Pitt hopes depth at defensive end counteracts losing Rashad Weaver, Patrick Jones

In the quest to replace All-American defensive ends Rashad Weaver and Patrick Jones II, Pitt has unleashed an interesting mix of players.

• Start with Deslin Alexandre, already past his 23rd birthday after coming all the way from Pompano Beach, Fla., to earn a degree in communications, enter graduate school and — let’s not forget — record 8½ sacks in three seasons.

• Possibly lining up opposite Alexandre will be junior John Morgan, whose next start will be his first. But he recorded seven tackles for loss last season and carries enough confidence to call himself “265 (pounds) of pure destruction.”

• Habakkuk Baldonado, a native of Rome, is 7,332 kilometers from home. At Pitt, however, he has assumed a level of comfort that allows him to gently instruct younger players at practice.

• Then there’s sophomore Dayon Hayes, the only City League product on Pitt’s roster. He is a Westinghouse graduate who spent part of the summer helping with the Flag Football League at Faison Elementary School while learning what the initials NIL (name, image, likeness) mean.

Pitt’s biggest holes to fill could be the ones left by Weaver and Jones.

“It was always a blessing to play behind those guys, watching those guys work every day,” Morgan said. “Me, Haba, Deslin, Dayon, Bam (Brina) and Nate (Temple), we all have to step into our new roles now.”

Pitt will strap on full pads for the first time this summer Thursday morning at Heinz Field. So far, it’s been lots of classroom work, raising questions to each other and assistant line coach Charlie Partridge and polishing techniques such as hand and feet placement.

“He’s coming to me, asking me stuff,” Morgan said of Hayes. “But I’m learning stuff from him, different pass-rush moves, how to play the run better.

“He’s matured a lot. He really didn’t know his role as much (last year) as he does now.”

The trigger to the group is Partridge, regarded as one of the nation’s finest defensive line coaches.

“He doesn’t let anything slide,” Morgan said. “You could have three sacks and four TFLs, and he’s going to go to the plays (where) the 6-inch step wasn’t right; you didn’t look to the sideline fast enough (for the call); you didn’t watch the ball.

“He holds you accountable for stuff that other coaches wouldn’t. You come into a meeting, ‘Dang, coach why are you getting on me?’ It’s the little stuff at the end of the day. Once the NFL comes calling, they are going to bring up the mishaps, not the big plays you made.”

Partridge hands out playing time based on what he sees at practice.

“I’m going to rotate a lot of guys. I always have. I always will,” he said. “My dream is to have five inside (tackles), five outside (ends).”

He said he has enough talent to reach that far into the depth chart.

“In my head, you probably average about 70 snaps a game, 140 defensive end snaps, 140 defensive tackle snaps (based on two starters at each position on a four-man line). Simple math, right? And you distribute that accordingly.”

He said Weaver and Jones probably had 90 to 100 last year.

“Maybe a more even distribution (this year). We’ll see. It’s up to them,” Partridge said.

In any case, he said he is thinking about looking to his bench when a series reaches six plays.

“The way we attack up the field, the way I expect them to run to the ball, you start getting past six plays in a series, it gets tough,” Partridge said.

If Hayes doesn’t start, there will be a bigger role for him this year after playing in only five games — with 2½ sacks — as a freshman in 2020. He was one of the most heralded recruits to come from the City League in many years, but he soon realized what confronted him.

“It woke me up,” he said. “It isn’t high school. You’re not going to walk in and be the best. I had to honestly take a step backward and evaluate myself.”

Part of his growth was returning to the practice facility with Jones at 9 p.m. — after a day of classes and practice — to watch video with coaches. Hayes never turned down the invitation.

“He saw a lot of stuff in me at a young age,” Hayes said.

Hayes said he is proud to come from the City League, and he is eager to see prospects such as Perry senior Tyreese Fearbry and Brashear junior Ta’Mere Robinson follow him into college football.

“I have a lot of pride in the City. I think the City has a lot of talented players.”

Hayes had 26 scholarship offers and was one of three four-star prospects in Pitt’s class of 2020.

Why Pitt?

“I looked at it like if I went somewhere else, I would be just a number,” he said. “If I came here, I can help us become a top contender in the ACC.”

Of course, there’s also the lure of NIL opportunities. Hayes probably could have more endorsement deals in his hometown than anywhere else. He said he is even working on a few at the moment that he declined to identify.

“This summer, I had a job (at Faison), but now since NIL, I don’t think I’m going to need a job,” he said. “It’s going to hook me up. I’m good now.”