It seemed like a given that a Pitt player would win the ACC’s Linebacker of the Week honors this week.
It was just a question of which one.
The answer, it turns out, is sophomore Rasheem Biles, who had the most impressive stat line of the Panthers’ 41-13 win over Syracuse at Acrisure Stadium last Thursday night.
Biles was all over the field against the Orange, recording a game-high 12 tackles, one tackle for loss, one sack and an interception on Syracuse’s first drive that he returned 35 yards to the end zone for a touchdown.
It was Biles’ first career interception and the most tackles he has recorded in a game.
Through seven games this season - of which he has played six - Biles is third on the team in tackles with 52, first in tackles for loss with nine, second in sacks with 3.5 and one of eight players to record at least one interception this season.
Of course, Biles wasn’t the only Pitt linebacker to stand out against Syracuse. Fellow outside linebackers Kyle Louis and Braylan Lovelace also had pick-sixes, and middle linebacker Brandon George recorded an interception as well.
“We’ve all got stuff to prove, we’re all hungry, we all just know what we want,” Biles said after the Syracuse game. “We all want to get to that next level, and we want to be the best in the nation.
“We've been saying that since we started calling ourselves the Sharks. We want to be the best in the nation. Our whole group just wanted to be the best in the nation, literally. We just keep training for that, we keep preparing for that. We do all the extra stuff we need to do. We key in on our keys. We watch a lot of film together, so we really just want it bad. That's what it is, for real, for real.”
Pitt has now accumulated 16 weekly honors from the ACC this season, including three Linebacker of the Week awards. Prior to Biles claiming his first this week, Louis was named Linebacker of the Week after the West Virginia and North Carolina games.
No. 18 Pitt (7-0, 3-0) will face No. 20 SMU (7-1, 4-0) on the road Saturday night at 8 pm.
