Pitt Football: Final report card for the 2020 season

Overall offensive grade: C+

The Pitt offense was not dynamic and it is not designed to be. Offensive coordinator Mark Whipple has designed an offense to get the ball out of quarterback Kenny Pickett’s hand as soon as possible.

What is somewhat odd to watch is a Pitt offense that does not have a go-to running back. This is the school that produced the likes of Tony Dorsett, Curtis Martin and James Conner. The Panthers not having a 1,000-yard running back is a bit foreign.

Outstanding offensive players

• Kenny Pickett, QB: 2,408 passing yards, 13 touchdowns, nine interceptions:

Pickett is the engine behind the Pitt offense. He played through some nicks and nagging injuries this season. What makes Pickett so important is their lack of a running game. Because Pitt does not run the ball very well, offensive coordinator Whipple uses the short pass game as an extension of the run game. Pickett is a good decision maker that gets the ball out of his hand quickly. Two things that makes the offense go.

• Vincent Davis, RB: 639 rushing yards, 154 receiving yards, seven total touchdowns:

Davis led the Panthers in yards from scrimmage last season. The sophomore running back proved to be an asset in the passing game (24 receptions) as well as the running game. Pitt’s diminutive dynamo (Davis is only 5-foot-8 and 175 pounds), could be Pitt’s first 1,000-yard running back since 2018.

Quarterback: C

Pickett is steady, consistent and understands the responsibilities of the position in the offense. However, Pickett is not a game-changer. This could be the limitations of the offense or it could be the limitations of Kenny Pickett. Despite operating out of the shotgun often, there are a lot of West Coast disciplines in the Pitt offense.

The Panthers’ passing game is a volume attack. Pitt throws the football a lot, but not for a lot of yards. That is why you see Pickett’s yards per attempt around seven this season and about 6.5 for his career. Also, this is why Pickett has just 13 touchdown passes.

Running Back: D-

Because offensive coordinator Mark Whipple favors the short passing game, the Panthers are not a run-heavy team as in years past. That is not to say the Panthers don’t run the football often. The opposite is true. Pitt ran the football fewer than 25 times in only three of eleven games last season. The issue with the Panthers is they are not very good at running the ball. In 388 rushing attempts this season, the Pitt averaged just 3.4 yards per attempt.

Pitt had just one game this season, against Georgia Tech, with over 200 yards rushing and no games averaging over five yards per rushing attempt. Pittsburgh’s best running back, Vincent Davis, had only one game over 100 yards. In fact, Davis did not have another game all season with at least 70 yards. His 247-yard performance against Georgia Tech represented nearly 40 percent of his rushing yards for the season.

Aside from Davis, there was not another Pitt running back who had more than 65 rushing attempts. Pickett was second on the team in rushing attempts with 81 averaging just 1.8 yards per attempt.

Wide Receiver/Tight End: C-

Evaluating the receiver room for Pitt is an interesting task. Much like the quarterback, it is hard not to wonder if the lack of big plays in the passing game is a lack of speed on the perimeter or a function of the offense the Panthers’ run.

Pitt got little production from the tight ends (seven receptions and one touchdown).

Of the receivers that caught at least 25 passes, none averaged more than 14 yards per reception.

Pitt’s leading receiver, Jordan Addison, averaged just 11.1 yards per catch. The receiving group had just four 100-yard receiving games this season, two by DJ Turner and two by Jordan Addison.

Taysir Mack missed games and did not have the impact desired this season.