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Pitt’s losses on defense from 2016 are considerable. The sheer volume of departures is a product of the cyclical nature of college football rosters, where every few seasons, there will be a sizeable amount of turnover.

For Pitt, 2017 is that year. 11 players who started at least one game on defense last season are gone, taking most of the defensive production with them. Whether Pitt will experience addition by subtraction at some of those spots remains to be seen, but today Panther-Lair.com is looking at the top defensive stats and who could provide them in 2017.

TACKLES

2016 leader: Matt Galambos - 85 total tackles, 43 solo
Returning leader for 2017: Oluwaseun Idowu - 74 total tackles, 38 solo (third on the team)

Favorite: Pitt lost three linebackers with starting experience this offseason in Galambos, Mike Caprara (37 tackles in 10 games) and Bam Bradley (29 tackles). Idowu is back from last year’s primary group of starters - he started the final 12 games of the season - and he’ll be joined by Saleem Brightwell and Elijah Zeise in the starting group, at least for the season opener.

Brightwell played a decent amount last season and recorded 26 tackles in 12 games (including two starts). Zeise was an opening day starter but suffered a season-ending injury in that game. If those two maintain their current depth chart roles - Brightwell as the starting middle linebacker, Zeise as the starting Money linebacker - then one of them should end up as the team leader in tackles.

Brightwell is probably the top candidate, given his role as the middle linebacker. Jordan Whitehead is a candidate - he was No. 1 in tackles in 2015 and led the team in tackles per game last season - but missing the first three games will cut into his numbers.

TACKLES FOR LOSS

2016 leader: Ejuan Price - 23.0 tackles for loss
Returning leader for 2017: Avonte Maddox - 8.5 tackles for loss (third on the team)

Favorite: Maddox checked in behind Price and Shakir Soto (10 TFL’s) but the next six players in tackles for loss last season are gone, so the top returners in that category are Maddox and Brightwell, who had three last season.

Given Pitt’s defensive scheme and the offensive approaches of most of the Panthers’ opponents, the leader in tackles for loss will likely come from the front four. In a perfect world, that would be redshirt junior Dewayne Hendrix; the coaches expect him to be a team leader when healthy, but that caveat is the question mark, and he needs to make it through a full game at Pitt.

If it’s not Hendrix, redshirt senior Allen Edwards could be the leader since he should be in line for serious playing time as a starting defensive end. A linebacker could contend for the lead in tackles for loss if the coaches rely heavily on blitzes and the ends fail to produce, but that’s probably a less-than-ideal scenario.

SACKS

2016 leader: Ejuan Price - 13 sacks
Returning leader for 2017: Quintin Wirginis - 4.0 sacks (third on the team)

Favorite: Wirginis put up most of his numbers as an extra linebacker in Pitt’s third-down “Delta” package, reflecting the blitz-friendly nature of that role. He might reclaim that spot this year if Brightwell holds onto the middle linebacker job, but a linebacker probably won’t - or shouldn’t - lead the team in tackles for loss.

As with tackles for loss, the defense is more or less designed for the ends to put up those numbers, especially when facing the types of offenses Pitt sees on a regular basis in the ACC. So Hendrix and Edwards are the most likely candidates here again, with a dark horse like Rashad Weaver waiting for a chance to break out.

INTERCEPTIONS

2016 leader: Avonte Maddox - 3 interceptions

Favorite: Pitt had a total of nine interceptions in 2016: Maddox had three, Ryan Lewis made two and four other players (Brightwell, Whitehead, Terrish Webb and Dane Jackson) had one each. Maddox is the odds-on favorite to repeat as the team leader in picks, simply because he’s probably the only defensive back who enters the season as a sure thing to start all season.