The Pitt defensive line imposed its will on opponents in 2019. The Panthers defense was among the top-20 nationally in yards allowed, but the numbers that really stood out were the ones about applying pressure to opposing quarterback.

Pitt was 10th in the country with 103 tackles for loss in 2019, and finished tied for second in the country with 51 team sacks. Many key components from Pitt’s 2019 defense are back for this season, but perhaps no position on the whole roster is deeper than defensive end.

Pitt returns both starters from a year ago, and of course will be gaining 2018 starter Rashad Weaver back from injury. In total, Pitt defensive line coach Charlie Partridge can shuffle and rotate five players with significant playing experience this season.

The headliner, of course, is Patrick Jones II. The senior defensive end had a breakout campaign in 2019 with 43 tackles, 12 tackles for loss, and 8.5 sacks. His performance earned him a spot on the first team in the ACC. By virtue of him returning, he has been added to the preseason watch lists for the prestigious Nagurski and Bednarik Awards.

He knows this season might look a little different.

Towards the end of last season, teams adjusted a bit to Pitt’s pass rush and started getting the ball out quicker. For Jones’ part, he believes he has to simply just raise his game.

“I just got to get back there faster and beat the doubles teams, that’s all I can do - just keep working hard,” he told reporters on Friday following the first day of camp.

Joining Jones will be senior Rashad Weaver, who was expected to be the leader of the defense in 2019 before an ACL injury during camp ended his season. In 2018, Weaver started all 14 games for Pitt and posted 47 tackles, 14 tackles for loss, and 6.5 sacks.

His return elevates the entire position group.

“We’ve got the same D-Ends we had last year, plus Rashad, so that adds a lot more depth, so that just allows us to play harder all the time,” Jones said.

In Weaver’s absence, Deslin Alexandre emerged as a top playmaker on defense. He made the most of his opportunity by registering 38 tackles, 10.5 tackles for loss, and 5.5 sacks as he started all 13 games opposite of Jones.

Pitt also saw a pair of redshirt freshman show some ability in 2019. Habakkuk Baldonado appeared in every game and finished with four sacks. John Morgan posted a pair of sacks as a reserve player as well. Both players could be starters once the two seniors move on after this season.

In addition to that, promising redshirt freshman Bam Brima has received praise in the past and prized 2020 recruit and Pittsburgh native Dayon Hates joins a deep and talented group of defensive ends. It’s a position that has been prioritized on the recruiting trail, and the depth is evident heading into 2020.

Jones is the guy, but he knows there are plenty of guys also with that have his same mentality. He believes that makes him work harder.

“Just knowing I’ve got hungry dudes behind me just makes me want to craft everyday,” Jones said. “It makes me feel like me in my head like I’ve got to take every rep like I’m not the starter and I had that mentality because I didn’t start for three years and it was my first year starting last year, so I just got that mentality naturally. Everything I want to do I’ve got to go get it and take it. So I feel like I’m in a competition all the time.”

As for a snap count, he’s not worried. He trusts Partridge to divide the reps the best way possible.

“I don’t think about that,” he said. "I leave that up to Coach Partridge. He’s a great coach, so he knows what he’s doing and I let him handle snap counts and all that, I’m just a player.”

The interview with Jones was prior to the announcement of defensive tackle Jaylen Twyman opting out of the 2020 season. The deep group of ends paired with Twyman, an All-American candidate, and the return of Keyshon Camp made for perhaps the best defensive line in the country. It still should be quite good assuming everyone else still opts-in to play.

“I’m definitely excited to see what all we can do, the whole group,” Jones said. “It should be interesting because like you said we were missing two key, important factors last year, but we still got the job done. So we’re just starting to see how much we can top-off better than last year.”