A few minutes into Pat Narduzzi’s answer about freshmen who may play this season, a loud “whoop” from the locker room door interrupted his thoughts.

“There’s Francis right there getting excited,” the coach said Wednesday morning.

He was talking about freshman defensive tackle Francis Brewu, who was getting himself ready for the morning workout. Brewu is one of six freshmen Narduzzi identified.

The lone freshman on offense to get mentioned is tight end Malachi Thomas, a 6-foot-4, 225-pounder from Thomasville, Ga.

“He’s done an outstanding job picking up stuff,” Narduzzi said. “He’s tough. He’s physical. I think he’s going to be a special football player for us. That’s a guy who stands out to me who’s going to get some time if he continues to progress.

“It’s a big if. We’ll see what happens when we get to Acrisure (Stadium) this Sunday (for the final scrimmage of the summer).”

Thomas, who was the last of the 21-man class to sign a letter of intent this year, chose Pitt without first visiting campus. Pitt was Thomas’ only power conference offer.

“Greatest day of my life,” he said. “I wanted to go Power 5. (It’s) the best in the biz.”

On defense, linemen Sincere Edwards, Brewu and Jahsear Whittington and linebackers Cam Lindsey (Aliquippa) and Davin Brewton have raised eyebrows in camp.

Lindsey and Thomas said they each made a splash on the first day of training camp. Lindsey intercepted a pass, and Thomas made plays against the first-team defense.

“I’ve been making plays ever since, just being consistent,” Thomas said. Lindsey, who led Aliquippa to PIAA championships in football and basketball, said he learned the intricacies of the defense from his position coach, Ryan Manalac.

“I was overthinking a lot more,” Lindsey said. “Now that he’s broke it down to me and we’ve been practicing it so I can see it on film, I feel like that’s been helping me even more, trusting my keys. Once I get my keys and read everything, (it’s) just being a ballplayer.”

Linebackers Rasheem Biles, Jordan Bass and Braylan Lovelace played as freshmen last season, but Lindsey said that doesn’t guarantee anything for him.

“Everybody’s got their own path,” he said. “Mine could be different from last year’s class. “If the time comes for me to be out there as a freshman, I’m open-arms to it. If not, I’m ready to (do) whatever the team needs me (to do) to help the team win.”

Nothing to see here

Earlier this week, a few players made note of the defense running several blitzes during the scrimmage Saturday.

No more than usual, Narduzzi said.

The coach pointed out that his defense blitzed about 33% of the time, which is consistent to what he’s done during his 10 seasons at Pitt and eight previous as defensive coordinator at Michigan State.

“Somewhere between 30% and 34% is pretty much what we do,” he said. “We’re always going to try to keep it within that. Your practice has to match what you are in a game.”

Chancellor, cameras in the house

A brighter light than usual was aimed at Pitt practice Wednesday morning when ACC Network cameras visited the Beano Cook Fields on the South Side.

Set up in a corner of the far field were commentators Wes Durham, EJ Manuel and Roddy Jones, who conducted interviews with players and Narduzzi.

Narduzzi also was pleased to welcome another special guest, Pitt Chancellor Joan Gabel.

“It’s always exciting to get your boss, the chancellor, here,” he said. “Give her a chance to talk to a few of us.”

It’s all in the timing

Elsewhere on the field, retired Pitt coach/administrator Bob Junko, who attends practice every day, put the stopwatch on punters’ hang times. He was pleased to see his grandson, junior Caleb Junko, reach 5.15 seconds, his best of the day.

Bob Junko, a Trinity graduate, coached special teams and nearly every position on the field during a career that stretched back to 1968 at the University of Tulsa. He said any hang time that’s 5 seconds or longer is considered good.

But probably the most amazing feat of the day was performed by Junko’s buddy, friend of the Pitt program Craig Stover, who hasn’t missed a practice all summer. Without a watch and just using his eyes, Stover timed the punts in his head and precisely matched what Junko saw on his watch.

Notable

At running back, Narduzzi said senior Daniel Carter “has picked it up the past couple days. I was a little disappointed earlier.” … The position battle continues at center between Terrence Moore and Lyndon Cooper. “It’s not going to end until probably after the scrimmage and maybe into (next) week. Who knows?” Narduzzi said.