The linebacker position for the 2024 Pitt football team is expected to be a strength. The talented group is anchored by a promising sophomore class, as well as some veterans to bring leadership. The man in charge of this unit is fourth-year coach Ryan Manalac.

Following Pitt’s practice on Friday, the Panthers’ assistant coach spoke to the media and broke down his position group, looked to this weekend’s scrimmage, and touched on a few more topics. Here is a complete rundown of everything Manalac had to say.

Ryan, you guys have a group that had a lot of experience last year, but not a ton of starting experience. How have you kind of seen them grow throughout camp?

Manalac: Yeah, absolutely. So guys got in the fire, but like you said, not a lot of starters. So we're a hungry group, and excited about the way that they've been coming to work every day, and trying to master fundamentals, and master the scheme, and compete every day. So I think we're taking strides forward, certainly not there yet. We've got a lot of camp to go here still, but pleased with the progress.

What allow guys like Jordan, Raheem, Braylan, and Kyle to a lesser extend be ready to play in their first year?

Manalac: Yeah, I think it's a maturity, first and foremost. Coming into college football, and to play early, you have to have a mature mindset. Jump in, follow the older guys' lead, and jump into the playbook. And it's a tribute to their athleticism, and certainly they can change directions, and they're physical enough to go in there and put their face on a big ball carrier, get off a big offensive lineman. So it's a combination, I think, of maturity, athleticism, and intelligence.

Does it surprise you at all with that group? Does every freshman come in with that, or is this a special group?

Manalac: They have certainly been a special group. I wouldn't say I'm surprised. I think that's the expectation and hope that they didn't disappoint.

How has Brandon George matured and grown throughout the past eight months?

Manalac: Brandon’s been great. He comes to work every day, smile on his face, great personality. And he's gonna try to lead the charge with his work ethic, and he's certainly not afraid to speak up vocally. So very pleased with his leadership.

What do you see from him now that he has more added responsibility? It’s looking like he'll be kind of the starter in the middle? How has he kind of embraced that challenge?

Manalac: Yeah, he's certainly…he’s been ready for this opportunity. You think back a couple years, he's been in that fight for several years, prepared himself to be that guy for several years. Now that opportunity is here. So he's had a few dress rehearsals, so he's eager. He understands what it takes, and he's excited, and he keeps working his tail off.

Is there something different about the sophomores that you have right now? It seems like you have a group of guys that are now pushing in this linebacker room where most of your year you had a group of seniors, or a group of redshirt juniors, guys that have been around for a while…

Manalac: Yeah, I think they know they have to step up. And so it's, they don't have that opportunity to look around and let somebody else fill that space. They gotta, they have to, and they want to. And so it's that little bit of youth there, but they're eager. They're taking accountability, and they're pushing each other. We talk all the time about iron sharpens iron. So they're on each other, and I talk about if you look your brother in the eye and ask him to do something better, you better be walking a certain way too. And I think when you live that way, your room lives that way, spines are stiffened, and everybody moves forward, and so it's a good thing.

Is there an added sense, do you feel, we've heard from other position groups, about how the guys seem to be more detailed, or focusing on the details, more goofing off less. Like when you guys are in your meetings. Do you sense that level of seriousness from your guys, or is it kind of the same, considering Brandon was a leader for you guys last year too?

Manalanc: Yeah, I don't think I've ever had a goofy room. So we've been, we've got a good mature room again, and they also know how to have fun outside the meeting. They're not all the time, but they know when it's time to work, and when it's business time, and they do a good job of locking in.

How has Keye Thompson supported you?

Manalac: Keye has been great, proud of his ability to come in here and learn and lead. Obviously, we ask him to be vocal, and he's done that. He's an emotional football player. Where he came from, he was that guy, and he has that in him. He showed that passion. He's made some big plays in camps. We're really excited about where Keye Thompson's at.

Where is he playing?

Manalac: Yes, mainly playing the mic. As you know, we'll cross-train everybody, but mainly playing the mike, yes.

What do you like specifically about what Kyle's doing this camp? We've heard he's performing well, we see all the takeaway stickers. I mean, what's really jumping out about him?

Manalac: Confidence. I think Kyle's always been a guy with a tremendous change of direction. He's added on a coat of armor of strength, and he's playing really fast. He's confident, knows what he's doing. And he sees that ball, after he's done his responsibility, he attacks it. Pleased with that, and he's starting to find his voice as a leader. We're seeing him step up, and guys are looking to him, because he's becoming that playmaker.

Kyle and Rasheem mentioned something about the sharks…

Manalac: Yeah, every year, we kind of get to the guys to kind of give themselves a name that they can rally around, and they chose Sharks, and certainly love that, right? An alpha predator, there's no complaining, and you get up. It doesn’t matter if there are bumps and bruises, you're gonna get up and attack every single day mentality. You're certainly gonna attack your preparation, and then on the football field, that's an aggressive mentality. We're gonna go, we're gonna go, and we're gonna take shots, and if one Shark misses, the next one's there. And so they certainly rally around it and having fun with it, but it's an aggressive mindset that they have to live up to as well. So it's a standard in our room.

I've heard that you guys have become fans of the Discovery Channel a little bit, and see some Shark action…

Manalac: Absolutely, absolutely, it's nice. I mean, they want to take on that mantra. It's cool to actually watch the Sharks in the wild, and see how they hunt, prey, and attack. And so, see if they can embody those characteristics a little more.

Kyle mentioned the geek face thing, is that a little graphic for you?

Manaclac: It is, obviously, I didn't bring that up. We have the guys get each other pumped up, and one of the young guys, Jeremiah Marcelin, actually brought that to the group with tremendous passion. And everybody kind of laughed and was bright eyed, but it kind of became a mantra. I mean, if you're gonna attack somebody and go right at their face and be aggressive, I mean, that's a positive thing for the linebacker room. So we kind of rallied around him and that statement, and that's been a call to action for us.

Speaking of younger guys, we talked to Cam Lindsey the other day, and he said something like he's just taking it day by day. And is that kind of the best approach for a freshman? And have you seen that from him?

Manalac: Yeah, I think Cameron Lindsey's done a great job. And three freshmen, Cameron, Jeremiah, and Dawn Brewton, those guys prepare their tails off and credit the older guys for bringing them along and showing them the way we do things. But they work every day, they get coached hard by me and the other guys. And again, they don't talk back, they take the coaching, they try not to make the same mistake twice. And so I love where Cameron's at, he's working on little things every single day, trying to not make that same mistake as yesterday. Increase his fundamentals and his knowledge and compete. And Cameron's done a great job, and so has Jeremiah, and so has Davin. I mean, I love those three guys and how they're working.

Ryan, Pat said earlier, he was talking about this camp being a tougher, more physical camp, something like that. What part does your room have in that, setting the tone in terms of how this will be handled?

Manalac: I think a big part. I think our camp goal, number one in linebackers, is to be physical. And so we're going come out with that mindset every time. You guys watch individuals sometimes, the first thing we do is strike each other, partner strike. Looks like we're fighting every day, going face to face with a guy, talk about eating a guy's face, right? We're gonna go do that, that's our mentality. Cause I think that's contagious, right? When you're playing a competitive, aggressive sport, and guys go and hit people, guys, you know what I mean? That's an enjoyable thing, first and foremost, when you dominate a guy. But it also ignites the other guys around you that make them want to be aggressive and have that same success or excitement. And so it's certainly a huge part of that as linebackers, to bring that aggressiveness and go get it.

With this second scrimmage coming up on Sunday, what do you need to see from your group?

Manalac: With the second scrimmage, you want to continue to see growth, want to see them minimize mistakes and be consistent, continue making plays. I think as you get closer and closer to game day, you gotta minimize those mistakes and continue to see those same guys making plays as they should.

What are some of the mistakes, maybe, that you're seeing right now that need to be fixed?

Manalac: Nothing out of the normal. I mean, we continue to add defenses, schematics, and so we're challenging constantly to make sure they know the intricacies of different play calls. And so I wouldn't say it's anything crazy, it's normal growth. But as we carry that package for them to keep minimizing those mistakes.

Did you stay in constant conversation with Brandon when he went into the portal?

Manalac: Yeah, absolutely. I don't want to dig too deep, I mean, just stayed in touch. He knew I wanted him there.

Kyle told us, as the star linebacker, he's even involved in some deep coverage, as far as the safety background from high school. Is there a person behind him that can do that, that you feel like does that, at a pretty high level, that allows you guys more flexibility in disguising opportunities at the linebacker position?

Manalac: When you say behind him, you mean safety level or depth of the position?

Depth of the position.

Manalac: Yeah, I think all of our outside linebackers, you look at their history where they came from in high school. Rasheem Biles was also a safety. Braylan Lovelace played some secondary, played some running back, he can move around. Jordan Bass was a wide receiver, was a safety. And so all those guys are asked to do that, be able to close the middle field if we want to give us some versatility in the coverage looks. And so certainly Kyle can do that at a very well level, but all those other outside guys are capable of that as well.

Is that something that you guys exclusively look for sometimes when you're scouting? Because that's something that you need in today's college football world, or maybe something you need specifically to run the defense the way you wanna run it.

Manalac: A little bit of both. I think we want guys that have length and speed. I think basketball's a game of vertical advantage, football's a game where if you have length and speed, you shrink the field and you have that ability to make the play smaller. And so we look for guys that are long, fast, athletic. And as you said, modern football's played in space. Those guys gotta be able to change directions, but they also gotta be able to come into boxing physical as well. So that's a unique guy you're looking for to play linebacker in college football, and specifically here, those outside guys. And so look for those right guys.

Do you feel like this group might be unique compared to other groups that you've had. You've had some guys that, SirVocea has been in the NFL doing well right now. But as far as the depth that you have, the guys that can fit that profile, do you feel like this group's unique?

Manalac: I do, I do. I feel like we have a great group. But obviously, we're still young, and as we started from the top, not many stars. So we’ve got to continue to grow, and we got to prove ourselves every single day.