dedmon/USA Today Sports

Narduzzi defends the ACC: ‘People need to wake up’

Amid all the conversation surrounding conference realignment and the chatter about how the Big Ten and SEC are poised to dominate college football as a pair of “superconferences,” Pittsburgh head coach Pat Narduzzi recently took a shot at the Big …

Amid all the conversation surrounding conference realignment and the chatter about how the Big Ten and SEC are poised to dominate college football as a pair of “superconferences,” Pittsburgh head coach Pat Narduzzi recently took a shot at the Big Ten and Michigan State, where he served as the Spartans’ defensive coordinator from 2007-14.

Narduzzi’s Pitt squad and his former MSU program clashed in the Chick-Fil-A Peach Bowl last season, with the Panthers falling to the Spartans by a score of 31-21.

“We talk about Big Ten and SEC and ACC. That was one of the best Big Ten teams last year, then let’s go to the Big Ten and win it every year. So I don’t want to hear about this Big Ten dominance and SEC dominance,” Narduzzi said on the Bazzy’s Black and Gold Banter podcast.

On Thursday at the 2022 ACC Football Kickoff in Charlotte, Narduzzi was asked if he wanted to elaborate on those strong comments and explain why he felt that way.

“Not really,” Narduzzi said, laughing. “I guess it was a long summer.”

“You hear all these things during the summer about the Power 2s and all this stuff,” Narduzzi continued. “We’ll just start there. You know, we play some darn good football in the ACC, and I think people forget about it.”

Narduzzi went on to discuss the strength of the ACC and the strangeness of the 10-win season Dabo Swinney’s Clemson team posted in 2021 being perceived as a “down” year.

“I think Dabo made a comment yesterday about everybody talks about, oh, Clemson had a down year, and he is exactly right. People need to wake up,” Narduzzi said.

“How about the teams that are getting better? I think Pittsburgh is getting better, so we’ll start there. Again, any time you get — I’ve coached in the Big Ten for eight years, so I know it. I don’t know the SEC, so I’m not going to claim. I’ve never coached in the SEC, but I do know the Big Ten. I feel very confident — and, again, it’s not being arrogant. It’s just kind of knowing the landscape and knowing what we played against in the Peach Bowl, just would have liked to have our backup quarterback to play the whole game.”

“That’s just confidence,” Narduzzi added. “That’s no disrespect to the Big Ten or Michigan State. It’s just about Pitt and about the ACC.”

Narduzzi then clarified the point he was trying to make.

“I think ACC football is really, really good, and that’s really the comment there that I was trying to get across,” he said.

Dear Old Clemson’s first event is July 24. Now there is a new way to support Clemson student-athletes. Come out and meet the freshmen football players at this meet and greet autograph session. If you sign up for certain club levels you get free access to all Dear Old Clemson events. Purchase your tickets today at Dear Old Clemson.

Phillips addresses topic of College Football Playoff expansion

ACC Commissioner Jim Phillips addressed a number of topics when he took the podium Wednesday morning at the 2022 ACC Football Kickoff in Charlotte, including College Football Playoff expansion. Phillips said the conference “continues to be …

ACC Commissioner Jim Phillips addressed a number of topics when he took the podium Wednesday morning at the 2022 ACC Football Kickoff in Charlotte, including College Football Playoff expansion.

Phillips said the conference “continues to be supportive of an expanded College Football Playoff.” The league voted against expansion last year, he said, because issues such as the new FBS calendar need to be addressed.

“As you know, the ACC took what we believe was a necessary stance regarding last fall’s CFP proposal,” Phillips said. “This was based on what we feel we must all come together to address before rushing into a new model — the implantation of a 365-day calendar, health and safety, and several other items that you know well. Engagement is ongoing with our schools and my fellow commissioners to chart a path forward prior to the expiration of the current CFP contract in 2026. We had two great meetings in April and June, and I’m confident that our concerns and others’ concerns will be addressed, and a new model with greater access will ultimately come to pass. We will do our part in the ACC to make it happen, but there’s some more work to be done.”

Phillips indicated that progress on expansion has been made, saying that CFP commissioners have made “great progress” in their last two meetings this year.

Phillips expects there may be news at the end of August regarding progress toward a new CFP structure, though he said there’s a lot of things to discuss.

“We’re making progress with the Transformation Committee, and I think you’re going to see something at the end of August that’s pretty substantial, with more work to be done,” Phillips said. “I think these things are walking along together, along with a new NCAA president. I don’t expect us in September, when we get together, to line up and announce a new CFP structure.

“But I think we made great progress over our last two meetings, both in April and in June, and everybody’s motivated to come together. So, I don’t know that there’s this separation now with those things. We’ll see. But I think the health and safety, the 365-day calendar review… We’ve talked about access, automatic qualifiers… there’s a lot of things to discuss. But those things, again, I would tell you I do not think have really separated that much.”

Dear Old Clemson’s first event is July 24. Now there is a new way to support Clemson student-athletes. Come out and meet the freshmen football players at this meet and greet autograph session. If you sign up for certain club levels you get free access to all Dear Old Clemson events. Purchase your tickets today at Dear Old Clemson.

Swinney backs Uiagalelei: ‘I don’t need anybody on a message board to tell me who DJ is’

During Clemson’s press conference at the ACC Football Kickoff in Charlotte on Wednesday, head coach Dabo Swinney fielded a question that led to him voicing his confidence in rising junior quarterback DJ Uiagalelei. Swinney was asked about the …

During Clemson’s press conference at the ACC Football Kickoff in Charlotte on Wednesday, head coach Dabo Swinney fielded a question that led to him voicing his confidence in rising junior quarterback DJ Uiagalelei.

Swinney was asked about the opinions that Clemson internet message boards have had regarding Uiagalelei and his on-field performance over the last two years, including last season when he was the subject of criticism amid his struggles as a sophomore following his sensational freshman debut two seasons ago.

“They had a lot of great opinions his freshman year, didn’t they?” Swinney said. “They wanted me to sit Trevor (Lawrence) for DJ. I had some of them, ‘I think we should sit Trevor. He is not playing great. Let’s put this DJ.’

“DJ set records as a freshman. He did an amazing job for us. Last year it was a struggle. Like I told DJ, that comes with being the quarterback. Comes with being the head coach. You get a lot of praise and you get all the criticism. That just comes with it. That’s part of — comes with the territory so to speak.”

Filling in for Lawrence to make a couple of starts against Boston College and Notre Dame as a true freshman in 2020, Uiagalelei threw for 781 yards and four touchdowns with no interceptions in those two contests.

The former five-star prospect led Clemson to the largest comeback in Memorial Stadium history (18 points) in the Boston College game, and his 342 passing yards in that game were the third-most by a Clemson freshman (true or redshirt) in his starting debut. A week later, Uiagalelei’s 439 passing yards at Notre Dame were the third-most in a game in school history and broke the school freshman record of 435 (set by Deshaun Watson against North Carolina in 2014), while the 439 passing yards at Notre Dame were also the most ever thrown against the Irish by an opposing quarterback.

Overall, as a freshman, Uiagalelei completed 78-of-117 passes for 914 yards with five touchdowns and no interceptions across 10 games. His 146.4 pass efficiency rating was fifth-best by an ACC freshman quarterback since 2002 (min. 100 passes), and he became only the second FBS player since 2000 to throw at least 115 passes and record at least five passing touchdowns and no interceptions.

Uiagalelei’s statistics in his first full season as a starter last year were a stark contrast to those he posted as a freshman, as Uiagalelei experienced his share of struggles while completing only 55.6 percent of his passes with more interceptions (10) than touchdown passes (nine).

Entering the 2021 season as a strong Heisman candidate, Uiagalelei was plagued by inaccuracy and poor decision making, and his aforementioned completion percentage ranked 98th nationally.

Swinney pointed out that as opposed to when Lawrence and Deshaun Watson were playing quarterback for Clemson, Uiagalelei’s mistakes were amplified last season as the rest of the Tigers’ offense around him had issues as well, such as inconsistent play up front on the offensive line and injuries at the running back and receiver positions.

“Last year, as I’ve said many times, I’ve never had a young quarterback, first-year starter who didn’t make mistakes, but the past young quarterbacks that I have had, the last two young quarterbacks, Deshaun Watson and Trevor, they made mistakes, but we were much better around them,” Swinney said. “Whereas with DJ, we were not very good around him. So his mistakes were magnified.”

Swinney believes last season was part of the maturation process for Uiagalelei, and it’s all about how he responds this coming season.

“Then I think this guy, all he has ever done is win, and now all of a sudden it’s disappointment, there’s adversity, challenges, and some criticism. How do you respond?” Swinney said.

“It’s disappointing. Next thing you know, people question you, and maybe you lose a little confidence or you try to do too much. That’s all part of maturing. He is going to play football for a long time.”

Swinney compared the faith he has in Uiagalelei to the confidence then-Clemson athletic director Terry Don Phillips showed in him when Swinney had what he called a “sophomore” slump with a six-win season in 2010.

“I don’t need anybody on a message board to tell me who DJ is on a message board,” Swinney said. “Just ask Terry Don Phillips, I won six games my sophomore year — my sophomore year? My second year as the head coach. I won six games as the head coach. There was a lot of people on the message boards wanting me gone. Right? Then next year we won the ACC for the first time in 20 years. We won 10 games for the first time in 20 years. Now we win 10 games, and they want to fire me.

“Terry Don Phillips had a lot of confidence me as a coach. I got a lot of confidence in DJ. Going to graduate in December. Unbelievable young man on and off the field. One of the best leaders that we’ve had come through. Incredibly committed. He has some scars on him and some shrapnel and some wounds. That’s going to serve him well as he goes into this year.”

While Swinney was very vocal about his belief in Uiagalelei, he noted it’s up to the rising junior signal-caller to go out and perform better this season.

But Clemson’s head coach is confident that Uiagalelei will do just that, and that he’ll have more help around him this season, too.

“So it’s a game of performance, and you can’t change that,” Swinney said. “I can talk about how great he is all day long, he has to go do it. I believe in him, and there ain’t no doubt about that. I know who he is. We’re going to be better around him, and that’s the first thing we’ve got to do is we’ve got to be better around him. He has to learn from his mistakes. He has to play better in certain areas that he knows. I believe is he going to do it.”

Dear Old Clemson’s first event is July 24. Now there is a new way to support Clemson student-athletes. Come out and meet the freshmen football players at this meet and greet autograph session. If you sign up for certain club levels you get free access to all Dear Old Clemson events. Purchase your tickets today at Dear Old Clemson.