With a bit of rain and some colder temperatures, Pitt was back at it in the indoor facility for Thursday morning’s practice. Here’s a look at what we saw and what stood out.
- I know we often document the “TAKEAWAY” stickers that we see on players’ helmets during camp; that’s nothing new. But there’s been a development this spring that is really remarkable to me:
Just how many of them we’re seeing.
Like, there’s a lot.
- I looked solely at the defensive backs today, and here’s what I saw:
Donovan McMillon, P.J. O’Brien and Cruce Brookins have an impressive four each. Jesse Anderson has three. Ryland Gandy, Rashad Battle and Jahvante Royal have two each. And Noah Biglow has one.
I stopped counting after that, so no disrespect to any other players in the secondary who have them. But that’s a ton of turnovers, and that’s just from 10 practices. Who knows how many we’ll see next Tuesday after today’s practice and Saturday’s scrimmage?
- There are two ways to look at this, of course. On one hand, it’s good to see the defensive backs getting their hands on the football so often. Last season, Pitt forced 16 turnovers (10 interceptions and six fumble recoveries); that was tied for 10th in the ACC and only two teams in the conference forced fewer.
The defensive backs led the charge for Pitt with nine turnovers - all interceptions - but six of those nine were recorded by M.J. Devonshire, A.J. Woods and Marquis Williams.
And all of those guys are gone.
In fact, of the 10 Pitt players who recorded a turnover last season, only four return this year:
Linebackers Brandon George and Braylan Lovelace, safety P.J. O’Brien and defensive lineman Bam Brima.
So there’s a lot of ground to make up, which makes it pretty encouraging to see so many defensive backs getting to the ball and making plays. That’s something the Panthers will absolutely need this season.
- Then there’s the other way to look at it:
If the defensive backs are making a lot of plays, then the quarterbacks must be giving the ball up a lot.
And that’s true as well, to some extent.
I can’t speak to which quarterbacks specifically are committing the turnovers, but clearly there are some passes where the ball is being put in jeopardy. But there’s another element, too:
Fumbles
From what I’ve heard, this defense has done a pretty good job this spring of dislodging the ball. All turnovers - interceptions and fumbles - are a product of preparation meeting opportunity, and sometimes you just don’t get a chance to get the ball. But there are skills involved in catching interceptions (I’ve got some good video of Pitt’s safeties working on that) and knocking the ball loose.
It seems like the defense has been doing a good job of that this spring.
- Last thing on turnovers in the secondary:
Last year, O’Brien was the only safety to record a turnover (he had three interceptions). The rest of the turnovers by defensive backs came from corners. So it’s particularly notable that O’Brien, McMillon, Anderson and Brookins - all safeties - have combined for 15 through 10 practices.
Those guys are making plays.
- I watched the defensive line a bit during Thursday’s practice and will post some video later, but a couple things stood out.
- Dayon Hayes needs to be more of a leader in the defensive line room and for the defense overall. That applies to how he carries himself in the meeting room and during practice, and while I can’t speak to all of that, I did really notice Hayes on Thursday during some of the drills I watched.
He was vocal in addressing his teammates, coaching when players needed to do something better and generally encouraging the other players to keep moving. Things like telling his teammates to not walk in between reps may seem silly or small, but if Hayes, as a fifth-year senior, can be a consistent voice in that position group, it can go a long way to establishing him as a leader.
Of course, the thing he needs to do most is be consistent in his performance on the field. That’s what Pitt needs the most from him, but in the meantime, it’s good to see him taking on more of a leadership role.
- I think I mentioned this before, but it’s looking like Bam Brima is going to be getting playing time at defensive tackle. The Pitt coaches have tried this before with Brima and it never really stuck, but at the same time, his play at defensive end never really stuck either, so if he has a chance to contribute inside during his final season of eligibility, it seems like it’s worth a try.
- I still think the starting four for the line will be Hayes and Nate Matlack at end and Sean FitzSimmons and Nahki Johnson at tackle. But there’s a lot of time between now and the season, and they’re going to rotate plenty anyway.
- If it was up to me - and it’s not - I would probably order the running backs like this:
Rodney Hammond
Derrick Davis
Juelz Goff
With Daniel Carter and Desmond Reid mixed in for situational use. Watching the backs in Tuesday’s practice, I think Hammond has a clearly-defined role, Davis is emerging as a legitimate No. 2 option and Goff really oozes with potential. He’s explosive and looks solidly put-together. I think if this offense really goes for it on tempo and pushes a high volume of plays, there should be a lot of snaps available for multiple backs, and I can’t see Goff left out of the mix.
- With Carter and Reid, I just don’t know if either guy is really “complete” enough to be a primary back. Reid is explosive but small, while Carter is big but not all that explosive. There are roles to be found for those guys, but I don’t think they’ll see a ton of work.
Still, even in a limited role, I think they can help the offense.
- I have to imagine that part of the reason Pitt practiced inside on Thursday was due, at least in part, to all the rain of the last week or so, which has probably rendered the outdoor practice field unusable for the time being. I’m curious to see if this will impact Saturday’s scrimmage; as you’ve seen, Alliance 412 members (at a certain level) are invited to watch the scrimmage. That would be easier to accommodate at Acrisure Stadium, but if they can’t use that field - which seems like a possibility - then they would probably have to move to the indoor or maybe the outdoor turf field in the South Side. That could get a bit crowded.
- We’ll have more coverage from practice shortly. Pitt will hold its final scrimmage of spring on Saturday and then two practices next week - Tuesday and Thursday - before the Blue-Gold Game at Acrisure Stadium next Saturday.
- I know we often document the “TAKEAWAY” stickers that we see on players’ helmets during camp; that’s nothing new. But there’s been a development this spring that is really remarkable to me:
Just how many of them we’re seeing.
Like, there’s a lot.
- I looked solely at the defensive backs today, and here’s what I saw:
Donovan McMillon, P.J. O’Brien and Cruce Brookins have an impressive four each. Jesse Anderson has three. Ryland Gandy, Rashad Battle and Jahvante Royal have two each. And Noah Biglow has one.
I stopped counting after that, so no disrespect to any other players in the secondary who have them. But that’s a ton of turnovers, and that’s just from 10 practices. Who knows how many we’ll see next Tuesday after today’s practice and Saturday’s scrimmage?
- There are two ways to look at this, of course. On one hand, it’s good to see the defensive backs getting their hands on the football so often. Last season, Pitt forced 16 turnovers (10 interceptions and six fumble recoveries); that was tied for 10th in the ACC and only two teams in the conference forced fewer.
The defensive backs led the charge for Pitt with nine turnovers - all interceptions - but six of those nine were recorded by M.J. Devonshire, A.J. Woods and Marquis Williams.
And all of those guys are gone.
In fact, of the 10 Pitt players who recorded a turnover last season, only four return this year:
Linebackers Brandon George and Braylan Lovelace, safety P.J. O’Brien and defensive lineman Bam Brima.
So there’s a lot of ground to make up, which makes it pretty encouraging to see so many defensive backs getting to the ball and making plays. That’s something the Panthers will absolutely need this season.
- Then there’s the other way to look at it:
If the defensive backs are making a lot of plays, then the quarterbacks must be giving the ball up a lot.
And that’s true as well, to some extent.
I can’t speak to which quarterbacks specifically are committing the turnovers, but clearly there are some passes where the ball is being put in jeopardy. But there’s another element, too:
Fumbles
From what I’ve heard, this defense has done a pretty good job this spring of dislodging the ball. All turnovers - interceptions and fumbles - are a product of preparation meeting opportunity, and sometimes you just don’t get a chance to get the ball. But there are skills involved in catching interceptions (I’ve got some good video of Pitt’s safeties working on that) and knocking the ball loose.
It seems like the defense has been doing a good job of that this spring.
- Last thing on turnovers in the secondary:
Last year, O’Brien was the only safety to record a turnover (he had three interceptions). The rest of the turnovers by defensive backs came from corners. So it’s particularly notable that O’Brien, McMillon, Anderson and Brookins - all safeties - have combined for 15 through 10 practices.
Those guys are making plays.
- I watched the defensive line a bit during Thursday’s practice and will post some video later, but a couple things stood out.
- Dayon Hayes needs to be more of a leader in the defensive line room and for the defense overall. That applies to how he carries himself in the meeting room and during practice, and while I can’t speak to all of that, I did really notice Hayes on Thursday during some of the drills I watched.
He was vocal in addressing his teammates, coaching when players needed to do something better and generally encouraging the other players to keep moving. Things like telling his teammates to not walk in between reps may seem silly or small, but if Hayes, as a fifth-year senior, can be a consistent voice in that position group, it can go a long way to establishing him as a leader.
Of course, the thing he needs to do most is be consistent in his performance on the field. That’s what Pitt needs the most from him, but in the meantime, it’s good to see him taking on more of a leadership role.
- I think I mentioned this before, but it’s looking like Bam Brima is going to be getting playing time at defensive tackle. The Pitt coaches have tried this before with Brima and it never really stuck, but at the same time, his play at defensive end never really stuck either, so if he has a chance to contribute inside during his final season of eligibility, it seems like it’s worth a try.
- I still think the starting four for the line will be Hayes and Nate Matlack at end and Sean FitzSimmons and Nahki Johnson at tackle. But there’s a lot of time between now and the season, and they’re going to rotate plenty anyway.
- If it was up to me - and it’s not - I would probably order the running backs like this:
Rodney Hammond
Derrick Davis
Juelz Goff
With Daniel Carter and Desmond Reid mixed in for situational use. Watching the backs in Tuesday’s practice, I think Hammond has a clearly-defined role, Davis is emerging as a legitimate No. 2 option and Goff really oozes with potential. He’s explosive and looks solidly put-together. I think if this offense really goes for it on tempo and pushes a high volume of plays, there should be a lot of snaps available for multiple backs, and I can’t see Goff left out of the mix.
- With Carter and Reid, I just don’t know if either guy is really “complete” enough to be a primary back. Reid is explosive but small, while Carter is big but not all that explosive. There are roles to be found for those guys, but I don’t think they’ll see a ton of work.
Still, even in a limited role, I think they can help the offense.
- I have to imagine that part of the reason Pitt practiced inside on Thursday was due, at least in part, to all the rain of the last week or so, which has probably rendered the outdoor practice field unusable for the time being. I’m curious to see if this will impact Saturday’s scrimmage; as you’ve seen, Alliance 412 members (at a certain level) are invited to watch the scrimmage. That would be easier to accommodate at Acrisure Stadium, but if they can’t use that field - which seems like a possibility - then they would probably have to move to the indoor or maybe the outdoor turf field in the South Side. That could get a bit crowded.
- We’ll have more coverage from practice shortly. Pitt will hold its final scrimmage of spring on Saturday and then two practices next week - Tuesday and Thursday - before the Blue-Gold Game at Acrisure Stadium next Saturday.
