Bill Cherpak remembers Devin Danielson as such a nuisance he had to kick him off the field at practice.

“He was so destructive,” Thomas Jefferson’s 25-year coach said of Pitt’s sophomore defensive tackle. “We really couldn’t practice if he was going full speed on defense because the offense would never get a play off.

“We would, literally, have to take him out of some defensive practices to get a good look from the offense.”

Cherpak said Danielson “would pick up a center and throw him backward into the running back.”

“He literally was hitting people as (the ball carrier) was getting the ball in the backfield (something Pitt’s Aaron Donald did one day at Duke).

“He was so quick off the ball and so big and strong, nobody could do anything to him.”

Thomas Jefferson won three WPIAL championships with Danielson, who fielded multiple scholarship offers from Power 5 schools before committing to Pitt in 2018.

Two years later, he is in the middle of the Pitt defense, hoping to live up to that unit’s high expectations while replacing first-team preseason All-American defensive tackle Jaylen Twyman.

At least for now, Danielson is working with the first team at practice, surrounded by three seniors: tackle Keyshon Camp and ends Patrick Jones II and Rashad Weaver.

Coaches want Danielson’s competition with Tyler Bentley, David Green (Central Catholic) and Calijah Kancey to continue throughout the season. Replacing Twyman will require more than one man.

Danielson takes nothing for granted, and he knows Twyman’s departure offers only an opportunity, not guaranteed playing time.

“It’s open for the taking,” Danielson said. “It’s a battle every day.”

Danielson (6-foot-1, 300 pounds) played in all 13 games, with only one start, last season, and Cherpak believes he can handle the increased responsibility. After all, he’s been placed among bigger, stronger men since he was a freshman in high school. Danielson is that rare TJ player who started four years, joining Lucas Nix, who also went to Pitt, and Tyler Reed (Penn State).

“He was an impact player from his freshman year,” Cherpak said. “Even though he was younger than most of the kids, he was better than most of the kids. He automatically had the respect from those older guys on just his ability and what he could do on the field.”

Pitt coach Pat Narduzzi said Cherpak, a Pitt offensive lineman from 1986-1989, was “very instrumental” in Danielson’s recruitment by Pitt.

Cherpak said he didn’t talk much about individual schools, telling Danielson only to find a place that fits his style of play.

“He fits what they want to do: big, strong kid, great leverage, uses his hands well,” Cherpak said. “Those are all the things that you need.”

Said Narduzzi: “I just remember a tough dude. Devin was a tough throwback defensive tackle that I knew was going to play a lot of football for us.”

Danielson said he learned how to work hard at Thomas Jefferson, a school that has won a total of eight WPIAL and four PIAA championships under Cherpak.

“Over the summer, running hills, conditioning every day,” Danielson said.

But he also learned something else: how to win.

“I have had more coaches who recruit kids who say we want kids from winning programs,” Cherpak said, “who know how to win and know what it takes to win.

“That’s such a huge part of it. That’s one of the things that our kids who go to college always take with them, and it shows. Even kids who go to programs that aren’t traditionally strong, they bring that leadership and that know-how to win and turn things around.”

Danielson said he paid attention when Twyman offered help.

“He really taught me how to watch film, truly watch film,” Danielson said. “Dive into the smallest details, the O-lineman’s stance, the key to a good get-off.”

Plus, the seniors with whom he shares space in the trenches also are good teachers, he said.

“You learn small details that you don’t think matter at the time you learn them,” he said. “Then, when you start doing the small details, everything comes together and you become a better player.”

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