The 3-2-1 Column: Spring standouts, (not) talking about QBs and more

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In this week’s 3-2-1 Column, we’re talking about not talking about quarterbacks, recapping spring standouts and more.

THREE THINGS WE KNOW

Mum’s the word
To start this week’s column, I present to you, in their full, unedited glory, all of Pat Narduzzi’s comments on quarterbacks Kedon Slovis and Nick Patti since the start of spring camp on Feb. 28.

February 28
How close is Patti to being 100%?

Narduzzi: Nick’s 100%. He is 100% right now. He’s back.

How’d he look today?
Narduzzi: He looked good. Quarterbacks are never going to get hit. If he wouldn’t be 100%, we would not let him get hit if there was a live scrimmage today and the quarterbacks were to be live, we wouldn’t put him through that, but the quarterbacks are not going to be live this spring. That’s kind of where we are there.

March 4

How did Slovis react on the field in the limited time you saw him?
Narduzzi: We’ll look at the video tape. It’s hard to tell. You watch him throw the ball and the ball comes out of his hand really good. The same thing with Nick. So we’ll watch the tape and make those evaluations. I’m happy with where he is. It’s a new offense, he’s having fun, and enjoying the process.

After one week and three practices, what have you seen out of the quarterbacks?
Narduzzi: I won’t get into it; it’s really too early. One day in pads. We have to watch this one. I mean, playing in shorts and all of that is one thing, but I’m really - Nick and Kedon have looked well, I like what I’ve seen out of both of them and it’s going to be a battle. I feel like we’ve got two quarterbacks that we can win with. Maybe we’ve got three, we’ll see. We’ll watch the tape today and it’s a work in progress. Totally new offense for the coaches and the players. The coaches, Tiquan and Frank, are both learning some of the stuff we did before and then they’re learning the new stuff so it’s kind of a conglomeration. It’s everybody learning a little bit.

March 15

Has Nick shown any effects from the injury? How’s his progress?
Narduzzi: No, Nick looks great. We’re not hitting him, but his progress is good. He’s got enough screws in that collarbone right now, but he’s healthy. We don’t want to test that with contact.

But he can’t go through a metal detector.
Narduzzi: Oh no. He’s got to have a special pass.

Narduzzi: Early enrollees, Slovis has done a nice job as well. You guys will eventually get a chance to watch him; you guys see him in pre-practice.

March 17

Third of the way in, quarterback questions are probably going to be asked a few more times this spring. How have they looked after five now?
Narduzzi: You know, they’ve all looked good. And again, it’s so early to start discussing that, so I’m probably just going to stay away from that right now. But Nick Patti has done great things, Slovis has done great things; they both are really good. Joey Yellen and Davis Beville are battling it out as well. So it’s a work in progress, but we’ll know a heck of a lot more after 13 practices, I’d guess. Then we’ll find out on draft day who gets drafted.

Have you seen anything from Kedon that has kind of surprised you so far?
Narduzzi: Surprised? No, nothing that surprises me. What you saw on tape is what you get. He’s been smart and the ball comes off his hands - he’s a good passer. So nothing surprises me. That’s why we recruited him.

In terms of the locker room, how has he ingratiated himself and gotten in with the guys?
Narduzzi: I think our guys have always embraced our transfers in here. And around the country, based on as many are flying around as it is, you better. But our guys have been great. That quarterback thing is good. They’re all together, they work together, they coach each other. So it’s been really good.

How much of that is now Frank coming in and working with those quarterbacks?
Narduzzi: Yeah, I think it helps. I think it really helps having a new quarterback coach when you have a battle going on, as opposed to maybe it being, ‘I’ve known you for three years and I’ve known you for three months.’ So I think that helps a little bit. But Coach Cignetti has done a great job.

March 22

Narduzzi: Both quarterbacks look good, Patti and Slovis.

How did Kedon and Nick look?
Narduzzi: They both look good. I won’t give you stats or anything like that, but they both are doing good things and taking advantage of the opportunities that they have. They’re both rotating with the one’s and the two’s to find out how they both do, so Coach Cignetti has done a good job rotating them and keeping that competition going.

March 24

How are the quarterbacks looking?
Narduzzi: Quarterbacks are looking good. Kedon and Nick are really playing well right now. It’s a great battle right now. We’ve got two quarterbacks that we can win with.

When do you plan to declare a quarterback?

Narduzzi: I don’t know. I haven’t thought about it. Just waiting for — I love the competition and we’ll see. Like I said, we’ve got two good ones.

April 5

How are Kedon (Slovis) and Nick (Patti) doing with that?
Narduzzi: They’re doing good. They’re both picking up the offense well, I think. They didn’t jump offsides, not one time. But they’re doing a good job operating the offense. Like I said, there’s a lot of offense in. I’ve never seen so much offense, and they just keep adding to it. I’m like, ‘You can’t do more.’ ‘Yes, we’re doing more.’ So I’ve not seen that type of volume of offense in, so it will be fun to watch.

How has Kedon done in working with other players? Like in developing his chemistry with the team. Nick has been around and everyone knows who he is, but Kedon has had to establish himself.
Narduzzi: I think good, but I’m not up on campus, I don’t see that. But I think everybody gets along on the field. The quarterback room is great. Nick’s done an unbelievable job and Kedon has as well. I think the chemistry is good. I think everyone wants someone that can help them win football games, and our kids have always done a great job of bringing guys in. Same thing with Shayne Simon; I just watch him smiling, I see Kedon smiling - that’s kind of how you gauge it. Are they smiling? Are they having fun? That’s the key.

Have the quarterbacks done anything specific that’s caught your eye?
Narduzzi: I think the big thing is just operating with all the offense. I sit in the offensive meetings sometimes and I’m like, ‘How do these guys remember all this stuff?’ We’re not smart enough on defense to know everything that’s going on like that. But they do a great job that way, so again, both quarterbacks have done a great job and I’m not going to give you a whole lot there.

Is that battle what you hoped it would be right now in the spring between those two guys? Is that what you hoped it would be, how it’s unfolding?
Narduzzi: No question. I don’t know if it’s even unfolding; we’ll see soon enough. But we want it to be a battle. We want it to be a battle at the kicker position. We want it to be a battle at the outside linebacker position. At the right tackle position. Competition is great and we just want to keep it going as long as we can.

April 7

What are you looking for from them on Saturday?

Narduzzi: From the quarterbacks? I’m looking for them to make plays. Lead the offense, first of all; again, those pre-snap infractions, unforced errors, whatever you want to call them, start in the huddle. Get your guys together and lead that huddle. And then breaking it together and going out there and making plays. We want to see the quarterbacks throw the ball - when they do throw it - accurately and put it where it’s easy to catch, don’t make it a hard catch, and get us in the right play, which the quarterbacks are going to have more opportunities than they’ve ever had before to change plays and get us in the right play.

April 9

What did you see out of Kedon (Slovis) and Nick (Patti) today and how they’re capping spring?
Narduzzi: You know, it’s hard to tell. It’s hard to tell with mish-moshed receivers. Jordan (Addison) didn’t play and you don’t have your normal weapons for either one of them today. We’ll go back and look at the tape. I know Nick had two nice passes - one to Konata (Mumpfield) and one to Jaden Bradley, or to Jared Wayne. I think he had two big passes, which were good to see. I don’t know who they were against on defense so you don’t know what the matchup was there so you have to go back and look at that.

But two nice passes by Nick. Obviously, Nick won the game. And then I thought Kedon was good with what he had out there. He threw some balls to Jaden Bradley and we had some drops. I think Jaylon Barden had a drop in the end zone and I think Gavin (Bartholomew) had a drop in the end zone. But I thought he was - he some of the short passing game looking pretty good. He didn’t have any deep shots, I don’t think that I can recall. But he had one pick on a three-step that I think Shayne Simon jumped in front of it and did a nice job.

How do you approach or how do Nick and Kedon approach the offseason from this point forward up until fall camp?

Narduzzi: I think the same way they approached it going into spring ball. It's the same thing: they just go out and try to be the best they can and just continue to go. Both of them have the new offense under their belt, they’re both trying to learn it and I think you can win with both quarterbacks right now, so it’s a good problem to have.

Fin

And there you have it. Every word Pat Narduzzi said about the quarterbacks since the start of spring camp. I hope you got as much out of that as I did, but in case you need a brief clarifier, I ran the numbers.

Narduzzi addressed the media 12 times this spring. He was asked 18 questions about the quarterbacks. He mentioned Kedon Slovis by name nine times and Nick Patti 13 times. When discussing the quarterbacks, he said the word “both” 12 times and “good” 22 times.

He said the word “starter” zero times.

I can only imagine Pitt media relations director E.J. Borghetti putting his arm around Narduzzi like Robert DeNiro in Goodfellas:

You gave ‘em nothing and they got nothing.

Which is fine. I think we said it from the start of spring camp and we said it during spring camp and we’ll certainly say it now at the end of spring camp:

Narduzzi - and offensive coordinator Frank Cignetti - were never going to say anything definitive about Slovis and Patti in the race to replace Kenny Pickett.

Why was that so obvious? Because there was no upside whatsoever to naming a starter this spring, or even giving any indication that the coaches were leaning one way or another.

No upside at all.

Really, what’s to be gained? The worst-case scenario is that the guy who isn’t named the starter leaves to the transfer portal and Pitt enters the season with even less depth than it currently has. Meanwhile, the best-case scenario is that an announcement of a starter motivates the other guy to push harder for the job - which you’ll pretty much get anyway if you don’t announce anything at all.

Of course, we heard plenty off the record about the quarterbacks, and all indications pointed to Slovis as the guy. But Pitt’s code of omertà held up throughout the spring, from Narduzzi and Cignetti down through the players (it was almost like those guys had been coached on what to say).

They gave us nothing, and we got nothing.

The standouts and surprises
Let’s talk about the players whose existence was actually confirmed by the coaches this spring. Here are a few players who made a name for themselves in camp.

Daniel Carter
This is an easy one; after all, he won the Ed Conway Award for the most improved player on offense this spring, and I think that one was so obvious that even I, a person with a long track record of terrible predictions, correctly predicted it. You really could see it coming from a mile away: Pat Narduzzi spoke highly of Carter throughout the spring, and when Andre Powell was asked about his “three” running backs, he quickly mentioned “the fourth guy” - that fourth guy being Carter.

Then we all saw it in person at the Blue-Gold Game last Saturday. Carter scored both of the game’s touchdowns - one for each team - but more notable than his end zone runs at Heinz Field was how he figures to fit into Pitt’s offense. Cignetti likes to have a big back at his disposal, and Carter is the Panthers’ biggest back. Israel Abanikanda is still the top back in the room, but Carter is going to see the field this season.

Konata Mumpfield
I don’t think this is confirmation bias on my part, but I’ll admit to having come into the spring with high expectations for Mumpfield. I viewed him as one of the top available receivers when he went into the transfer portal from Akron and considered it a huge land for Pitt to get him, so I thought he would make a splash this spring, and by all accounts, he did.

Mumpfield is a sharp route-runner who should be able to get open consistently and provide possibly the biggest threat opposite Jordan Addison.

Jaden Bradley
We heard Bradley’s name a lot - on and off the record - this spring, particularly in the first couple weeks. After showing flashes as a freshman with limited opportunities last season, Bradley entered spring camp poised to take a step forward, and from what we heard, he did. Bradley is the tallest receiver on the team, but he is also strong and can break tackles and put moves on defenders. He’ll be a factor in Pitt’s passing game this season.

Bangally Kamara
Just like Carter was an obvious pick for the offense, Kamara is an obvious pick on defense, since he won the Ed Conway Award as the most improved player on that side of the ball. And, also like Carter, he wasn’t a huge surprise to get the award. Pitt’s coaches and players talked about Kamara all spring, and for good reason:

He came into camp built like an NFL player, adding some real physicality to the athleticism he has had since high school. Kamara played in 10 games last season and logged 80 snaps on defense, according to Pro Football Focus. But 28 of those 80 snaps came in the final three games, and he finished the season on a high note.

This spring, he was one of the standouts on defense and he seemed to take hold of the starting job at Money linebacker. Pitt needed outside linebackers to step up, and Kamara did just that.

Solomon DeShields
Like I said, Pitt needed outside linebackers to step up, and Kamara wasn’t the only one to do it. DeShields also made his presence felt as he laid claim to the Star linebacker position. That’s a tough job to have in this defense, since it functions as a hybrid field-side linebacker/strong safety, and the responsibilities are fairly vast.

But as a former receiver who could have played that position in college, DeShields has the athleticism to run and cover (check out his play on a would-be touchdown pass to Gavin Bartholomew in the Blue-Gold Game). And like Kamara, he is built like an NFL player right now.

Pitt will rotate the linebackers a fair amount this season, but I would expect to see both of these guys playing a lot.

Dayon Hayes
Pitt returned everybody at defensive end from last season. Literally everybody. So the expectations are high for that group. That goes for top producers like Habakkuk Baldonado, but it also goes for younger, more unproven players like Hayes.

From everything we heard this spring, Hayes is ready for a breakout season. He had 7.5 tackles for loss and two sacks last season, and I think he’s going to improve on those numbers significantly this year. He might not be a starter, but he’ll play a lot, and I think it’s pretty likely that his production will be among the best on the defense.

The locals did visit
Off the field, this was a big spring for Pitt.

I’m talking about recruiting, of course, and the coaching staff made the most of its ACC championship and 11-win season, carrying that momentum into recruiting and hosting a ton of prospects over the course of the last six weeks.

This is what we expected and talked about last December. As Pitt was building its best single season since the early 1980’s, questions would pop up from time to time about the Panthers’ 2022 recruiting class and how it didn’t seem to get a push from the success.

What I told people at the time was that the class would be limited by size, but more relevantly, I reminded everyone of how one season actually impacts the next recruiting cycle.

When Pitt went 10-3 in 2009, it was the next year’s class - the class of 2011 - that really showed the impact (at least, it did until Dave Wannstedt got fired).

When Pitt won the Coastal Division in 2018, the spring of 2019 saw Pitt build a really impressive visitor list that featured a lot of recruits from the 2020 and 2021 classes.

And my expectations are the same for this year. The 2022 class was a small one and didn’t rank all that high (although I think Pitt got a lot of bang for its buck, so to speak, with a class that was low on numbers but high on talent). But the 2023 class is the one that should show the impact of last season’s success, and I think we saw the early signs of it this spring.

By my count, Pitt hosted 48 offered recruits for unofficial visits this spring. Those were just the guys we confirmed; it wouldn’t surprise me to learn that a few more made it in and the final number was actually over 50.

But 48 is a pretty big number to start with, and it included a bunch of four-star prospects in the classes of 2023 and 2024. It was a testament to the staff’s recruiting efforts and the impact of the team winning the ACC championship, of Jordan Addison winning the Biletnikoff Award winner, of Kenny Pickett being a Heisman Trophy finalist and of Pitt generally being among the top 15 or so teams in the country last season.

Simply put, it was everything I thought it would be.

But there was one odd, lingering question:

Where were the locals?

Because there were just two western Pa. recruits among those 48 I listed above: 2024 Aliquippa linebacker Cameron Lindsey and 2024 Central Catholic receiver Peter Gonzalez.

They were the only locals to visit Pitt this spring (as far as we know), and they both came to the Blue-Gold Game last Saturday.

Where was Rodney Gallagher? Where was Ta’Mere Robinson? Where was Quinton Martin? Where was Anthony Speca?

There is a bunch of four-star talent in western Pa. right now, and none of them came to a Pitt spring practice this season.

What gives?

Well, three of those four guys - Robinson, Martin and Speca - actually did visit Pitt on March 1, the first day of the new recruiting quiet period that allowed recruits to visit schools on-campus. Technically, the Panthers opened spring camp on Feb. 28, so those March 1 visits could count as spring camp visits anyway. And regardless of what you call it, I think it’s pretty notable that on the very first day recruits could take visits, those guys (along with Gonzalez, Lindsey and others) went to Pitt.

Gallagher couldn’t make it that day because his Laurel Highlands hoops team had a playoff game to prepare for. But he will be at Pitt for a visit next Monday, so that completes that circle.

And then I think all four of those guys will be back on Pitt’s campus before the next dead period in July. Robinson and Gallagher should take official visits in June (that’s my expectation) and I’m sure Martin and Speca, who are 2024 recruits, will be on campus at some point in the next two months.

TWO QUESTIONS WE HAVE

What’s the next scheduling news to come?
There was some fairly significant news this week for Pitt’s future football schedules with the announcement that the Panthers will be meeting West Virginia in a four-game series starting in 2029.

That will be the second four-year series of the Backyard Brawl this decade; Pitt and WVU are meeting in the season opener this year to kick off a four-game series that will run through 2025. The two teams won’t meet in 2026, 2027 or 2028, but they’ll resume the action in 2029 with another four-game run of home-and-home’s that starts in Pittsburgh.

I’m excited about that, just like I’m excited about the Backyard Brawl coming back this year. It’s been a long time since 2011 - too long - and those games bring back fond and not-so-fond memories of pure, unfiltered hatred.

It was beautiful, even when it was ugly. And I’m glad it’s coming back.

So what’s next?

Well, here’s what Pitt has on the books for the next 10 seasons or so:

2023 - Cincinnati, at WVU, at Notre Dame
2024 - Kent State, at Cincinnati, WVU, Youngstown State
2025 - Central Michigan, at WVU, Notre Dame
2026 - at Wisconsin
2027 - Wisconsin
2028 - Notre Dame
2029 - WVU
2030 - at WVU
2031 - WVU, Notre Dame
2032 - at WVU

Lots of West Virginia. Lots of Notre Dame. Just as it should be.

So what comes next on the future schedules? Someone asked on the live stream of the Panther-Lair Show Wednesday night if the three years between WVU series (2026-28) could be filled with games against Penn State. My answer was no, for a few reasons.

In practical terms, I don’t see it happening because Pitt has Wisconsin scheduled for a home-and-home in 2026 and 2027; as a general rule, I think the only time Pitt will double up on Power Five non-conference opponents in a single season is if Notre Dame is one of them. The experience of playing both Penn State and Oklahoma State in 2016 and 2017 was not a valuable one, and I would call it a net negative (you know, since Pitt went 1-3 in those four games). There’s simply no reason to do that - again, unless one of the two Power Five non-conference opponents is Notre Dame as part of the ACC’s scheduling arrangement with the Irish.

I suppose 2023 and 2024 could become double-Power Five non-conference schedules if Cincinnati is successful in getting into the Big 12 prior to the start of that series, but when the games were scheduled, the Bearcats were still firmly in the AAC.

But I digress. I do not see Pitt attempting to add Penn State to a non-conference schedule that already has a non-Notre Dame Power Five opponent. And I think that’s doubly true for 2026 and 2027, when Wisconsin is on the schedule. There’s no good reason to play two Big Ten teams in one year.

The other reason I don’t see Penn State joining the schedule for another series is simpler: there just doesn’t seem to be much desire to do so from the folks in State College. That’s been the case for a long time, and you know what?

That’s fine.

I would love to see another Pitt-PSU series, but if it’s not mutually desired, then don’t play it. Maybe with the change in leadership at Penn State’s athletic department - Athletic Director Sandy Barbour is retiring the summer - there will be a renewed interest in the series. But if there’s not, then fine. Schedule another series with West Virginia. And another one after that. It would be great to have more Pitt-Penn State games, but the Backyard Brawl has provided plenty of entertainment over the years.

So when Pitt sets about to working on its football schedules for 2033 and beyond, I would be perfectly content seeing more WVU games added.

How high will Pitt be ranked?
We started talking about preseason rankings again this week, because ESPN released its first FPI rankings this week, and right there among the usual suspects like Alabama and Ohio State and Georgia, right there in the top 10 with a 10% chance of making the College Football Playoffs, are your Pitt Panthers.

They’re No. 9, right behind Oklahoma and right ahead of Auburn. And while preseason rankings are what they are, this is a little more interesting because it’s based on computers and formulas more than it is the knowledge and general awareness of college football writers in early April.

I think we’ve all had a conversation or two about where Pitt will be ranked in the preseason. Those early rankings can and do change once the games start being played, of course, but there’s also a certain understanding that if you want to be one of the top-ranked teams at the end of the season, it helps a whole lot to be one of the top-ranked teams at the beginning of the season. You can climb your way up to the top, but it’s much easier to start off near the top and try to maintain while you make small climbs.

So for Pitt, getting a preseason ranking in the top 15 or even top 10 would be big, as the schedule gives the Panthers an opportunity to not just maintain but climb. Opening with a pair of Power Five non-conference opponents is a huge start, and if Pitt can come out of September with a 4-0 record that includes wins over West Virginia and Tennessee, well, I think you’re looking at a top-10 team, at the very least.

Do the Panthers deserve to start off that high, though? Should they be at top-15 team? Should pollsters follow the FPI and put them in the top 10?

I don’t think it’s that crazy. The writers at ESPN.com have pointed out that Pitt returns the most production of any team in the country; that seems good. And while the obvious loss is Kenny Pickett, almost everybody else is back.

The team’s top three leading rushers? Back.

Three of the top four leading receivers? Back.

The top three leaders in sacks? Back.

The top four leaders in tackles for loss? Back.

Three of the top four leaders in total tackles? Back.

And that’s just in generalities. In specifics, you’ve got the reigning Biletnikoff Award winner, a freshman All-American at tight end, nine players who earned All-ACC honors and the whole damn offensive line.

Pitt did lose its punter, so there’s that.

But overall, this is a team that returns a whole heck of a lot. And the coaches will look to offset the biggest departure - Kenny Pickett - with a quarterback who has thrown for 7,576 yards and 58 touchdowns while earning all-conference honors in the Pac-12.

Nothing is a sure thing, but I think you could take some confidence from that.

So where should Pitt be ranked in the preseason? I’m guessing it won’t be as high as No. 9. FPI likes Pitt, but Pitt is not a brand name on the order of Alabama or Ohio State, so the Panthers won’t get any natural boosts in that department. There’s also the general feeling of the ACC being down, which is going to hurt any team that isn’t Clemson - even the team that won the conference last year and has all of that firepower returning.

Let’s narrow it down, then. The top 25 is a guarantee, and I think the top 20 should be, too. Cracking the top 15 is where the conversation really starts; I’m going to say that Pitt checks in at No. 13 in the first Associated Press preseason poll. That would be the Panthers’ highest preseason ranking since 2003, when they were No. 10 in the preseason.

We’ll find out in a few months.

ONE PREDICTION

The defense will be even better in 2022
I have mixed thoughts on how Pitt’s defense did last season, but that probably shouldn’t be the case.

After all, the Panthers finished fourth in ACC in points per game allowed at 23.6; if you allow 24 points or less per game, you should win just about every time. And we all know how well the defense played in the final three quarters of the ACC Championship Game, which was quite dominant.

And yet, I can’t entirely shake the memories of the Miami game or the Tennessee game (where there were plenty of plays for the Volunteers’ offense to make) or, most glaringly, the Western Michigan game.

I can’t entirely shake the feeling that this defense barely holds on for dear life, delicately tip-toeing between feast and famine, where it seems like every drop-back results in a sack or a first-down completion.

I think some of that comes with the territory; this defensive scheme is always going to be susceptible to certain passing attacks. Even at its best, this defense will get beat sometimes.

But for whatever reason - and there are a few - I think this year’s defense has a chance to be one of Narduzzi’s best (in another column we’ll find a way to rank the Narduzzi defenses over the years, but that’s for a different day; this column has already gone on long enough).

It starts up front, of course, where Pitt returns every defensive end and almost every defensive tackle from a unit that led the Panthers to the top of the ACC in sacks last season. Habakkuk Baldonado should be in line for a monster season and John Morgan and Dayon Hayes are both due for breakout performances. And in the middle, I think Calijah Kancey can do even better than he did in 2021, which is a pretty high bar to clear.

On the back end, Damarri Mathis is gone but everyone else is back. That includes both starters at safety, and I don’t think the importance of that can be overstated. The safeties take too much blame in this defensive scheme, but not all of it is unearned; the system asks a lot of the safeties, and young or inexperienced players can struggle with it.

Erick Hallett and Brandon Hill are neither young nor inexperienced, and both were playing pretty well by the end of the season.

I don’t know if there’s another Mathis in the group of corners, but I’m willing to go with the athletic talents of Marquis Williams, A.J. Woods and M.J. Devonshire plus some intriguing youngsters.

Of course, I’m skipping over the obvious question mark: the linebackers. But I have slowly grown more bullish on that group this spring. SirVocea Dennis is a sure thing, but what became really notable in the last six weeks was the emergence of Kamara and DeShields.

I already talked about them plenty so you don’t need to hear that from me again. You know what I think. But I also really like Brandon George and Shayne Simon filling out the depth and pushing for spots in the top three.

Dennis’ ability to move around and play any position really does give the coaches flexibility, and I think there’s a chance this group’s athleticism will surpass what we’ve seen from Pitt linebackers in the past.

With the defensive line getting pressure, the secondary doing the best it can and the linebackers potentially being impact players, I think there’s every reason to expect Pitt to be even better at stopping opposing offenses than it was last season.