There wasn’t any level in Daejon Reynolds making a giant announcement.

He didn’t come to Pittsburgh for any form of publicity. He got here to work, and as he was hitting the books within the classroom and throwing with the quarterbacks and extensive receivers, not many individuals knew he was in Pittsburgh.

An official announcement came to visit every week after he arrived on campus, simply to let everybody know he formally made the leap from Florida to Pitt, nevertheless it’s at all times been concerning the work. He noticed the enchantment in Phil Jurkovec and Christian Veilleux earlier than he arrived, and the early returns have solely bolstered his perception.

At the same time as Reynolds was fielding curiosity from Miami, West Virginia and Mississippi State within the switch portal, he noticed how Pitt introduced in Jurkovec and Veilleux. He’s already constructed a degree of belief with the offensive workers, and what’s he enthusiastic about now?

“The truth that we’re going to throw the ball, particularly from the 2 guys that we introduced in,” Reynolds stated final week on the UPMC Rooney Sports activities Complicated. “I simply really feel like that’s the massive factor.”

He isn’t alone in trying towards the way forward for a Pitt offense that can function with extra steadiness than it did in 2022 with now-BYU quarterback Kedon Slovis underneath middle.

“Final yr,” Lamar Seymore stated final week on the UPMC Rooney Sports activities Complicated, “it was a run-heavy crew, and now they need to unfold the ball, in order that’s higher for me as a receiver.

“It was a brand new system that they simply put in, they usually had a superb working again final yr, so it was solely proper to run the ball.”

Clearly, neither Reynolds nor Seymore was round final season. Reynolds was a sparingly used wideout at Florida whereas Seymore was a number one receiver at Miami Central Excessive. However each wideouts have lofty targets coming into the offseason.

Reynolds was by no means actually given an opportunity to shine at Florida, with simply 16 targets throughout his redshirt freshman marketing campaign in 2022, however he produced when given the chance. He hauled in 12 receptions for 239 yards (19.9 yards per catch) and two touchdowns over two restricted seasons at Florida, and he’s already working to take the following step.

“(Cignetti) was speaking to me rather a lot about what Jared Wayne did right here,” Reynolds stated. “He nearly went for 1,100 yards, and he’s within the draft this yr. He looks like I can duplicate form of what he did … exploit our passing recreation much more.”

Reynolds put collectively his greatest efficiency of the season towards Vanderbilt, which he likes to remind individuals remains to be an SEC opponent, as he hauled in eight receptions for 165 yards (20.2 yards per catch) and two touchdowns.

He feels just like the Vanderbilt recreation was the one recreation he had final season the place he had the possibility to truly showcase his skills. In his eyes, he’s a playmaker, somebody who can play inside and outdoors and nonetheless exit and function a lead blocker.

Reynolds appears to Philadelphia Eagles’ star A.J. Brown for inspiration in his recreation. When he goes as much as make a catch, it’s his ball or nobody else’s. And with the same 6-foot-2, 200-pound body, there’s potential for an rising contested catch artist.

Reynolds is a bit stockier than Seymore at this level, as Seymore stands at 6-foot-2, 185 kilos, however Seymore holds himself to the same customary. He’s a wideout who will get open and scores touchdowns — at the same time as a real freshman, he expects to make an impression on the sphere as an impression wideout.

“I work laborious,” Reynolds stated. “I’m aggressive, too. If we do one-on-ones, I wouldn’t let a DB attempt to lock me up.”

It’s a large receiver’s room that might want to change its No. 1 goal in 2022, who was additionally the vocal chief within the room, and Konata Mumpfield and Bub Means are the one returners with vital expertise. It’s a largely inexperienced unit.

Myles Alston, Che Nwabuko and Addison Copeland every boast a unique skillset, however none have recorded a catch on the school degree. Israel Polk, Kenny Johnson and Zion Fowler are all coming into the system for his or her first collegiate seasons.

It’s not simply the extensive receivers in flux both, as Slovis and Israel Abanikanda will even be elsewhere in 2023. It’s an opportunity for Cignetti’s offense to reset, to get a contemporary begin with the personnel at its disposal now. There are two new quarterbacks, a few proficient working backs and a younger, unproven extensive receivers corps.

Veilleux, who will likely be competing with Jurkovec for the beginning spot at quarterback all through the offseason, sees the potential. He’s seen Cignetti’s scheme — the imaginative and prescient that Cignetti has for the way he desires the offense to function. And he believes in what might be.

“We’re undoubtedly going to air the ball out, have a powerful run recreation and we’re gonna get individuals open,” Veilleux stated final week on the UPMC Rooney Sports activities Complicated. “That’s Cignetti’s huge factor, getting individuals open. So, we’ve got the potential to do plenty of injury this yr.

“Simply watching the movie that he places on of NFL groups working these things, what he did at (Boston Faculty), there’s plenty of potential. Simply because final yr they ran plenty of run performs doesn’t imply that this yr’s going to be the identical.”

There’s plenty of work to be completed between now and Sept. 2, when Wofford involves city for the season opener, however Reynolds nonetheless needs he might journey forward to the opening kickoff towards Wofford proper now.

There’s little question that the trio of Rodney Hammond Jr., Derrick Davis Jr. and C’Bo Flemister will likely be a key part of the offense in 2023, nevertheless it gained’t be an offense that will likely be hamstrung by its quarterback play both.

It is going to be intriguing to comply with the offensive development all through the spring and into coaching camp over the summer time.