Pitt at North Carolina: Breaking Down the Two-Deep

QB - 1. Nate Peterman 2. Manny Stocker

Nate Peterman made some big throws in the Oklahoma State game. His 237 passing yards was his second highest total ever as the Pitt quarterback. Still, he wasn’t overly accurate with a 48.3% completion was problematic at times. Peterman did show the actual ability to hit some passes and make plays, which he wasn’t able to do against Penn State.

RB - 1. James Conner 2. Chawntez Moss OR Darrin Hall OR Qadree Ollison

James Conner had another good showing last week, and looks to be about on par with where he was in 2014. Conner has been strong with the ball, showing good bursts in space, and the same physical player he has always been. Conner came down with a spectacular 55 yard catch, and has been showing receiving abilities all season long. Pitt will look to control tempo again this week, and Conner’s play will be vital to that.

We did not see much of Qadree Ollison, but he did bring down one catch for eight yards in his only touch against the Cowboys. Darrin Hall was in the mix slightly, but didn’t break many big runs. We got our first look at Chawntez Moss carrying the ball, with two carries for eight yards. Pitt will need another back besides Conner on Saturday, and the competition for those snaps is ongoing apparently.

FB - 1. George Aston 2. Jaymar Parrish

This is a change to the first three depth charts. Pitt was listing three different starting wide receivers and no fullback, but now we officially see Aston as a starter. He had one catch for 12 yards and a negative one yard run against Oklahoma State. He also got his hand on the one blocked punt. Aston is a good football player, and will see the field quite a bit on Saturday.

WR - 1. Quadree Henderson Jester Weah 2. Aaron Mathews OR Zach Challingsworth Tre Tipton OR Rafael Araujo-Lopes

Jester Weah had two catches on Saturday against Oklahoma State, but they were big ones. Weah had a 60 yard touchdown just before halftime to bring Pitt to within a touchdown. He had another nice catch on the sideline for a first down. Weah is a weapon, and he’s starting to show some of that raw ability we’ve heard about for years now.

Quadree Henderson is third nationally in all-purpose yardage per game. The leader is Christian McCaffrey for context purposes. So yes, Quadree Henderson is really, really good. Henderson had 95 rushing yards and two scores plus two catches for 31 yards. Pitt will continue to find ways to get him the ball, as he’s starting to become a weapon that Pitt has never really had in the past.

Araujo-Lopes and Tipton both got some looks this past weekend. Lopes is going to be used in a Henderson type role it seems, as he carried some jet sweeps. Tipton looks like he can be a nice option in the slot for this team. There’s room to grow for these younger guys with Dontez Ford out for an extended period of time.

TE - 1. Scott Orndoff 2. Jaymar Parrish

Scott Orndoff had a quiet afternoon in Stillwater with just one catch for five yards. His ten receptions still lead the team to this point however. I look for Pitt’s offense to evolve throughout the season, and Orndoff should be a constant. I expect him to get the ball more this weekend.

LT - 1. Adam Bisnowaty 2. Aaron Reese

LG - 1. Dorian Johnson 2. Carson Baker

C - 1. Alex Officer 2. Connor Dintino

RG - 1. Alex Bookser 2. John Guy

RT - 1. Brian O’Neill 2. Jaryd Jones-Smith

Pitt’s offensive line helped pave the way for 527 total yards. Pitt also controlled the time of possession battle 37:50 to 22:10. They really did their job, and the result was more on the defense than the offense. I think the pass protection could have been better at times. Nobody is perfect, but this line has been good the past two weeks. It almost seems silly how concerned everyone was after their play against Villanova.

DE - 1. Ejuan Price Rori Blair 2. James Folston Allen Edwards 3. Rashad Weaver

The defense surrendered a ton of yards and points. Still, Ejuan Price found a way to shine. He was named the ACC Defensive Linemen of the Week after posting four tackles for loss, two sacks, and another forced fumble. The forced fumble led to a defensive touchdown. He’s among the national leaders in all three of those categories.

DT - 1. Shakir Soto 2. Amir Watts OR Keyshon Camp

Shakir Soto had three tackles on Saturday. Amir Watts got some reps, but did not get into the box score. Pitt limited Oklahoma State to 3.1 yards per carry, and have been good against the run. The pass rush was almost nonexistent besides Ejuan Price, and that needs to change.

NT - 1. Tyrique Jarrett 2. Shane Roy OR Mike Herndon

Jarrett’s effectiveness was limited against a spread passing team like Oklahoma State. He posted just one tackle, and play a lot less than he did in the first two weeks. Shane Roy got some work, and did recover a fumble and had a pair of tackles.

Money Linebacker - 1. Mike Caprara 2. Saleem Brightwell

Mike Caprara came down with two tackles for loss, one of which was a sack on Saturday. He’s been coming down with some big plays this season. Pitt may need a sack, or a fumble recovery type of play from him this weekend.

Mike Linebacker - 1. Matt Galambos 2. Quintin Wirginis

Matt Galambos was able to secure a loose ball and score a defensive touchdown for the Panther defense in the second half. Him and Wirginis combined for six tackles on Saturday against Oklahoma State. They draw a tough task with a strong running game from UNC this Saturday.

Star Linebacker - 1. Seun Idowu 2. Bam Bradley

Idowu had six tackles, and one for loss against the Cowboys. Bam Bradley also had a tackle for loss and made some plays on special teams.

Cornerback - 1. Avonte Maddox Ryan Lewis 2. Dane Jackson Phillipie Motley

Not much to say here, they got burnt last week. They need to be better individually, and the coaches may need to send more safety help in these one on one situations. Saturday was on coaching and the players, no way around it. They got torched most of the day.

Strong Safety - 1. Jordan Whitehead 2. Dennis Briggs

Jordan Whitehead has been really good since he’s stepped foot on campus, but Saturday was a game he would probably like to forget. He missed the chances to make some plays. I don’t have any concerns with him overall, he’ll be better. He continues to get looks offensively, and he’s been good in that role as expected.

Free Safety - 1. Terrish Webb 2. Reggie Mitchell

This past week, the corners drew a lot of flak from the fan. The prior week against Penn State it was the free safeties. I’m not sure if they were any better this week, but it seemed like they made some plays. I think the corners just stole the attention of most of us for all the wrong reasons. However, if you give up that many passing yards, nobody in the secondary or entire defense was doing too much.

Kicker - Chris Blewitt Punter - Ryan Winslow Long Snapper - Pat Quirin

Chris Blewitt made his first kick of the year, which is a big deal actually. They need him on track, and now hopefully he is.

Kick Returner/Punt Returner - 1. Quadree Henderson 2. Avonte Maddox

Henderson didn’t have much of a chance to make plays on special teams, but made up for it on offense.