Kyle Louis was always athletic. That was easy to see.

Watch him during his senior year at East Orange High School in New Jersey, and the athleticism is obvious. It was there when he was piling up 118 tackles, 32 tackles for loss, two forced fumbles, an interception and, in the semifinals of the state playoffs, a 70-yard punt return for a touchdown.

And when Pitt flipped him from Temple in October of that fall, there was never a question about the athleticism he brought to the table.

But athleticism alone isn’t enough to make a player the most productive defender in the country.

To get to that level, it takes more. And “more” is exactly what Louis has given this season. But he hasn’t just given more on the field; the redshirt sophomore linebacker has put in the work off the field, and if anything elevated his level of play in 2024, it’s the time he spent in the film room.

“That was the biggest thing that changed my perspective on how I see the football games, because athleticism is one thing but, you know, especially at linebacker, all you have to do is take one wrong step and you already lost the play,” Louis said this week.

“So once Coach [Ryan Manalac] opened my eyes to that, I just exaggerated it. I made sure I stayed on top of my game because as a linebacker, you have to know everything. Like, you're not just in the pass coverage like a DB or just in the run game like the D-linemen; you really have to know everything. So I always try to prepare myself in the best way I can every morning for every practice; from spring practice to fall camp to in-season, I always try to prepare myself the same way.”

Louis said that linebackers need to know the duties of the defensive backs and defensive linemen, but what has been remarkable about his season so far is that he is out-performing those positions at their primary tasks:

His four interceptions are more than any Pitt defensive back and his seven sacks are more than any Pitt defensive lineman.

Throw in his 14.5 tackles for loss (the most on the team) and 83 tackles (second on the team), and Louis is, far and away, the Panthers’ most productive defensive player.

But the superlatives don’t stop there. Because not only is Louis Pitt’s most productive defensive player - he’s the most productive defensive player in the nation. And that’s not a hyperbole. No other player in the country has at least 80 tackles, 14 tackles for loss, seven sacks and four interceptions. Some players have more tackles. Some have more tackles for loss and sacks. And some have more interceptions. But no one has a stat line as all-encompassing as Louis.

As such, the first-year starter has gone from unknown to a lock for first-team all-conference honors, the frontrunner for ACC Defensive Player of the Year and a likely All-America candidate.

“Well, I don't do the voting, but I know I love that he's on our team every single Saturday. I do know that,” safeties coach Cory Sanders said this week. “I know that I love he's on our team every single practice, the way he works, the way he shows up and the way he makes everybody else better around him.

“So at the end of the day, whoever does all that voting, hopefully they vote right. But I think Kyle Louis is a stud and I love the way the kid approaches the game. And it's not only like, ‘Oh, he makes these splash plays, he makes these big plays.’ No, he makes good, consistent plays, too. And he shows up every single day.”

Showing up every day isn’t just a cliche for Louis. He’s regularly one of the first people - players or coaches - in Pitt’s facility each morning, a habit he picked up during his first two years with the Panthers when injuries required early-morning rehab sessions. Once he got healthy, he was already in the habit of coming in early, so he continued it, and instead of getting treatment, he watched film.

Unlike the older members of the program who find themselves in the facility by 6 am, Louis said, he puts in his work without the aid of caffeine.

“No, I don't drink no coffee. I don't like none of that stuff. I just get up and get it.”

That kind of drive isn’t automatic with Louis. While he complements his early mornings with watching film throughout the day - sometimes, he admits, during class - it’s easier some days than others.

On the days when it’s not so easy, though, he has learned to push himself. And he believes that learning process has translated to the field as well.

“Like, no matter how I feel, like, I definitely just condition myself, like, you’ve got to go. You’ve got to go because who else is going to go for you?

“Same way for on the field. Like, you have to go make this play. Don't wait for the next man; you have to go make it. They're counting on you, you know? Even before people knew my name, you know, thinking the same way. Like, you have to be the person. You have to be that person because if you’re waiting for the next man, the next man is probably waiting for the next man. So who’s going to do it?”

This season, it has been Louis who has done it. Among his biggest plays were an interception to end the win over West Virginia, a sack to cement Pitt’s win at North Carolina and a 50-yard pick-six against Syracuse. He has been the Panthers’ best overall player, and when the team was in the midst of its 7-0 start, he said he and his teammates would not be satisfied with a 9-3 record.

Now, after three consecutive losses, Pitt is staring at 9-3 as a best case scenario. And to get to that mark, the Panthers will have to win a pair of road games - at Louisville this weekend and at Boston College next weekend - to close the regular season.

“I could probably speak for every player here: this is embarrassing,” Louis said. “Like, no matter if you're not an ACC championship contender anymore or anything outside of that, like, it's still you playing for the name on your chest.

“So, you know, we have so many people that are looking out for us, especially when we was on that 7-0 run. We had, you know, national attention. We just - we have to stop now. We can't go 7-0 to 7-5, you know? So we’re starving to stop this hump right now, get over it, and then, you know, just win out the rest of the season.”