MORE HEADLINES - PODCAST: Playing spoiler, playing freshmen and playing for the future | Under the Lights: How did Pitt's recruits perform this week? | Prospect report: Reeves and Sibley shine

The collective improvement of Pitt’s defense over the remaining games of the 2016 season may be negligible, but in Saturday’s loss at Miami, the coaches used a few players whose individual improvement could bode well for the future.

Due to a variety of circumstances, freshman defensive tackle Amir Watts, freshman cornerback Damar Hamlin and redshirt freshman linebacker Saleem Brightwell all played quite a bit against the Hurricanes.

Brightwell worked at the Money linebacker position he has played throughout the season and recorded three tackles, including two solo stops and one tackle for loss as well as one quarterback hurry.

“We wanted to get him in there,” head coach Pat Narduzzi said Monday. “We think he has a lot of ability and we’ve been wanting to get him in there; it all depends on the game plan and what someone is doing offensively. We know there are some ‘puppy’ mistakes he’ll make, being a redshirt freshman.

“We try to put guys in based on what they can do, what they do well; Miami was a good team he could play against and be in the right spot most of the time. And in a year, he’ll be totally different; he’ll be able to play every game, I think. But he’s still learning; there are times in practice when the ball is going [one] way and he’s going [the other] way. We have to make sure that doesn’t happen on game day. If that’s going to happen, he can’t be in the game. But Saleem, when he has played and we’ve put him in position to be successful, has done a nice job for us as well. So he’ll continue to play.”

So far this season, Brightwell has played in eight games, including a start at Oklahoma State. He will enter the 2017 season as the prohibitive favorite to start at Money linebacker, a position that will be open after the departures of Mike Caprara and Bam Bradley.

There will be at least one cornerback job open next season, too, and Hamlin could very well be the favorite there. After making his season debut in the fourth quarter of the loss to Virginia Tech, the freshman from Central Catholic played extensively at Miami and recorded four tackles.

“I think, as a true freshman, I thought he played pretty good,” Narduzzi said. “He could play with a better technique, as always, like every one of our players could on offense and defense and special teams. But as a true freshman going in there against skilled receivers in (Stacy) Coley and (Ahmon) Richards, you can’t be disappointed. He’s thrown in the fire there as a young guy, and I think he stepped up. He played with an attitude, too, which was good. He had a little dog in him.”

Perhaps as a result of his play on Saturday, Hamlin appears as an “OR” starter at cornerback with junior Avonte Maddox, who made his return to the field at Miami after missing two games with an injury.

Injuries also led to extended reps for Watts at Miami. After senior starters Tyrique Jarrett and Shakir Soto were hurt on the same play, the freshman from Chicago (and redshirt junior Jeremiah Taleni) had to play a lot against the Hurricanes.

Narduzzi was aiming for more snaps for Watts going into the game, but the target number increased significantly in light of the injuries to Jarrett and Soto.

“Like I told you, the week before I was upset that he didn’t play - he obviously got his opportunity and I thought he did some good things,” Narduzzi said. “He popped out of his gap a couple times late, like freshmen do; when you get doubles, don’t spin out of it…he did that a couple of times, but that’s a freshman mistake. But that’s why he needs to get reps and continue to play.”

While Narduzzi said Watts and Hamlin made - and will continue to make - freshman mistakes, there’s also no question that the live game action they saw at Miami will pay dividends down the road - even as soon as this week’s game at Clemson, a game that will likely feature the freshmen again.

“Defensive line is a little different than DB so you see a little bit more, but I think Amir certainly got better and I think Damar stayed about the same the whole time,” Narduzzi said. “But it’s a little harder; you can see when you’re making contact every down with somebody as a D-tackle, it’s two different positions to look at. But Amir did get comfortable out there, which was good. And I think Damar was solid all day, based on what he did out there.”