Expectations continue to rise for Pitt’s defense, but that unit still has something to prove. With training camp starting this week, here are the players to watch on that side of the ball.

DEFENSIVE END
The key with the defensive ends in 2019 is depth. Starters Rashad Weaver and Patrick Jones should be solid and perhaps more than that, but there are question marks behind them. The listed backups on the preseason depth chart are redshirt sophomore Deslin Alexandre and redshirt freshman John Morgan.

Between the two of them, Alexandre and Morgan played 16 games last season (13 for Alexandre and three for Morgan, preserving his redshirt); in that playing time, they combined for six tackles and one tackle for loss.

That’s not exactly a ton of returning production, and while Weaver and Jones should put up numbers this season, they can’t play every snap, which means Alexandre and Morgan are going to need to produce something, even in reserve roles.

DEFENSIVE TACKLE The Panthers have a bit more experienced depth at tackle than they have at end, which is to say they have three players with a fair amount of experience rather than two.

Of the three, the most intriguing is Jaylen Twyman. A redshirt sophomore who was among the top overall prospects in Pitt’s 2017 recruiting class. He will probably be behind fourth-year players Amir Watts and Keyshon Camp, but there will be plenty of snaps to go around and Twyman could prove to be the most explosive player of the group.

LINEBACKER There is no shortage of players to watch at linebacker, largely because Pitt is replacing starters at virtually every position. The only returning starter is Elias Reynolds, who stepped in at middle linebacker halfway through last season after Quintin Wirginis was injured, but even Reynolds’ spot isn’t locked in; this spring, the coaches said that redshirt senior Saleem Brightwell would compete with Reynolds at middle linebacker, and on the preseason two-deep, Brightwell was listed as the first-teamer.

In fact, Brightwell might be the most interesting player to watch, since his position will impact the others. If he stays in the middle, then Reynolds will be his backup and Chase Pine will likely start at Money linebacker. But Brightwell could move back to Money, where he played in 2015, 2016 and 2018, which would put him in competition with Pine.

Phil Campbell is another wild card, as the converted safety took to linebacker well and is the listed starter at Star linebacker in the preseason two-deep. But he got work at Money as well this spring, and he could push Pine if Brightwell stays in the middle (and if Cam Bright is up to the task at Star).

And all of this says nothing of Kylan Johnson, the grad transfer from Florida who will be in the mix at outside linebacker, too.

CORNERBACK If there’s one position on Pitt’s roster that should inspire some across-the-board confidence, it’s cornerback. Dane Jackson and Jason Pinnock are returning starters who have the potential to be among the best in the ACC at their position, and their main push will come from junior Damarri Mathis, who has been called a third starter by the coaching staff this offseason.

There isn’t a ton of experience behind those three, but as long as two of the three stay healthy, Pitt should be fairly set at cornerback. Pinnock, in particular, could be poised for a huge junior season.

SAFETY Just as the player to watch at quarterback - Kenny Pickett - was a no-brainer, so too is the player to watch at safety an easy and obvious call.

It’s Paris Ford.

The redshirt sophomore who was a four-star prospect out of the WPIAL has been all potential since he arrived at Pitt, but the on-field product hasn’t followed suit. During a year in the wilderness playing cornerback last season, Ford appeared in just nine games and made no impact. But he’s back at safety and, by all accounts, had a very good spring, showing a new focus and dedication to improving himself.

If Ford can really put it all together - the film study, the attention to details and the physical ability - he can form a very strong duo in the secondary with senior field safety Damar Hamlin. Hamlin is a sure thing at safety; adding an explosive athlete like Ford to the mix along with Jackson and Pinnock could give Pitt its best defensive backfield in a long time.