PITTSBURGH — Week by week, Rodney Hammond Jr. waited his turn.
Following a strong showing in the team’s season opener against West Virginia, the sophomore tailback spent the remainder of September and half of October watching from the sidelines with an injury, as his teammate Israel Abanikanda piled up one big rushing effort after another.
The understanding within Pitt’s locker room was that even with Abanikanda rolling, eventually a time would come where Hammond’s services would once again be needed — and when that time came Saturday afternoon against No. 22 Syracuse, the young running back rose to the occasion.
