One of the biggest position battles at Pitt's training camp is for the starting wide receiver spots. Dontez Ford, a starter last year, likely has one locked up. But the battle rages on to see who will join him in the starting lineup.
Head coach Pat Narduzzi addressed that on Wednesday and says that two familiar faces are leading the way with Ford. When talking about if Ford, Henderson, and Weah should be considered starters, Narduzzi confirmed that - at least for now.
"I think they’re solid," Narduzzi said. "I think they’re solid starters right now, but there’s not a whole lot of separation. Those other guys can make plays too.”
Those 'other guys' include players such as Zach Challingsworth, Tre Tipton, Rafael Araujo-Lopes, and true freshmen Maurice Ffrench, Aaron Mathews, and Ruben Flowers. Mathews, you might recall, drew some high praise from the coaching staff earlier in camp.
Henderson and Weah aren't familiar in the sense they've done a ton for Pitt on the field during their careers. The duo has a whopping two catches for one yard (all of which belong to Henderson) and little experience. But they are familiar in the sense that they were the starters as listed with Ford on the team's preseason depth chart. And Henderson was the one who got the initial first-team reps at the onset of training camp.
There, Pitt actually lists three starters for wide receiver instead of two running backs. Obviously, the specific set called for will depend on how many receivers are on the field at any one time. But when Pitt lines three guys up, this might be the first rotation they go with.
Like I said in the cornerback post from Wednesday, it's still relatively early. These guys aren't set in stone and there's still some time to go before the season. But as of now, it looks as if Henderson and Weah are a step ahead of others to get early playing time.
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