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Keyshon Camp was already expecting a big role in Pitt’s defense this season. But when news broke on Friday that redshirt senior Jeremiah Taleni had been dismissed from the team, the depth at defensive tackle took a big hit - and Camp’s role grew.
A former three-star prospect who ranked among the top 40 defensive tackle prospects in the class of 2016, Camp had offers from across the country. He committed to USC in the summer prior to his senior year and, upon decommitting from the Trojans in January 2016, he received serious interest from Michigan and Penn State, among others.
The decision to pick Pitt was an easy one for Camp, who had strong relationships with the coaches throughout the recruiting process - relationships that never faded, even when he committed to USC. And he joined the Panthers last summer expecting to see the field as a true freshman. That didn’t come to pass, but as he approaches the one-year mark in the program, Camp feels like he is ready to make an impact.
“I came in expecting to play, but the big goal was to be here and be able to produce,” Camp told Panther-Lair.com during spring camp. “I felt like I wasn’t ready, so I felt like it was easier for me to put the weight on the right way, to get in the weight room, to get the speed and get the playbook down. I was probably physically ready but I wasn’t mentally ready.
“The redshirt year was good. It helped me get stronger, faster, it helped me learn the playbook so this spring I could come out and produce.”
By all accounts, that’s what Camp did this spring. He was a regular fixture on the first-team defense, earning reps next to Taleni - the team’s elder statesman at defensive tackle - and those reps often came ahead of Amir Watts, the sophomore who beat Camp for playing time in 2016.
Camp and Watts made for quite a duo in the 2016 recruiting class. As Pat Narduzzi worked to solidify his defense with the recruiting in that class, he landed what looked like a pair of foundational players in Camp and Watts. They battled in training camp last August to see who would get on the field, a decision that ultimately went in Watts’ favor, as the former four-star prospect from Chicago saw action in seven games in 2016 - including a starting assignment in the win at Clemson.
Watts got the call, and Camp said he was happy for his fellow freshman.
“There wasn’t really any competition because we were boys; we came on our official together,” he said. “And since our official, it was like, when we both get on the field together, they’re going to be talking about it. So there wasn’t really a competition. It was all out of love. When he got on the field, I cheered him. Hopefully this year we’ll both be on the field.”
That should be the case. Narduzzi said throughout spring camp that he considered both Camp and Watts to be starters and that he expected both young defensive tackles to play a lot. Now that Taleni has been dismissed from the team, those opportunities should only increase. Aside from Camp and Watts, Pitt returns two upperclassmen at defensive tackle - redshirt juniors Shane Roy and Mike Herndon - and redshirt freshman Rashad Wheeler.
JUCO transfer Kam Carter will join the team as a redshirt sophomore this offseason, as will incoming freshman Jaylen Twyman. Carter will be in the mix for playing time, but Camp and Watts remain the most likely candidates for the starting jobs.
Camp said during spring camp that Taleni had been a big help to him, saying the redshirt senior’s assistance made him “feel like I produce more when I have him on the field.” But he’s also anxious to play next to Watts.
“With Amir, when me and him get on the field, it’s like a competition of who’s going to get to the quarterback the fastest or who’s going to get the tackle for loss,” Camp said.
With two second-year players set to man the interior of the defensive line, Camp knows that opposing teams may overlook Pitt’s tackles in 2017. But that’s a slight he appreciates.
“I think there’s a little bit to prove,” Camp said. “They probably think we’re undersized and maybe not mentally ready or physically ready, but we’ll just show it on the field.”
