Pitt's defense has a brand that's recognizable across the country for being aggressive at all times. The identity as a unit that's always stout against the run, aggressively rushing the quarterback and letting defensive backs thrive on islands in coverage has its pros and cons, but the positives have Pitt football's newest freshmen excited to start playing that brand of football in the spring.
Four of the team's early enrollees of the 2022 class who are set to play defense spoke at the UPMC Rooney Sports Complex Wednesday afternoon. Each of them expressed how that style of aggressive defense helped seal their decision to commit to the program as they envisioned their future careers growing under Pat Narduzzi.
Defensive tackle Sean Fitzsimmons, who played for Central Valley in Monaca, Pa., along with defensive end Samuel Okunlola from Thayer Academy in Braintree, Ma. spoke highly of their excitement to work with defensive line coach Charlie Partridge. While linebacker Marquan Pope from Guyer in Denton, Tex. spoke giddily about playing in a high-flying defense that allowed him to hit, and cornerback Ryland Gandy of Buford in Buford, Ga. was excited to be play on an island in single coverage for Pitt's defense.
"I love how fast we play," Pope said. "It's always eleven hats to the ball. I love how everyone is just itching to hit somebody. I just love how fast things go here and it makes football fun. I'm a defensive player and I love to hit people. I watched a lot this year and it made me keep falling in love with Pitt. Everywhere you looked in their linebacker core there was just speed and people getting to the ball. Voss (SirVocea Dennis), that dude is a dog. I love to pick his brain about things and he's been a big mentor to me during this process."
Pitt's linebackers played a huge role in the team finishing sixth in the country with 91.2 rushing yards allowed per game. A lot of that came from the work of Dennis, Phil Campbell and Cam Bright. But as Campbell's eligibility wore out and Bright entered the Transfer Portal, opportunities for younger linebackers like Brandon George and Bangally Kamara opened up, and that could be where Pope learns the most from his teammates in his early adjustment period.
Pope's decision to be an early enrollee for Pitt and to come in the winter instead of the summer was a last-minute call on his part.
"It was an at-home visit in Texas," Pope said of when he spoke with Narduzzi. "We had a conversation about it being the last week to enroll early, and after talking with my family we decided it was best for me to come right now. I graduated in December and was planning to stay home and train. But then I decided it would be better to get up here to start classes, get with the team and build chemistry."
But it's Dennis who has made the biggest impression on Pope in his first few weeks with the program. Pope recalled how Dennis can go over teaching points so quickly he has to rely on the notes he takes to put all his thoughts together.
"It can be weird talking to him because he speaks really fast," Pope said of Dennis. "But I like that because I just stay quiet, write down my notes what he's talking about and he goes over everything I need on the whiteboard. He's been great helping me with the playbook and school."
Pope insisted that it's been an adjustment leaving Texas for Pennsylvania in the middle of winter, but Dennis along with the rest of the linebackers have helped him with that adjustment.
"They've all been super cool," Pope said of Pitt's football team. "I've had no issues. They always come to help me because they know it's just been three-four weeks and they want to help with any questions I have. They're helping it feel like home already. It's my first time seeing snow in a very long time. But I like the cold. It's not too bad. It's a mental toughness type of thing for me, so I embrace it."
Neither of the two defensive linemen who spoke, Fitzsimmons and Okunlola, needed an adjustment period with Pittsburgh's colder climate. Fitzsimmons even noted that Pitt's close proximity to home played a big role in his decision.
"The real reason for me coming here is I like being close to home," Fitzsimmons said. "But having coach Partridge helps because he's one of the best, if not the best, D-line coach in the nation. Him being close to home was the perfect match for me. I like being close to my home, but Pitt's a great program and I just thought, 'how could I pass that up?'"
That close proximity to home helped Fitzsimmons see the Panthers' run to an ACC championship up close as he attended every game last season. It also led to him being the first hard commit of the class, and a person who helped Narduzzi coordinate with all the other recruits of his class.
"I was at every home game this year," Fitzsimmons said of Pitt's 2021 season. "I got season tickets and it was awesome watching the season they had and getting to be ACC champions. It was cool to be the first guy committed. When other guys started coming in coach Narduzzi told me to make a group chat with them. I think I did a pretty good job getting all the guys, introducing ourselves and learn what all we can do here."
Similarly to Pope, Fitzsimmons has gotten a lot of support from his teammates in adjusting to the standard of play that will be expected of him in college.
"The whole D-line group has really helped me," Fitzsimmons said. "Even in the locker room, I'm around both D-line and O-line, but we're all a team. There's multiple guys who reach out and help me. They're teaching me so much. Lots of work on technique and understanding all the plays. This playbook is definitely way harder to understand than back at Central Valley. But they've all just told me to get on my techniques, get to lifting and get everything settled."
"The players older players and younger players are helping me out," Okunlola added. "Everyone from seniors to sophomores have been answering questions and making sure I'm fitting in."
But for Okunlola, he was most excited to get to work with Partridge to soon be part of Pitt's pass rush that finished with 51 sacks in 2021, second in the country.
"It really matters," Okunlola said of Pitt's style of defense. "It was definitely a fit for me. They play the way I want and that was a big factor for coming here. I'm very athletic so I like to play defensive end or outside linebacker, so I can put my hand in the dirt or stand up. I like to bring versatility, but I'm still picking up the plays here. That's been a process, but it's part of football. Still really need to learn how to do stunts and all that. I've been impressed for a while. I definitely have been watching how many players they've developed and how coach Partridge has worked here. They finish in the top five in sacks in the country a lot and that's a big part of what I want to do here."
In the 2020 NFL Draft, Pitt sent three defensive linemen to the NFL with Patrick Jones in the third round to the Vikings, Rashad Weaver in the fourth round to the Titans, and Jaylen Twyman in the sixth round to the Titans. That certainly added an extra boost to Fitzsimmons and Okunlola having enthusiasm about joining the program, as did watching Aaron Donald win the Super Bowl sunday.
"I watched him" Fitzsimmons said of Donald. "He's always dominated when he played. Him being from Pittsburgh too is awesome to see him win the Super Bowl and be a three-time defensive player of the year. I learned a lot watching his film and the way he played. You try to replicate him from how dominant he is on the field. It's special to have Pittsburgh guys come to Pitt. You always want the hometown guys to stay home. Everyone's special here, but it's great to see so many of them in the same room."
Gandy is a multi-sport athlete who ran track and field while also playing football in high school. He's most excited to get to show that part of his game when Pitt starts its spring practices in the coming weeks.
"I'm excited for spring ball," Gandy said. "It actually will be my first spring ball in 3-4 years because around this time of year I normally ran track. Last season I went to state finals and finished 10th in the preliminary 400 meters. With my track speed transitioning to football speed, it's more about me being twitchy. That's what you want as a cornerback. You want to be fast, but it's something that my high school coaches emphasized with me as I picked up more speed. It definitely helped me with things coming here so far."
While Pitt's pass defense and coverage doesn't rank nearly as high as it's run defense or pass rush, the culture of the defense was still a big selling point to Gandy.
"What sold me is the culture," Gandy said. "The coaches and the school impressed me. They took me to this restaurant and met a professor in their communications department and it sold me. It really showed that they really believe school comes first before football. And then with football I felt like I really could learn a lot as I come in here."
But when it comes to football, Gandy is well aware of how Narduzzi's defense with defensive coordinator Randy Bates leaves cornerbacks on islands all throughout games. That style of play interested Gandy, as he was used to playing single coverage in high school.
"I just don't think about it," Gandy said of covering on an island. "Just play the game the way you know how to play it. You don't want to put too much pressure on yourself. Just let the game come to you naturally. It doesn't matter what type of defense I play from man-to-man or zone, I'll go out there and do it."
Track speed and football speed don't always translate, but Gandy seems to be prepared for the transition and wants to sharpen his technique so that his speed is best deployed in Pitt's defense. That's been the focus of his talks in the early weeks with upperclassmen on the team.
"It always depends on the type of receiver," Gandy said. "If he's a fast receiver or more physical, I focus on how my technique needs to work against them. Then I incorporate how my speed will play into that. I'm learning a lot from guys like Marquise (Williams), A.J. Woods and Rashad Battle. Those guys are helping a lot right now with teaching me the system and all our checks and calls. I know I just have to be patient and work my way up the depth chart."
We'll get to see in a few weeks when Pitt starts its spring practices to get ready for the Apr. 9 Blue-Gold game just how far along the freshmen are in their work to integrate into the defense they're excited to join.
