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Sep. 11—MORGANTOWN — When it was announced Pitt running back Rodney Hammond was declared ineligible for the entire 2024 season, it appeared the Panthers had lost an important offensive weapon.
Little did anyone know, the Panthers had a secret weapon waiting in the wings.
Pitt went in a completely different direction with its offense for this season, bringing in offensive coordinator Kade Bell from Western Carolina. Bell, who led one of the most-explosive offensives in the country, brought diminutive running back Desmond Reid along with him and the pair has not missed a beat.
Reid, who stands at 5-8 and 175 pounds, currently leads the nation in all-purpose yards with 488 split between rushing, receiving and punt returns.
“He’s a big-time player, ” said WVU coach Neal Brown. “They find ways to get him the ball, he’s the punt returner, they hand it to him, they throw it to him.”
Brown and his Mountaineers travel to Pittsburgh this Saturday (ESPN2, 3:30 p.m.) for the 107th Backyard Brawl between WVU (1-1) and Pitt (2-0).
Brown compared Reid to his own undersized running back, sophomore Jahiem White, who is 5-7 and 195 pounds.
Brown, who is 1-1 against the Panthers, acknowledged that Bell’s offense is completely different from what head coach Pat Narduzzi has typically run.
“Offensively it’s a complete 180, ” Brown said. “They changed offensive coordinators and credit Coach Narduzzi, they’re all in. They’re up-tempo and playing as fast as anybody.”
Pitt’s offense struggled severely last season, averaging 317.9 yards and 20.2 points per game.
It’s early in the year, but so far through two games in 2024, the Panthers are averaging 41.5 points and 534 yards.
“It takes a ton of commitment, ” Brown said. “It’s entirely different than what (Narduzzi has) done. He’s had a number of coordinators and some high-level coordinators and…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/running-back-desmond-reid-not-023400018.html
Author : The Dominion Post, Morgantown, W.Va.
Publish date : 2024-09-12 02:34:00
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