Anybody else a little concerned about the development of the young defensive talent on this team? I completely understand that we are laden with experience right now, so I am absolutely not saying they should be starting or anything like that. However, there are a few spots where, at the very least, reps are there for the taking and they're not being seized.
Look, I get that there is a difference between being too good to keep off the field and playing out of necessity. But there just doesn't seem to be a buzz around many young guys like we've seen in past years. Pinnock and Mathis were both playing as freshman and then impact players by year two. Weaver, Twyman, and Jones all followed the trajectory of redshirting in year one, playing a good bit in year two and showing flashes, and then being starters/some of the team's better players in year three (with the exception of Weaver going down with an injury that year)... and all three were receiving a ton of buzz coming out of camp early in their careers at Pitt. Cam Bright... same thing. Damar Hamlin basically followed that trajectory without technically redshirting. Sirvocea Dennis... didn't redshirt; all ACC as a true sophomore. Obviously Whitehead was a different animal altogether, but you get the point.
This isn't really about this year, per se, as much as it is about the future. And the transfer portal does change some of it, but I don't know if we're going to get any stars that way. I'd like to know that the next Mathis, Kancey, Baldonado, Dennis, etc. are already on this team. I'll get blasted by the usual suspects, but I do think the concern is legit as of now.
Look, I get that there is a difference between being too good to keep off the field and playing out of necessity. But there just doesn't seem to be a buzz around many young guys like we've seen in past years. Pinnock and Mathis were both playing as freshman and then impact players by year two. Weaver, Twyman, and Jones all followed the trajectory of redshirting in year one, playing a good bit in year two and showing flashes, and then being starters/some of the team's better players in year three (with the exception of Weaver going down with an injury that year)... and all three were receiving a ton of buzz coming out of camp early in their careers at Pitt. Cam Bright... same thing. Damar Hamlin basically followed that trajectory without technically redshirting. Sirvocea Dennis... didn't redshirt; all ACC as a true sophomore. Obviously Whitehead was a different animal altogether, but you get the point.
This isn't really about this year, per se, as much as it is about the future. And the transfer portal does change some of it, but I don't know if we're going to get any stars that way. I'd like to know that the next Mathis, Kancey, Baldonado, Dennis, etc. are already on this team. I'll get blasted by the usual suspects, but I do think the concern is legit as of now.
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