Pat Narduzzi is 54 years old, not old by anyone’s standards.

But when asked about the special problems associated with coaching a young team, he turned his head to reveal some gray peeking out from the temples.

“They give us a lot of gray hair. That’s for sure,” he said. But he added, “Nothing more than normal.”

Everyone knows the story. A season brimming with expectations has unraveled into a 4-4 record with three games to go. But the good news is the four-game losing streak is over, ended at Florida State, 41-17, in the Panthers’ most decisive road victory in eight years.

And there are plenty of young, apparently eager, players trying to salvage something from this season while building a foundation for spring ball and beyond.

Pitt recorded seven sacks against the Seminoles, with five coming from underclassmen. Senior defensive ends Patrick Jones II and Rashad Weaver had the other two as they continue to lay a foundation for their NFL careers that likely will begin next year.

But sophomore linebacker SirVocea Dennis, who has started only two games, had two sacks and a total of 3½ tackles for a loss. He leads the Power 5 and is second in the nation with 13½ tackles for loss.

He caught Narduzzi’s eye Saturday when he initially whiffed on his sacks.

“It’s bang-bang out there, but he had two where he either misses, falls flat on his face and then he gets off the ground and goes and gets a sack.

“It’s like, you watch other guys (on other teams), they lay on the ground, get up slowly or pound the ground and go, ‘Oh’. (Dennis) has just got a motor. He doesn’t stop, and, again, he’s got a great instinct for the football.

“He’s obviously a talented young man, and he’s really smart, he’s really athletic and he plays with a great motor. What else do you want in a football player?”

Elsewhere on defense, redshirt freshman Brandon Hill was named the ACC Defensive Back of the Week after returning an interception 50 yards for a touchdown, forcing a fumble and leading the Panthers with eight tackles. He put to rest, at least for one week, those concerns from outside the team about what Paris Ford’s opt-out might do to the rest of the season.

Pitt leads the nation with 38 sacks and the Power 5 with an average of 4.75 per game, and nearly half (18) have been recorded by underclassmen.

And wide receiver Jordan Addison’s 11 receptions were tied for the most by any ACC player this season and the most by a Pitt freshman since Tyler Boyd had 11 against Georgia Tech in 2013.

Dennis, Hill and Addison are three of several underclassmen playing important roles in a season of opt-outs and injuries.

Redshirt freshman defensive tackle Calijah Kancey has seven TFLs, and sophomore defensive end John Morgan six. Sophomore cornerbacks Marquis Williams and A.J. Woods are learning under fire, and Woods responded with an interception against Florida State that Narduzzi called “the play of the game.”

“I think everybody fed off A.J. That changed the tide right there, and then our offense responds.”

Youth has its price, too, and some of the young players have contributed to Pitt ranking 109th of 123 FBS teams in penalty yardage per game (75.5). That number has as much to do with Pitt’s 4-4 record as anything.

“It’s called coaching,” Narduzzi said of getting young players ready for the grind of college football. “That’s the fun part.

“Now, you don’t necessarily like the results on Saturday if you don’t get what you want, but that’s what happens when you’re playing with young guys.”

Actually, it’s unclear how the roster will shake out next year. It could have a nice dose of experience, too.

Some seniors are permitted to return, if they desire, because of the NCAA’s ruling to not count this season as a lost year of eligibility because of covid concerns.

Asked what his seniors might be thinking, Narduzzi said he is most concerned with the next game Saturday at Georgia Tech. But the thought of getting some back might have crossed his mind underneath those gray hairs.

“We’re kind of worried about Georgia Tech right now,” he said. “(It) might come up next week when we talk about senior day (Nov. 21 against Virginia Tech), which I don’t even want to get to that point.

“But that topic may come up a little bit more next week where I’ve got to pull the guys aside. Maybe I’ve got to have meetings on the airplane on the way back from Georgia just to kind of find out.

“I’ve got a feel for some guys, what they’re thinking, but I think (seniors) want to really wait until the end of the season to find out where they are, what they did and how they finished up the season.”

Note: Pitt’s final home game will kick off at 4 p.m. Nov. 21 at Heinz Field against Virginia Tech.

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