Harley on the linebackers, developing youth, recruiting and more
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Pitt is replacing two starting linebackers, and LB coach/recruiting coordinator Rob Harley met the media Thursday to talk about it.
IT’S THE THIRD DAY; HOW HAVE YOU LOST YOUR VOICE ALREADY?
HARLEY: Shoot, I lost my voice the first day. It’s just coaching. We’ve got the music going, so it’s good. It’s all energy. It’s all good. I’ve got to do voice warmup like Beyonce or something before a concert. I have to call her and see what she does.
YOU’VE GOT HER NUMBER?
HARLEY: No, I don’t. Jay-Z might have something to say about that.
HOW’S SALEEM LOOKED AT THE MIKE? IN THE SPRING, YOU WANTED TO SEE MORE COMMUNICATION OUT OF HIM; ARE YOU STARTING TO SEE THAT?
HARLEY: He’s been good. You know, it’s always tough when you move positions; you get a little more responsibility but he can handle it. He’s a third-year player and he welcomed the role last spring. So he’s been really good. He’s an introverted person, but on the field, he does not lack that one bit, being vocal. That’s what you love about him and he’s physical and he’s kind of - we’ve forced that leadership role on him and he’s taking it and running with it and we’ve been really happy with him.
JOSH TWEETS THOSE ‘DOG SOLDIERS OF THE DAY;’ DOES IT SEEM LIKE SEUN IDOWU HAS REALLY BROUGHT A LEADERSHIP AND VETERAN MENTALITY SO FAR?
HARLEY: Yeah, he’s consistent. That’s the word you’d use for Seun. Every day, you know what you’re going to get: great energy, great effort, and the guy is just meticulous about the details. He’s been a big-time leader for us through the summer. Obviously last year he played basically every snap for us and we’re looking for him to be a guy that really leads the entire defense this year, not just the ‘backers.
HOW NICE IS IT TO SEE THAT, BECAUSE PAT SAID A BUNCH OF TIMES AND JOSH HAS SAID THAT NO ONE’S STARTING JOB IS JUST GIVEN BACK TO THEM.
HARLEY: It’s good. Because, again, we’ve preached that for three years since we’ve been here. There’s no job that’s final and that’s weekly, all week long during the season: whoever plays the best is going to play. He’s a guy that’s taken that to heart and every day it’s competing. He’s going to help the younger guys but he’s not going to give up the spot and he’s going to play tough, and that’s really what you want. He’s like a program guy: great athlete and he does everything correct, and you can’t get any better than him.
ZEISE HAS PLAYED BOTH MONEY AND STAR; HE’S MONEY NOW STRICTLY?
HARLEY: Yeah, but again, those guys, it’s the same position. It really is. It’s just a matter of where they go: field, boundary, where they align, what are they doing. So it’s the same position and you’re really just looking to get your best three. So if he ends up being that, we kind of like that rotation right now. And if he can keep his job and win that job, we kind of like that, having those three guys. You like having two Star-type guys on the field at the same time. So that’s what he’s repping right now, but really, all of those guys could go either way.
WHAT DOES HE BRING TO THE DEFENSE?
HARLEY: Not just because he was a wide receiver, but obviously he’s athletic enough to play wide receiver. So he can move, he’s quick, he’s got great feet, he’s smart and, again, he’s learning back to his high school days how to be physical and he’s learned that through last season and through fall camp and through spring ball and he’s really brought a lot of maturity to our room, too. He’s a serious, serious dude and he wants to be good and he’s kind of that quiet leader in our group.
DID HE HAVE TO TALK YOU GUYS INTO LETTING HIM PLAY IN THE BOWL GAME?
HARLEY: No. No.
HE WAS READY?
HARLEY: Yeah.
HOW BIG OF A LOSS IS WIRGINIS FOR THOSE FIRST THREE WEEKS?
HARLEY: Well, we’re moving on. I mean, we’ve got to move. All that’s behind us now and it’s the guys up, next up, and we’re rolling.
YOU GUYS ROTATE A LOT; CHASE PINE, IS HE A GUY THAT HAS REALLY BUILT OFF HIS PERFORMANCE IN THE SPRING?
HARLEY: He has. He’s a big, big kid. He’s big, athletic, he’s physical, and we’re looking for him - after a redshirt year, he’s been in the system now for a year. And obviously a lot more to learn; you never master it in one year. But he’s got a chance. He’s got a chance to make an impact for us and be a guy that plays a lot of plays for us. So he’s been good, but again, you think about it: this is his first action - spring and now fall camp - really in his whole career. So there’s a lot of growing pains with those young guys, but he’s been good and those guys are kind of dialed in through the leadership of Idowu and Brightwell and Zeise kind of telling them, ‘Hey, this is the standard.’
OBVIOUSLY LAST YEAR YOU DIDN’T WANT TO HAVE THE INJURIES THAT YOU HAD AT THE LINEBACKER POSITION, BUT HAS THAT SORT OF BENEFITTED IN THIS CAMP IN HAVING GUYS THAT MIGHT NOT HAVE PLAYED LAST YEAR AS MUCH IF THERE WEREN’T THOSE INJURIES?
HARLEY: Obviously, no injury is a good injury. But we always look to roll in six guys in this day and age of football. Like we always talk, it’s like a hockey line change; you’ve got to be ready to move guys in and out if a guy needs a blow, and playing a lot of guys definitely helps you. So we’ve had a lot of guys with some experience, experience in big-game situations, just experience in game situations is critical. We’ve had that. So now it’s just about getting guys to be more consistent, and they’re going to get that through experience and reps.
WHO ARE SOME OF THOSE GUYS ON THE SECOND LINE?
HARLEY: Well, you’ve got Chase Pine, you’ve got Jalen Williams, you’ve got Anthony McKee, and you work those guys in. And Elias Reynolds. So those guys are working. And you’ve got your freshmen; you’ll see which one of those guys can be a guy that can fill in there. Right now, we’re so early in it, you’re just trying to throw guys out there, see what the best mix is and see who plays the best.
MOVING SALEEM TO THE MIDDLE, THAT HELPS IN THE SHORT TERM, BUT DOES THAT SOLIDIFY LONG-TERM, TOO? IS THERE MORE BEHIND HIM?
HARLEY: I think it’s good for Saleem because you’re learning more positions. You know, Saleem can play all three of them, and it just helps his development. Obviously, we needed him there, but you’ve got Chase and you’ve got Elias and you’ve got other guys that can move in there. So I think it’s good for him, I think it’s good for our depth, it definitely is. But it’s good for him because now he’s played Money - he played Money all last year - and now he can be closer to mastering the defense earlier because he’s seen it from a different angle and not being boxed in. So it’s good for our defense, it’s good for him and I think we’ll be okay.
DO YOU HAVE MORE VERSATILITY TO FIND THE THREE BEST LINEBACKERS THAN YOU DID LAST YEAR? LIKE THE PLAYERS MIGHT BE MORE VERSATILE THAN LAST YEAR’S WERE?
HARLEY: I don’t know about that. I just think we’ve got some guys that have been in the system, as opposed to a couple years ago - obviously you come in as a new staff and you’re trying to put your system in. Right now, we’ve got a lot of guys who have heard a lot of the stuff before. That goes a long way. So maybe we’re more versatile because we have more guys understanding our terminology and what we expect.
WITH YOUR NEW DUTIES, ARE THERE ENOUGH HOURS IN THE DAY FOR YOU?
HARLEY: No. I work 25 hours a day. There’s never enough time. I need more time. More time. You need to give me your time. I’ll work on your hours.
WHAT DOES THAT ENTAIL? COORDINATING WITH THE RECRUITING DEPARTMENT? A LOT OF PAPERWORK? WHAT ARE YOUR NEW DUTIES?
HARLEY: It’s kind of just - it’s almost a liaison role, if you look at it, because obviously our recruiting department handles a lot of our stuff behind the scenes. But obviously we’re the boots on the ground as the coaches out on the road. Those guys aren’t going out on the road. They’re not doing a bunch of talking to the recruits. So we obviously have our ear to the ground and we know what those guys like and what they want and what they want to hear and what positions they want to play and all of those things. So it’s my job to kind of coordinate that and manage that group and get what Coach wants told to those guys through our eyes, and then have those guys go execute it. It really is a liaison role, more than coordination.