Weaver returns to form after long layoff
Rashad Weaver had to sit back and watch the Pitt defense have a breakout campaign in 2019, as he was out for the season with a torn ACL. The senior defensive end was ready to end a long and uncertain offseason last week against Austin Peay, but a positive COVID test kept him out of the lineup one more game.
Weaver finally got to go out and play in a game on Saturday against Syracuse. It marked his first game action since the 2018 Sun Bowl, and the senior defensive end made his presence felt in a big way. Weaver recorded a team-high seven tackles, had three tackles for loss, and finished with two sacks.
He was a key part in a dominant Pitt defensive effort on Saturday as Pitt moved to 2-0 on the season with a 21-10 victory over Syracuse. The Panthers finished with seven team sacks, forced two turnovers, and only allowed 2.9 yards per play.
Weaver embraced the moment. He admitted that he had trouble sleeping the night before, but walking into Heinz Field on Saturday he was hardly able to keep his emotions in check.
“I felt like a little kid on Christmas,” he told reporters following the game on Saturday.
Pitt’s vaunted pass rush from 2019 looks to have carried over into this season. With the return of Weaver, this defense has a chance to be even better this season. He posted big numbers on Saturday and looked right at home on the field, but the Florida native did have to adjust to a game mentality after the long layoff.
“You try to go full speed in practice, but when there’s plays out there on the line and the lights are out, you go a little harder and you have to do it every play,” he explained. “You can’t kind of take a play off like you can in practice. So I think I left a lot of plays out there and I’ll be better next week, that’s the way I feel about this game.”
Damar Hamlin was a central figure in Pitt’s defense emerging last season. He noticed No. 17 on the field, and described what it was like to have him playing again.
“Just having him out there, he’s a game changer,” Hamlin said of Weaver's return to action. “He’s just a force and a presence and I can’t wait to keep playing with him.”
Weaver noted it felt good to be part of this attacking Pitt defense after watching it from the sidelines a year ago. He still wasn’t satisfied with the performance overall and hopes he and his teammates can take a step forward each week.
“It felt great,” Weaver said about playing for a dominant Pitt defense on Saturday. “We’re a defense that wants to be great. We’re disappointed in the first half and they shouldn’t have scored, that’s how we personally felt and we’ll just continue cleaning it up and we were pretty good today, but we’re trying to be great every week and great defenses don’t make mistakes.”
After all the hurdles that were thrown at Weaver, he worked and got himself back to playing at a high level in his first game. For now, he suddenly remembered the aches and pains in playing a full football game for the first time in 21 months.
"I’m going to get in the ice tube, I feel like I just got beat up by eight people at the same time if I’m being honest,” Weaved joked. “Not a bad beat-up, but I just played a full football game and definitely not used to it. Like I said, it’s not practice.”