Three Panthers earn first team All-ACC honors
Three members of the Pitt football team earned first team All-ACC honors for their performances during the 2019 season. On the offensive side of the ball, Jimmy Morrissey is Pitt's lone representative on the first team. Morrissey is the anchor of Pitt's offensive line and has started 35 of the last 38 games for this program at center.
Morrissey was a third-team selection last season, but made some strides this year. He is a redshirt junior and will be back next season as one of the team leaders and the top center in the ACC.
The Pitt defense carried the team this season and proved to be one of the best units in the ACC and in the country. The defense's rebirth may have started up front with defensive tackle Jaylen Twyman. In the offseason, Twyman opted to switch his jersey number to 97 in homage to Pitt great Aaron Donald. He lived up to the hype by registering 10.5 sacks and 12 tackles for loss. That sack total led the country for interior linemen.
Pitt's secondary had experience coming into this year, the only new starter to the group was set to be Paris Ford. As it turned out, he wasn't the weak link back there, but perhaps the best player by earning first-team recognition. Ford was the highest rated recruit Pat Narduzzi has signed since taking over at Pitt, and after two seasons on not seeing much action, Ford figured it out this year.
The Pitt strong safety finished with a team-high 86 tackles. He also defended 14 passes, and generated four turnovers. He recorded a pick-six against Duke earlier this season and finished three interceptions overall.
Pitt senior cornerback Dane Jackson led a pair of Panthers on the second team. He has 37 career starts under his belt and has been one of the most steady players in the Pitt program over the last three seasons. Jackson led the ACC with 12 pass breakups. He was recently invited to the prestigious Senior Bowl that should help his NFL Draft stock.
Patrick Jones II was another member of the second team. Jones' role elevated big-time this season when Rashad Weaver went down with a preseason injury and the junior from Virginia responded. Jones finished with 12 tackles for loss and 8.5 sacks. He also forced four fumbles and recorded 18 QB hurries.
Maurice Ffrench was the team's lone preseason pick on the All-ACC first team, and he ended up on the third team after the season, though he did it twice. He's on the third team as wide receiver and an all-purpose player.
Ffrench finished with 84 receptions for 685 yards this season. He scored three touchdowns. The 84 catches led the ACC, as the next closest to him was Kendall Hinton from Wake Forest with 70 catches.
Bryce Hargrove has now started 15 consecutive games for Pitt on the offensive line at right guard. For his 2019 performance, he was named as a third-team All-ACC pick. Hargrove only allowed one sack this season and was one of Pitt's strongest linemen in pass protection.
Defensive tackle Amir Watts and linebacker Kylan Johnson were honorable mention picks. Watts finished with seven tackles for loss in 2019, after recording eight total in his first three seasons.
Johnson was a big help at linebacker for Pitt coming over as a graduate transfer from Florida. He finished with 51 tackles, 10.5 tackles for loss, and 6.5 sacks to lead the Pitt linebackers.