Defense must deliver for Pitt to improve
Much will be asked of Pittsburgh cornerback Lafayette Pitts (23) and the Panthers’ defense under first-year head coach Pat Narduzzi. (AP Photo/Keith Srakocic)
Pittsburgh’s Lafayette Pitts loses the football after getting hit while returning the opening kickoff in the first quarter of an NCAA college football game against Miami in Pittsburgh on Friday, Nov. 29, 2013. Miami recovered the ball. (AP Photo/Keith Srakocic)
PITTSBURGH – The emergence of junior running back James Conner and junior wide receiver Tyler Boyd as two of the top weapons in college football has given Pitt the reputation of being an offensive juggernaut.
Conner was the 2014 Atlantic Coast Conference Offensive Player of the Year, rushing for 1,800 yards and 26 touchdowns last season. Meanwhile, Boyd was a prolific target for quarterback Chad Voytik, building off a strong freshman season by gaining more than 1,300 total yards with eight touchdowns.
The Panthers were third in the conference in total offense, averaging 31.8 points per game.
The weakness for Pitt was defense. Opponents averaged 26.3 points per game, the 11th most in the conference.
The critics grew after the 35-34 loss to Houston in the Armed Forces Bowl, when the Panthers’ three-touchdown, fourth-quarter lead disappeared and the Cougars piled up 486 yards total offense.
Hiring Pat Narduzzi as head coach is believed to have changed everything for the beleaguered Pitt defense. Michigan State’s defensive coordinator for eight years, Narduzzi’s units ranked in the nation’s top 10 in total defense and rushing defense each season from 2011-14.
He added instant credibility.
After three weeks of preseason camp, Narduzzi is ready to see his new defense in action Saturday against Youngstown State at Heinz Field (1 p.m.). With Boyd suspended, stemming from a DUI charge this summer, the defense will be needed against the Penguins, who ranked 15th in the FCS Coaches’ Poll and are led by former Nebraska coach Bo Pelini.
“To me, it’s the no-name defense,” Narduzzi said. “They haven’t gotten a lot of respect and it’s time for them to show up. The offense did something special a year ago and defensively, they have to man up and measure up to what we need to have in this ACC conference.
“It ain’t over after Youngstown. I feel like they had a great offseason, but you are going out against fresh guys, new fronts and our guys have to adjust to it.”
Narduzzi has embraced the image of football in the Steel City – blue-collar, hard-nosed defense.
Senior cornerback Lafayette Pitts, a Woodland Hills graduate and three-year starter, could not be happier with the hire. The Panthers are ready to show the country that Pitt football is about more than just offense.
“You have two great players in Tyler Boyd and James Conner, so that’s the first thing you see when you see Pitt football, but when the spring came and the new coaches rolled in, the defense was working hard,” said Pitts, a three-year starter. “I think we’re going to have a lot to show the world and we’re ready for that challenge.”
The defense is expected to look much like the ones Narduzzi coached at Michigan State. The Panthers will emphasize stopping the run and the cornerbacks will be relied upon to stop the passing game. That means added pressure for Pitts and sophomore Avonte Maddox, who will make his seventh career start.
“It puts a lot of pressure on the corners, but I like that,” Pitts said. “You have the safeties, the linebackers and the D-line in the box playing the run. Our thing is defending the run, so we have the corners on an island.
“It puts pressure on us, but it’s fun. It’s challenging. If you don’t like a challenge, then you shouldn’t be playing Division I football.”
Nothing will change the culture around Pitt football like an improved defense to join one of the top offenses in the ACC.
Before meeting with the media Monday morning, Pitts, who is one of five senior starters and one of possibly eight returning starters on defense, slid a new navy and gold polo shirt on to cover up a T-shirt from the Armed Forces Bowl. He’s ready for a fresh start.
“It’s new beginnings…,” Pitts said with a grin. “Finishing – that was our biggest problem over the years. Big plays are going to happen, but instead of falling apart, we have to come together stronger and be ready to go back out there so it won’t happen again.”
With Boyd suspended, redshirt sophomore wide receiver Zach Challingsworth, a South Fayette graduate, is listed as the starter on the depth chart. … Narduzzi said senior defensive lineman Darryl Render, who missed most of training camp with an injury, will “definitely” dress and could play.