Pitt football: Is Eli Holstein a real threat to Nate Yarnell at QB? Will Bam Brima be missed?

Intro hello and welcome to the pit mailbag show from the Pittsburgh Post cazette I'm your host Chris Carter here with my my friend and co-host Stephen Thompson with your pit beat Riders here at the Pittsburgh Post cazette as always you can find our written work at postgazette.com find this show every Tuesday on your favorite podcasting apps and on YouTube when you search Post cazette sports along with the Monday Wednesday Friday episodes of the Northshore Drive podcast and as always the show is brought to you by the best B of Pittsburgh and that's Mike's beer bar Mike's beer bar has over 500 different available be 300 of those beers from the local Pittsburgh area and 80 of those local beers are available on tap it's the best B of Pittsburgh go there to experience amazing food amazing sits and amazing time out in the NorthShore all right Stephen we got questions to get into we've been through kind of the first week of training camp we just saw practice number five on Monday there's a lot of excitement building up the the season itself is less than a month away how excited are you Stephen to get things going I'm really excited I think you kind of go through the summer months and you almost forget what football looks like you know you just don't watch it for so long and I found myself getting hyped up for like the Hall of Fame game and you know the first week of the preseason you know things that I could not have cared less about uh you know a couple weeks ago a couple you know months ago or whatever I was not looking forward to it at all but now I just need football in my life I need some real pads on pads uh we saw pit put on some pads earlier this week uh so I I'm really excited just to just to see it all kind of come back and and to see something get put together on the field see some real football for once absolutely let's talk about some real football and what pits building up to right now Hoy asks is there a a Is there a QB competition quarterback competition going on in camp at all or is this the depth chart PR or is the depth chart pretty much Set uh so so far this year uh Stephen Paton or newsy kind of acknowledged what the quarterback situation was as far as who's where and what's the competition but re realistically this is Nate yarnell's team until otherwise right yeah I I think so um and you know we've talked to Pat nzi now three times times since training camp started I believe uh and he's been asked about the quarterbacks in two of those sessions um his first answer you know he was asked pretty Point Blank you know is there a quarterback competition today he was asked uh you know how's the competition going his first answer was you know yeah there's competition there's competition everywhere and then today uh he kind of talked a little bit more in detail about the uh competition for the third string quarterback job than he did the first or the second string um both those answers kind of lead me to believe that he is pretty set on quarterbacks one and two and the order in which they they sit in um this is Nate yarnell's job to lose um and quite frankly I'd be really stunned if he does anything to lose it before week one uh of this season and I'd be even you know I'd still be pretty shocked if he does anything at any point this season that that warrants him losing the job um I think you know even if the offense underperforms Nate uh I it's just hard for me to Envision that Nate Yarnell turns the ball over and enough or uh makes enough poor decisions in order to to Warrant him losing the job so um in training camp I think that'd be really hard to do I think Eli Holstein is a really good backup I think he has a really bright future but I think that's all he is for right now and is just a backup I think that that's that that's the situation pits in right now pit needs a quarterback that can get them on schedule be on time and to me that's been Nate yarnell's strength he he even though this is a new offense and everyone's everyone's kind of getting used to it at the same time Nate yarnell's whole thing last year was that he was the best of the three quarterbacks that we saw at knowing where the ball was supposed to be putting making it accurate and playing within it the pit needs a game manager quarterback I know that that's not the sexy term that everyone likes to he everyone says oh no a game manager game manager quarterbacks in college are very very valuable they they keep you on time they allow your offense to operate at at its full capacity there's a lot of good things going on there if if you have one and I think that's what Pit's looking for Nate yell I think he can be that this year so uh think a guy like Holstein they're happy to help him develop and and bring him along and maybe he's the next guy but right now Nate jarnell is the guy everyone else after that is kind of competing for third uh and I think that that's going to be interesting you know how will Julian Dugger fig figure in things de and Bach other David Lynch all those guys that's that that's the stuff I think that actually might get worked out in Camp but the things that are pretty solidified right now Nate J's number one uh uh Eli holstein's number two and everyone else is fighting for fighting for third that's the the chart yeah absolutely and and you know you brought up the game manager thing I think we had this conversation in the facility the other day but you know like Nate Peterman was not anything more than a game manager but he piloted one of the best offenses that this program has ever seen um because he was smart with the football he didn't throw a ton of picks didn't turn the ball over uh and he leaned on some really fantastic playmakers that he had around him and uh I you know Nate uh Nate Peterman did not have a spectacular career at pit but he won a bunch of games because he had all those smarts he had the intelligence knew had to run the offense and if pit had a game manager last year they're probably in a lot better position than three and nine I'll say that much absolutely let's talk about records because we have a friend Doug who has up on Twitter said what are the odds on pit Odds on Pitt getting 7 wins football getting seven wins this season so uh Stephen I mean I technically I guess they he was were being asked by Doug here what are the odds for that I wasn't able to get official Vegas odds on this but I did go to FanDuel right right away and the over under for Pitts wins right now is set at 5 and a half the uh the favorite here is under five and a half wins it's minus 128 and the uh it's plus4 if you say over five and a half wins uh but Stephen you know you look we can look at this schedule we can parse it out week by week do you think it that the over under should be a little bit higher to maybe be at six and a half wins no honestly I think I think five is pretty close to exactly where it should be um you know you think about the first four weeks of the season you get teams like uh you know Youngstown State and Kent State um you even get a Cincinnati team that I think is not going to be spectacular I mean they weren't very good last year I know pit lost to them but but it was a game that I thought pit probably should have won um so I think those are three you know probably you know those are three at worst 5050 shots um but you know Kent State and young Sound State should be wins um I think about teams like Virginia and Boston College those should also be wins but then things start to get a little more dicey I think West Virginia I don't really know what to make of that game rivalry games are always weird I think Syracuse in a a rebuilding year uh with a new head coach is going to be interesting they have a lot of incoming transfer talent but will that play right away Cal's interesting you know they're kind of right on the edge of Bowl eligibility so there are a lot of ways for pit to pick up you know those kind of extra sixth or seventh wins um I could see five that I would be pretty confident uh saying Pit's definitely going to get uh this year but beyond that it's pretty tough to say I I still think you know they're also going to be in line to pull a pretty stunning upset over you know Clemson or um Louisville or maybe evenu depending on the kind of season they have you know Pit's gonna have one of those games that they have every year where they just kind of pull a rabbit out of a hat when no one's looking at them so um I would say at least six I'm kind of you know looking at them to get six wins kind of right on the edge of Bowl eligibility but um I don't think that that win Total Line at five and a half is is unfair at all I think it's pretty spot on um I could see them kind of swinging you know in either direction by a couple games but I I like that number for them I think that's a good goal too you know often times I find that National picks or or or lines that are set don't reflect what the local beats are saying but I think the thing is that we don't know what Pit's going to look like here on the local beat here we're still we're still asking those questions ourselves that's why we're at training camp that's why Stevens is going to be there all week long I've got to sprint out to latro on a few days but I I I was there Monday I'll be back again Friday um so I think that's the bottom line here is I think that they can get seven wins I think there's a path there but it's going to require work it's going to require consistency it's going to require young guys stepping into roles that weren't solidified and multiple and I'd even say several young guys stepping into roles that they weren't solidified in uh last year guys like Ryland Gandy at cornerback guys like Jordan bass at linebacker or brillan lble or Kyle Lewis or Rasheen biles uh guys like nikai Johnson at defensive tackle guys like Kenny Johnson at wide receiver even though we saw a little bit of him we didn't see a whole lot of him making plays in the offense because the offense was just that bad um you know and you can go down the down the line there's several other players that I could bring up there but bottom line is p has a lot to prove getting the seven wins usually that breed that comes from success so uh you know on on that note I I think that you know can they get there yes but do I think that they should be favored to get there no I think that they have to prove it and there's when there's not when there's something that's unproven that's when I that's what that's when I look away from uh something being favored yeah and you know pit is just not one of the schools that it's gonna earn Kenny kind of optimism just based off their name brand I think Pat Nardo's proven to kind of bring this uh to have brought this program to a pretty high floor um but you know after three and N I think everyone's feeling like all bets are off and you can't really uh you know put a very serious uh I guess um floor on on what this team can be because I don't know they could bounce back and become you know the team that we always thought they that they've been for most of nardi's tenure or you know it's not hard to imagine them falling back down into three or four wins either there's a pretty wide range of outcomes either of way let's move on to Nick's question and is that is Bam brimma a big loss for pits defensive line Stephen bam brima of course was announced to no longer be with the team Monday morning when we were at pit practice uh we tweeted that out right away Pat Nardi uh acknowledging that he's graduated that he's no longer with the team uh bam brma was was going to be a six-year defensive lineman uh he was him and Nate Temple were gonna kind of be the holdovers Nate Temple though I believe is out for the season with an injury uh and Bam brima is now no longer with the team so both of those guys aren't there before but B briman was supposed to move inside for being an edge rusher or a defensive end uh La last last year and and Stephen I I don't think it's that big of a deal because I don't think bam was ever really going to be a big part of the picture this year I think he was going to be a reserve guy if anything else and you know it's always you know unfortunate to see a guy not finish his time with pit you know when he has a year left on his on his uh you know exper on his you know resume or whatever uh but I think that you know the kind of answer is that Pit's got a lot of young guys on their defense especially if he's moving inside guys like jir Whittington guys like Isaiah Neil guys like Francis breu like bamberman is not going to take away snaps from those guys and you know I think that that's that's kind of just where pit is right now yeah I mean I mean rimma had a pretty good year last year but I think that a lot was a lot of you know volume quite honestly I think he played you know more games more snaps than he ever has in his career um and still you know it was three sacks four tackles for loss 31 tackles I mean not exactly a huge loss um especially in the down year I feel like this is a position group that is kind of rebuilding and reloading um trying to reinvent itself a little bit and Bam I just don't think really bit into that that uh you know that plan I guess that timeline um you know I I think you hit it Square on the head I mean who you know whether it was defensive end or whether it was defensive tackle he's played both during his career um I I can't really think of many guys that I'm like bam Bea is definitely better than them um and I think even at this point in kind of Pit's timeline and given where they're at you would rather you know give a guy like sincere Edwards some more time give a guy like Jimmy Scott who's shown some explosive play ability some time at defensive end uh or you would go with you know some more athletic guys on the defensive tackle spot like uh you know a Sean Fitz Simmons or a aai Johnson or even a Francis Brew um so I I just think there were better younger options um in there um like you said it's unfortunate that bam didn't you know finish his timeout at pit um but you know I I don't think pit is really going to suffer a whole lot from this loss I think they've got enough in that room uh to kind of recover to fill those gaps and uh I think they're going to be just fine the defensive line I think I talked last week about how I'm pretty optimistic on what they can be this year especially at the def defensive tackle spot and brimma leaving doesn't really change much for me I'm I'm right with you there last question comes from Frederick who asks How will Pitt use its running backs how will pit use its running backs in Cade Bell's offense will there be a Bell cow back now of course a bcow back person run the primary running back that's getting a bulk of the carries where everyone else kind of splits you know a much smaller amount um if um I don't think there's going to be a bell cowb back in this in this offense Stephen I I think that they're going to split the Reps especially when you have an offense that's supposed to be uptempo it's supposed to be fast-paced like Cade Bells is you're going to see these running backs being asked to do a lot Go In Motion a lot line up at receiver a lot catch the ball run the ball take a hits and then get guys get in and out I I think that'll lead to these guys kind of sharing the load a little bit I think the question isn't who's going to be the bcow it's going to be probably who's the top three guys guys that pit relies upon and what's the what's the Lion Share of those top three uh when you look at it if I'm looking at at at three at three guys I'm looking at Rody Hammond because he's been he's been the guy that they've been trying to develop Desmond Reed the guy that brought in from Western Carolina who knows uh Cade Bell's offense and I'd be looking at Derek Davis to be honest because I think his speed is something to to behold I've liked how like seeing how fast he's moved but I wouldn't be shocked because guys like montravius lyd and Jules they're also fast guys and I think that's what that's that might be what Cade Bell's opting for in this offense yeah I I kind of agree with you I think it's going to be a little bit more by committee if you you know made me pick who I think the top dog is kind of going to be like who who the coaching staff thinks the best running back of the group is I'm I'm willing to bet that they think uh you know Desmond Reed is kind of the best of the bunch right now I think we have heard nothing but good things about him uh throughout Spring ball ever since he arrived uh in Pittsburgh a few months ago so uh I think the coaching staff's really Ned with him I think if they could they would let him take every carry but uh like you said in an uptempo offense like this I think they're going to want to give Rodney ham the ball quite a bit um I I expect it'll be kind of more of a I don't know I guess like 60 40 split honestly I think I think Reed is going to take most of the carries not you know necessarily that large of a share of them Hon's definitely going to be involved but um like you said I think they're going to give Derrick Davis a look kind of for really the first time in his career um as a running back he he came to pit uh after transferring from defensive back to running backs so he's got some kind of catching up to do um but I think then you also throw some snaps in there for Daniel card every once in a while um just because they like his experience and um he's kind of been there and done that as well he's a little bit bigger could be you know a short yardage back um so I think there'll be a lot of snaps to go around and I think they're really going to spread the love I don't think there's going to to be you know kind of one guy who's like you said is being the bcal carrying you know 75 plus 70 plus percent of the snaps throughout this season yeah I'm right with you I think this is going to be very much a group project running back by committee if you will where pit where pit football kind of carries the load um you know together more so than trying to uh pit it on one guy there's no Israel AB banaka on this team that I think that is going to and that's not to say that someone might not emerge and be very impressive uh but I think just with the nature of this offense you're going to be share sharing the ball around a lot that's your pit mailbag show from the Pittsburg Post Gazette from Chris Carter and Stephen Thompson thanks so much for joining us here remember we're R we're here every Tuesday taking your questions you can submit via email or at us on Twitter be sure to hit us up with those questions before the show on on Monday so that we can try to work them in here we'll be back next week after another week of pit training camp is in the books and we get ever so close to the season opener August 31st at Acer St against Kent State we'll see you here on the pit mailbag show from the Pittsburgh Post Gazette thank you for checking out this content from Post cazette sports if you watch this video on YouTube please like the video and subscribe to our channel for all of the sports coverage the Post Gazette has to offer visit postgazette.com [Music]