Q&A: Lackawanna Assistant Coach Josh Pardini

Ryan Snyder: I’ll start with Norval Black. What did you guys see from him coming out of high school?

Josh Pardini: One of the main reasons we recruited him was because of his basketball film. Coming out of Northwest High School in Maryland, he hadn’t played football in a long time until he played his senior year. Our wide receiver coach loved everything he saw on tape, and you could see his athleticism, but watching his basketball tape is what really sold us. He’s just so fluid in everything he does.

He’s an incredible athlete. When we got him in here, he emerged as one of the faster guys we have. That’s how he earned one of our outside receiver jobs and he hasn’t looked back since. He wasn’t our leading receiver, but that’s because we always had him stretching the field. He averaged 30 yards a catch for us, so he’s used to making big plays. We’re similar to what Penn State does, schematically, so that’s going to help him moving forward. That was a big part of the conversations I had with their offensive staff. But he’s going to be our top guy this year. I think he had nine catches in the spring game. He’s going to have a big year.

Snyder: Norval didn’t wait around at all. He earned the offer and committed immediately. Have you talked to him about that? Why did he make that move as quickly as he did?

Pardini: I think he was just always intrigued by Penn State the most. I remember a talk that we had with him at the end of the season. After seeing what we saw last year, we were saying ‘Norval, this is going to get crazy for you. You need to be prepared for these schools.’ So, we asked him about what he thought of some different places and Penn State was immediately the school he brought up. Whether it be because of [Anthony] Whigan and [Jaquan] Brisker or something earlier in his life, I’m not really sure, but I do know that Penn State was always the school he was interested in the most.

Snyder: Who were some of the other schools showing interest?

Pardini: Everyone that has come through here loved him. When Penn State came up here to see him, Coach [Tim] Salem from Pitt was also here. I know West Virginia and Syracuse have been here, as well as Maryland. Maryland was trying to get him on campus and I think most of these schools wanted him to come out. He just wanted to go to Penn State first because that’s where he wanted to be.

Snyder: Ji’Ayir Brown now camped at Penn State Sunday and left with an offer. He played cornerback for you last year, but where does he project at the next level? I believe he’s currently around 6-foot, 200 pounds. He’ll continue to grow some, too.

Pardini: He’s probably a safety or maybe even a linebacker at the next level. Honestly, he’s similar to Kyzir White in a lot of ways. He played corner for us last year. He did a hell of a job, just because he’s so talented. But moving forward, I see him as a safety or even a box safety. We’ve been honest with him. We told him right from the start that he’s probably going to grow into that role, just like Kyzir did.

Snyder: Last year, Jaquan Brisker played all over the field for you guys. Is that how Brown projects?

Pardini: Yeah, he’s going to play the Brisker role for us this year. Bill Reis, our defensive coordinator, does an incredible job. When he has the bullets, he knows how to shoot them. He found ways to utilize everything Brisker and Kyzir brought to the team and now Ji’Ayir is that same mold. He’s special.

Snyder: What other schools are showing interest in Brown? I know Kent State offered. Anyone else close to making that move?

Pardini: So far, Kent State and Penn State are the only two, but I know he’s talking to people. Honestly, no one has been as thorough with our guys as Penn State has the last couple of years. They’re in early, they listen to what we think and they background check everyone. They’ve been great when it comes to that, so it’s not a surprise to us that Penn State was the first big school to come after these guys. They’ve been the best for awhile now at identifying our talent.

Snyder: It does feel as if Penn State is all in with your players nowadays. There used to be a few other schools that would offer first. Now, Coach Franklin and his staff seem to be leading the way.

Pardini: We think a big part of that is because they trust our guys. If Whigan went up there and wasn’t focused this spring, it may have been different. But he improved all spring and our other guys have been pretty good for them. I think that’s a big reason why they’re moving quicker than most others. We take it as the ultimate compliment, especially when you consider that Penn State was never really a program that recruited junior college players all that hard.

Snyder: Both Black and Brown would have three years to play, correct?

Pardini: Yeah. Both of them came in here and played right away as freshman. They were both starters from day one. We knew we had to get them on the field. The only reason Ji’Ayir played corner was because we were solid everywhere else. We had to get him on the field. I think he’s just a difference-maker. Like Brisker, he can get you tackles for loss and rush off the edge, but he also has great ball skills, can play man coverage and zone coverage. This spring, we put him at free safety and played a [cover one], so we just let him roam the field. His range is incredible and his instincts are some of the best we’ve seen. We were calling him the human eraser on the offensive side because he was just all over the place.

Snyder: Any other players we need to keep an eye on?

Pardini: I know they’re interested in Pheldarius Payne. He came with Norval and Ji’Ayir for that visit in May. He’s an unbelievable pass-rusher. Some schools like him as a three-technique inside, while others thing he can play defensive end. I know he’s now seen West Virginia, Syracuse and Penn State and I expect others to come calling. Honestly, I could see his recruitment moving really fast. It’s starting to pick up now, but I really think that, at some point, it’s going to just take off.

Also, Robert Kennedy, our cornerback from Jeannette. He was the player of the year in Pennsylvania coming out a few years ago. He was always a great player, just had to improve in other areas. But he was our starting corner opposite of Ji’Ayir. He’s already been out to Pitt and a few others. We’ll see where he goes, but someone will be lucky to have him. I think the main thing is that he’s only 5-11. If a school can get past the fact that he’s not 6-foot, they’re going to get a great player because he can run with anyone.