PAT NARDUZZI PITTSBURGH
COACH NARDUZZI: Obviously, we go down and play a spread option team down with Georgia Tech, and our guys have done a great job of preparing the last two days. They're focused. I think we got great discipline. They've gone with two different tempos offensively. Against North Carolina, they were in a fast, no huddle situation. They've huddled up in the other games. So we're preparing for a little bit of both. Just trying to get our guys acquainted with the option game and the great defense they have run by Ted Roof.
Q. Nathan Peterman, just to talk about him at quarterback, I know you'd had a couple different guys there, and choosing to go with him, just what you can say about his play coming off that game and how he's kind of evolved up to this point as you head into your next matchup.
COACH NARDUZZI: I think he gets more and more comfortable every single week. Again, he's a new quarterback in a new system with a new head coach and offensive coordinator and wearing different colors. I think he's done a tremendous job so far. Any time you're winning football games and he's generating some drives and some points, can he get better? There's no question about it. Anybody on our football team can get better, as well as coaching better. He's done a very nice job, and we'll just continue to go as we do.
Q. One of his weapons in Tyler Boyd, obviously are has been a big part of this offense for a while. Just where you can say where he's at, now that he has the reins of this team, just what you've seen from him at this point.
COACH NARDUZZI: He's a very smooth player. He's very consistent. He catches 99 percent of the balls that are thrown his way. If they get near his hands, he's going to catch it. And J.P. Holtz and Scott Orndoff have done a nice job as well. And Dontez Ford had a nice few catches the other day as well. He's become a guy you can trust and throw the ball to. So Nathan's got some targets he can throw to, and obviously Tyler Boyd is a special player.
Q. How unique is this -- have you ever coached against a team that runs this triple option like Georgia Tech? If so, what makes it so unique?
COACH NARDUZZI: It's unique because it's different than you're seeing every week. We'll have some periods in practice where we go against our offense. It's not what you're seeing normally, whether it's a spread offense, like a Clemson or a pro offense like a Florida State or like ourselves. It's just not regular football. So it's foreign to our players on our offensive side of the ball. They have to get the scout team going in that direction. So it's a different deal. It takes timing to it. It takes time to develop it. And you're trying to get it done Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday. So it's going to take a lot of great coaching out of our defensive coaches but also our graduate assistant coaches who are coaching that offense. I don't think the graduate assistant coach gets as much pub as they need to because it's their job to get that offense clicking at a fast tempo that we need so that our scout team in that first half that we figure out the tempo and what they're doing. So it's really unique to go against a team like that. A team that runs a tight end, and it's a normal offense, and you're not having all this motion in the backfield and running a triple option spread offense is different. I have faced it in the past. Back in 2003, when I was at Miami of Ohio. I pulled out the tape, actually the other day, my VHS tape out -- I mentioned it in my press conference Monday -- and defended it pretty well. It's still football. You still need to get your Jimmies and Joes lined up where you need to to defend. It becomes a schematic thing, where you're trying to be sound against everything they're giving you. It's football, but it's foreign to your defensive players because they're seeing things they don't normally see. Prior to that, I saw that as a coordinator at University of Rhode Island, where we played Tubby Raymond, a guru of the Wing T. It's very similar. They run the same formations and same triple option -- they call it a spread option, the Wing T, it's a combination of all. It's evolved that way with Paul. Paul does a tremendous job. We'll have to do a great job of really just, I guess, making adjustments by series because he'll make his adjustments. So you've got to adjust -- people talk about halftime adjustments. Every series will be an adjustment for us that we've got to get our guys lined up and expect, if we stop one play, they're coming back to another play. So knowing exactly what we have to do based on what they had success or didn't have success at.
Q. What area of your team have you seen the most progress in since the season opener?
COACH NARDUZZI: I think -- the most, it's hard to measure that because you don't have a measuring stick or yardstick or a ruler to really gauge it, but I think we've made strides in every respect. What is the most? I can tell you what the least is. Coaches do a great job of finding out the weaknesses, not the strengths, I guess. When I look at what our offensive line is doing, I think they're doing a better job up front, of blocking people and opening up holes for the run game. Without James Conner back there, that's been a struggle because you don't have a back that's BYOB, Be Your Own Blocker, type guy. So we're trying to get a tailback with confidence that can run the block, but our holes have to be a little bigger because we don't have a guy that's going to break a ton of tackles as well. I think our running backs are developing in the run game. I think our offensive line has done a better job of not only blocking, but protecting the quarterbacks. We've done a good job of getting after the other quarterback, and we've done a good job protecting our quarterback. When you look on the defensive side, we've done a good job putting pressure on quarterbacks. That won't help us a darn this week as far as sacking the quarterback because they're going to run it 75 percent of the time. It will be playing the run and then reacting to any passes. Overall, I think you have a team that has some confidence in what they're doing, and I think every week, knowledge-wise, we become a better football team.
Q. Coach, if you could, talk a little bit about the job Qadree Ollison has done. He's been thrust into the running back role and getting more snaps than anybody anticipated. Talk about what you've seen from him from the beginning of the year until now.
COACH NARDUZZI: He got surprised in that first game getting all the reps he did and maybe surprised really with the success because he didn't prepare for it, plan on it. Sometimes it's easier to come in as a backup than it is to have the pressure of being the guy. So I think the opener, you kind of throw that one out where he just went out there and ran as fast as he could and did his job. When you look at what he's done since then, it's a work in progress. I think he gets a little bit better every week. I think he's starting to learn what his style of run game is because sometimes it's hard to find out what your style is when you're a backup and you're not getting all the carries. So I think he's done a great job at working with Coach Chaney and Coach Powell, our running backs coach, and trying to figure out what style he is -- is it a downhill running through the smoke or a jukey-type move? I think he's done a little bit of both. They've done a good job developing his identity as a running back. Chris James had a breakout week last week. So he's back to hoping where he'd be, and also the mental part of it. Darrin Hall didn't get any snaps last week, but we expect good things out of Darrin Hall.
Q. Coach, most of your career has been devoted to the defensive side of the ball, but what are the ways that you've seen this defense improve this year? Have they performed maybe better than you anticipated? Ranked No. 7 in the country in total defense, that's been an outstanding effort.
COACH NARDUZZI: You say as expected. We expect the best. We expect to be No. 1 in the country in everything we do. That's what we're looking for. So is it better than I expected? No. There's a lot of things I wish we did a lot better. I wasn't happy with a lot of phases of our defense last week. So it's a work in progress. But are you happy where it is? If last week was the end of the season and you look back and say, gosh, did we get better than we were a year ago? You're happy about that, and we measure it at the end of the year. But every week you're trying to get better at your trade, whether it be corner or safety or D-tackle. But at this point, you're saying, hey, you're doing some good things, but you can't rest on your laurels. You're pushing your kids every week to get better and do the little things better than what they did the week before.
Q. Where are the areas you'd like to make strides?
COACH NARDUZZI: Just perfect fits all the time. Last week we gave up two runs that are just ridiculous. Day one stuff that will drive you nuts as a football coach. Drive you nuts as a defensive coordinator. We gave up two runs, which we shouldn't have given up a yard on either one of them. You have guys playing somebody else's defense, I guess, and it's stuff we've seen since day one of practice here against our own offense, and we go out there and don't do it. It's a lack of focus. I don't think it's a lack of know what they're doing. Just that constant focus of exactly what you need to do and be locked into that, not try to go make a play on somebody else's play but doing your job.
Q. Pretty harsh on a seventh ranked defense, right?
COACH NARDUZZI: A little bit.
COACH NARDUZZI: Obviously, we go down and play a spread option team down with Georgia Tech, and our guys have done a great job of preparing the last two days. They're focused. I think we got great discipline. They've gone with two different tempos offensively. Against North Carolina, they were in a fast, no huddle situation. They've huddled up in the other games. So we're preparing for a little bit of both. Just trying to get our guys acquainted with the option game and the great defense they have run by Ted Roof.
Q. Nathan Peterman, just to talk about him at quarterback, I know you'd had a couple different guys there, and choosing to go with him, just what you can say about his play coming off that game and how he's kind of evolved up to this point as you head into your next matchup.
COACH NARDUZZI: I think he gets more and more comfortable every single week. Again, he's a new quarterback in a new system with a new head coach and offensive coordinator and wearing different colors. I think he's done a tremendous job so far. Any time you're winning football games and he's generating some drives and some points, can he get better? There's no question about it. Anybody on our football team can get better, as well as coaching better. He's done a very nice job, and we'll just continue to go as we do.
Q. One of his weapons in Tyler Boyd, obviously are has been a big part of this offense for a while. Just where you can say where he's at, now that he has the reins of this team, just what you've seen from him at this point.
COACH NARDUZZI: He's a very smooth player. He's very consistent. He catches 99 percent of the balls that are thrown his way. If they get near his hands, he's going to catch it. And J.P. Holtz and Scott Orndoff have done a nice job as well. And Dontez Ford had a nice few catches the other day as well. He's become a guy you can trust and throw the ball to. So Nathan's got some targets he can throw to, and obviously Tyler Boyd is a special player.
Q. How unique is this -- have you ever coached against a team that runs this triple option like Georgia Tech? If so, what makes it so unique?
COACH NARDUZZI: It's unique because it's different than you're seeing every week. We'll have some periods in practice where we go against our offense. It's not what you're seeing normally, whether it's a spread offense, like a Clemson or a pro offense like a Florida State or like ourselves. It's just not regular football. So it's foreign to our players on our offensive side of the ball. They have to get the scout team going in that direction. So it's a different deal. It takes timing to it. It takes time to develop it. And you're trying to get it done Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday. So it's going to take a lot of great coaching out of our defensive coaches but also our graduate assistant coaches who are coaching that offense. I don't think the graduate assistant coach gets as much pub as they need to because it's their job to get that offense clicking at a fast tempo that we need so that our scout team in that first half that we figure out the tempo and what they're doing. So it's really unique to go against a team like that. A team that runs a tight end, and it's a normal offense, and you're not having all this motion in the backfield and running a triple option spread offense is different. I have faced it in the past. Back in 2003, when I was at Miami of Ohio. I pulled out the tape, actually the other day, my VHS tape out -- I mentioned it in my press conference Monday -- and defended it pretty well. It's still football. You still need to get your Jimmies and Joes lined up where you need to to defend. It becomes a schematic thing, where you're trying to be sound against everything they're giving you. It's football, but it's foreign to your defensive players because they're seeing things they don't normally see. Prior to that, I saw that as a coordinator at University of Rhode Island, where we played Tubby Raymond, a guru of the Wing T. It's very similar. They run the same formations and same triple option -- they call it a spread option, the Wing T, it's a combination of all. It's evolved that way with Paul. Paul does a tremendous job. We'll have to do a great job of really just, I guess, making adjustments by series because he'll make his adjustments. So you've got to adjust -- people talk about halftime adjustments. Every series will be an adjustment for us that we've got to get our guys lined up and expect, if we stop one play, they're coming back to another play. So knowing exactly what we have to do based on what they had success or didn't have success at.
Q. What area of your team have you seen the most progress in since the season opener?
COACH NARDUZZI: I think -- the most, it's hard to measure that because you don't have a measuring stick or yardstick or a ruler to really gauge it, but I think we've made strides in every respect. What is the most? I can tell you what the least is. Coaches do a great job of finding out the weaknesses, not the strengths, I guess. When I look at what our offensive line is doing, I think they're doing a better job up front, of blocking people and opening up holes for the run game. Without James Conner back there, that's been a struggle because you don't have a back that's BYOB, Be Your Own Blocker, type guy. So we're trying to get a tailback with confidence that can run the block, but our holes have to be a little bigger because we don't have a guy that's going to break a ton of tackles as well. I think our running backs are developing in the run game. I think our offensive line has done a better job of not only blocking, but protecting the quarterbacks. We've done a good job of getting after the other quarterback, and we've done a good job protecting our quarterback. When you look on the defensive side, we've done a good job putting pressure on quarterbacks. That won't help us a darn this week as far as sacking the quarterback because they're going to run it 75 percent of the time. It will be playing the run and then reacting to any passes. Overall, I think you have a team that has some confidence in what they're doing, and I think every week, knowledge-wise, we become a better football team.
Q. Coach, if you could, talk a little bit about the job Qadree Ollison has done. He's been thrust into the running back role and getting more snaps than anybody anticipated. Talk about what you've seen from him from the beginning of the year until now.
COACH NARDUZZI: He got surprised in that first game getting all the reps he did and maybe surprised really with the success because he didn't prepare for it, plan on it. Sometimes it's easier to come in as a backup than it is to have the pressure of being the guy. So I think the opener, you kind of throw that one out where he just went out there and ran as fast as he could and did his job. When you look at what he's done since then, it's a work in progress. I think he gets a little bit better every week. I think he's starting to learn what his style of run game is because sometimes it's hard to find out what your style is when you're a backup and you're not getting all the carries. So I think he's done a great job at working with Coach Chaney and Coach Powell, our running backs coach, and trying to figure out what style he is -- is it a downhill running through the smoke or a jukey-type move? I think he's done a little bit of both. They've done a good job developing his identity as a running back. Chris James had a breakout week last week. So he's back to hoping where he'd be, and also the mental part of it. Darrin Hall didn't get any snaps last week, but we expect good things out of Darrin Hall.
Q. Coach, most of your career has been devoted to the defensive side of the ball, but what are the ways that you've seen this defense improve this year? Have they performed maybe better than you anticipated? Ranked No. 7 in the country in total defense, that's been an outstanding effort.
COACH NARDUZZI: You say as expected. We expect the best. We expect to be No. 1 in the country in everything we do. That's what we're looking for. So is it better than I expected? No. There's a lot of things I wish we did a lot better. I wasn't happy with a lot of phases of our defense last week. So it's a work in progress. But are you happy where it is? If last week was the end of the season and you look back and say, gosh, did we get better than we were a year ago? You're happy about that, and we measure it at the end of the year. But every week you're trying to get better at your trade, whether it be corner or safety or D-tackle. But at this point, you're saying, hey, you're doing some good things, but you can't rest on your laurels. You're pushing your kids every week to get better and do the little things better than what they did the week before.
Q. Where are the areas you'd like to make strides?
COACH NARDUZZI: Just perfect fits all the time. Last week we gave up two runs that are just ridiculous. Day one stuff that will drive you nuts as a football coach. Drive you nuts as a defensive coordinator. We gave up two runs, which we shouldn't have given up a yard on either one of them. You have guys playing somebody else's defense, I guess, and it's stuff we've seen since day one of practice here against our own offense, and we go out there and don't do it. It's a lack of focus. I don't think it's a lack of know what they're doing. Just that constant focus of exactly what you need to do and be locked into that, not try to go make a play on somebody else's play but doing your job.
Q. Pretty harsh on a seventh ranked defense, right?
COACH NARDUZZI: A little bit.
