Blue-Gold game draft: Johnson the top pick, Holstein taken after Yarnell

The annual Blue-Gold spring football game will have a different feel.

Saturday's 2 p.m. kickoff of college football's ultimate intrasquad scrimmage at Acrisure Stadium will be the first public showing of five weeks of on-field work and more weeks beyond that of off-the-field change. A simplified version of Kade Bell's offense is sure to reveal new concepts that had not been shown by the previous coordinator, while Pat Narduzzi's defense is expected to show more dominance as displayed by three wins in team scrimmages over the winter and spring.

For all of the success the defense touts from the spring, the offense still took center stage in Wednesday's Blue-Gold game draft on the South Side.

The acting commissioner Narduzzi announced wide receiver Kenny Johnson as the first pick to the Gold team, and the rest fell into place for a mix of youth and veteran on either side to make for a balance.

“We needed him as a receiver and we needed him as a weapon and we’re happy we got him," Gold team captain Gavin Bartholomew said. "Tremendous growth from last year. Everyone saw what he did last year and I think he’s just grown a ton more this year, (in the) offseason, and during spring ball.”

Bartholomew, Rashad Battle, Daniel Carter and Donovan McMillon picked for the Gold team, while Brandon George, Ben Sauls, Nate Matlack, and Konata Mumpfield selected players for the Blue team. Narduzzi said that special teams coordinator and tight ends coach Jacob Bronowski will coach the blue team, and defensive backs coach Archie Collins will coach the Gold team Saturday.

George handed in a card with wide receiver Cam Montiero's name scribbled on it to counter the Gold team's selection of Johnson. Johnson being off of the board did not catch George off-guard at all.

"We kind of figured that was going to happen because they needed a receiver just as far as the super seniors that are already put on our team," George said. "We already had Konata on our squad so we figured they would come up and say Kenny anyway. We already had that figured in."

As a true freshman, Johnson played in all 12 games as a receiver, and he earned a third-team All-ACC accolade as a return specialist. He caught 15 passes for 122 yards and a touchdown while splitting time behind Mumpfield, Bub Means, and Daejon Reynolds.

In addition to the intrigue of Johnson going first overall, the quarterback position was not taken off of the board for either side until the seventh round. Nate Yarnell, predictably, was the first quarterback taken by the Blue team, but the Gold team came right back with a bit of a surprise to be their primary quarterback on Sunday.

Bartholomew handed in a card with Eli Holstein's name on it. The Alabama transfer redshirted as a freshman last season. He is a former four-star recruit who was ranked as the 88th-overall prospect in the 2023 recruiting class by 247Sports.

"Just a lot of consistency and he's shown us that he's very comfortable working with ones, twos, whatever it is," Bartholomew said. "He's really comfortable in the pocket and makes the throws that we expect him to make."

The quarterbacks were drafted in the order of Yarnell, Holstein, Christian Veilleux, Ty Dieffenbach, Julian Dugger, Jake Frantl, and David Lynch. When Phil Jurkovec struggled and later converted to tight end last season, it was Veilleux who earned the starting nod from Narduzzi and then-coordinator Frank Cignetti Jr. Now, Veilleux will back up Yarnell in the spring game after Yarnell earned the staritng job for the final two games of the 2023 season.

Saturday will also be the first test run of the in-helmet communication for the Panthers after it was put in place as a test run for bowl season. Though it has not been approved after being pitched by the NCAA Football Rules Committee just yet for the regular season, it will continue to be in use for the spring game just like it was during the Panthers' spring practices.

“It’s just another tool for us to use, for me to use on the field as far as getting people lined up in their assignments on a quicker basis and not having to snap my head over to the sideline and snap it back against a tempo offense. It’s definitely very useful," said George, who will have linebackers coach Ryan Manalac in his ear Saturday.

One more tool that will be in place on the sidelines Saturday are tablets for instant film reviews, just like he NFL has.

"Just game-time adjustments, seeing what the defense is doing," Bartholomew said. "Sometimes they might adjust to things differently that we do, so being able to see that on the sideline is going to be big."

For Saturday's game offensive lines and seniors were assigned by Narduzzi to balance teams out. Injured players were selected in a separate section at the end of the draft.

These players were not drafted and are unlikely to play or are out Saturday because of injury: OL Dorien Ford, LB Solomon DeShields, LB Keye Thompson, RB Rodney Hammond, OL Terrence Moore, WR Raphael Williams Jr., OL Ryan Jacoby, OL Branson Taylor.

Here are the rosters for Saturday's Blue-Gold game as determined by Wednesday's draft on the South Side:

• BLUE TEAM OFFENSE

Quarterback: Nate Yarnell, Christian Veilleux, Julian Dugger, David Lynch.

Running back: Desmond Reid, Montravius Lloyd, Derrick Davis (listed as probable)

Wide receiver: Konata Mumpfield, Cam Montiero, Zion Fowler-El, Caden Smith, Lamar Seymour, Devin Whitlock, CJ Lee (injured), Che Nwabuko (injured), Benny Haselrig (injured).

Tight end: Jake Overman, Jake Renda, Cole Mitchell.

Tackles: Tai Ray, Brody Riffe, Isaiah Montgomery, George French.

Guard/center: Terrence Enos, Matt Altsman, Ryan Carretta, Moritz Schmoranzer.

• BLUE TEAM DEFENSE/SPECIALISTS

Defensive line: Nate Matlack, Bam Brima, Jimmy Scott, Maverick Gracio, Zach Zollers, Nick James, Isaiah Neal, Nahki Johnson (listed as probable), Zach Crothers (injured), Thomas Aden (injured).

Linebacker: Brandon George, Dylan Bennett, Rasheem Biles, Abe Ibrahim.

Cornerback: Jahvante Royal, Ryland Gandy, Nigel Maynard.

Safety: P.J. O'Brien, Javon McIntyre, Matt Amofa.

Specialists: K Ben Sauls, P Cam Guess, K Franco Fernandez-Enjo, LS Nico Crawford.

• GOLD TEAM OFFENSE

Quarterback: Eli Holstein, Ty Dieffenbach, Jake Frantl.

Running back: Daniel Carter, Caleb Williams, Juelz Goff.

Wide receiver: Kenny Johnson, Jake McConnachie, Thaddeus Shaw, Daejon Reynolds, Israel Polk (listed as probable), Peter Vardzel (injured).

Tight end: Gavin Bartholomew, Josh Altsman, Adam Howanitz.

Tackle: Jackson Brown, Ryan Baer, Grayson Riffe.

Guard/center: Jason Collier, Lyndon Cooper, BJ Williams, Matt Metrosky.

• GOLD TEAM DEFENSE/SPECIALISTS

Defensive line: Dayon Hayes, Sincere Edwards, David Ojigbe, Antonio Camon, Sean FitzSimmons (listed as probable), DT Elliot Donald, DT Francis Brewu (listed as probable).

Linebacker: Luke DelGaudio, Braylan Lovelace, Jeremiah Marcelin, Kyle Louis, Nick Lapi, Drew Foster, Cruce Brookins (injured), Jordan Bass (injured).

Cornerback: Rashad Battle, Noah Bigelow, Tamarion Crumpley (listed as questionable), Tamon Lynum (injured), Shadarian Harrison (injured).

Safety: Donovan McMillon, Jesse Anderson, John Glenn.

Specialists: K Sam Carpenter, P Caleb Junko, LS Nilay Upadhyayula.