Blair dismissed; Whitehead and Wirginis suspended three games

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Pitt’s defense will be even more shorthanded than expected this season, as one projected starter has been dismissed from the team and two projected starters have been suspended for the first three games.

Senior defensive end Rori Blair has been dismissed from the team and senior linebacker Quintin Wirginis and junior safety Jordan Whitehead will miss the season opener against Youngstown State as well as the rivalry game at Penn State on Sept. 9 and a home game against Oklahoma State on Sept. 16.

The suspensions and dismissal are the latest blows to a Pitt defense that was already replacing starters at seven positions while looking to rebound from a 2016 season that saw the Panthers allow opponents to average more than 330 yards per game through the air. Redshirt senior defensive tackle Jeremiah Taleni, a projected starter and Pitt's most experienced defensive lineman, was dismissed from the team this spring.

Blair played in 35 games over the last three years and started 20; in that span, he recorded 10 sacks and 14 tackles for loss. Removing him from the roster leaves Pitt with virtually no career production at defensive end.

Whitehead is one of the team’s best overall players, a two-year starter who led Pitt in tackles in 2015 and was the leader in tackles per game last season after only appearing in nine games.

Whitehead’s absence likely means increased opportunities for redshirt sophomore Jazzee Stocker and redshirt freshman Bricen Garner. After spending his first two seasons playing boundary safety, Whitehead learned the field safety position this spring and was expected to play there in 2017, providing some extra speed and athleticism on the back end of the defense.

Now Stocker and Garner will battle for the starting job during Whitehead’s suspension.

Wirginis, a three-year letter-winner from Fox Chapel, was projected to be the Panthers' starting middle linebacker and a leader for the defense this year. He played in 38 games over the first three years of his career, primarily on special teams but also as the top reserve behind three-year starter Matt Galambos.

Last season, Wirginis added a role in Pitt's third-down package and recorded 4.5 tackles for loss and four sacks - more sacks than any other Panther linebacker.

The loss of Wirginis is a blow to a position group that was already replacing two starters and a top reserve. His primary backup in spring camp was redshirt freshman Chase Pine, who moved to middle linebacker this spring. The most likely option to replace Wirginis, though, is redshirt sophomore Saleem Brightwell.

After playing "Money" linebacker (the position that lines up to the boundary) in 12 games last season, Brightwell opened spring camp at middle linebacker on the first team, learning the position while Wirginis was limited early in camp due to injury.

Once Wirginis returned, Brightwell shifted back to Money, but his experience in the middle this spring probably makes him the top option at middle linebacker behind Wirginis (or potentially in competition with Wirginis). If Brightwell moves to the middle, redshirt junior Elijah Zeise, who started the season opener last year at Star linebacker and learned the Money position this spring, would likely step into the starting lineup at Money.

The suspensions of Whitehead and Wirginis are the latest blow for Pitt’s defense, which is looking to rebound from a 2016 season that saw the Panthers allow opponents to average more than 330 yards per game through the air. Redshirt senior defensive tackle Jeremiah Taleni, a projected starter and Pitt's most experienced defensive lineman, was dismissed from the team this spring.

Additionally, Pat Narduzzi announced that redshirt junior offensive lineman Alex Bookser has been suspended for the first game due to his offseason legal issues.