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Jeff Capel said losing Au’Diese Toney and Xavier Johnson hurt Pitt in terms of depth and experience for what remains of this season.
Still, he’s optimistic his players and coaches can recover in the long run and continue to build the program.
“In the long term, I don’t see any effect, to be honest with you,” he said Thursday night, speaking on the “Jeff Capel Show” on 93.7 FM. “It doesn’t mean anything to decrease them.”
His argument: it’s time to go back to working with those who want to stay in the fight.
“We have to recruit. We have to have guys. We must continue to develop the young men who are part of our program, ”he said. “This is what we plan to do. I look at it like that gives us two more scholarships to go get guys who really want to be here, be a part of what we do, with the guys we have.
Capel didn’t specifically explain why two of his best players left the team with just three games left in the regular season.
While noting that Toney would have missed Sunday’s game at NC State and possibly the rest of the season with a concussion, he called on outsiders not to judge his former players.
“We wish these two good luck,” he said. “They are both good kids. It’s been an incredibly difficult year with everything that is going on with the pandemic, with the mental health, the pressures (on young people), the things they are feeling.
“I hope people don’t judge these kids, both on and off the pitch, for the decisions they make. Many factors come into play in these decisions. ”
He did not specify these factors. Earlier, in a statement, he said the players’ departures had taken place by mutual agreement.
“For us, we try to focus on the guys we have and end our season as strong as possible,” said Capel.
He said the message to his players who are waiting to play the rest of the season is: Sometimes adversity does happen. He hopes the team can better come out on the other side for the experience.
“Two of the greatest feelings a human being can have is, # 1, a comeback,” he said.
“A lot of people are going through difficult times. You find out who you are. You find out who is in your corner. You find out what you’re made of. We talked about combat.
He also referred to the return of Tiger Woods which led to his most recent Masters Championship.
“People love a great comeback story,” Capel said.
“The second biggest achievement is when you finish something. We have a chance to end the season strong. It’s an opportunity for other guys. We have to run to the finish line, and we have to chase it. It’s an opportunity for other guys to get involved.
He mentioned Nike Sibande and freshmen Femi Odukale, William Jeffress and Noah Collier as players who could be given more playing time.
“I feel like we still have some good players,” Capel said.
Jerry DiPaola is a staff writer for Tribune-Review. You can contact Jerry by email at [email protected] or via Twitter .
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Pitt | Sports
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