Pittsburgh Football: Panthers look towards a bowl in 2018
By Shane Lunnen
Defense
A year ago, Pitt’s defense allowed 27 points and nearly 400 yards per game. For a defensive minded coach like Narduzzi, performances like last year are not acceptable. New defensive coordinator Randy Bates, who spent the last 12 seasons as Northwestern’s linebackers coach, will look to improve the Panther defense which returns seven starters.
The defensive line should be pretty good, especially at the defensive end positions. Senior Dewayne Hendrix is ready for his final year and sophomore Rashad Weaver is ready to break out after a solid spring. There is plenty of depth at the end and tackle positions and this unit should start causing opposing quarterbacks problems.
The linebacker corps should be the best unit. Leading tackler Oluwaseun Idowu, Saleem Brightwell, and Elijah Zeise all return. Add in Quintin Wirginis, who missed all of last season due to injury, and having a former linebacker coach as a coordinator, this unit should be top-notch for the Panthers.
Getting great performances out of the defensive line and linebackers will be key at keeping pressure off the secondary. It was lit up a year ago, allowing 254 yards per game through the air which placed in 106th nationally. It must improve on its own and getting more turnovers will help. But getting more pressure on opposing offenses will help the secondary to improve as well.