Pitt seniors reflect on careers, recruitment before last Heinz Field game

Amir Watts’ journey from the gritty South Side of Chicago (celebrated in song by Jim Croce as “the baddest part of town”) began the day Pat Narduzzi drove into his neighborhood.

“I’m like, ‘Yo, do you know where you’re at?’ ” Watts warned Pitt’s football coach, who was on a recruiting visit.

“He’s like, ‘Scared? C’mon.’

“I’m like, ‘I like this guy.’ ”

That’s how the coach Watts likes to call “Duzzy” snared a defensive tackle who would play 44 (going on 45) games in the trenches for Pitt.

Why did he choose Pitt after his tough upbringing in Chicago?

“Everybody has the glitter. Everybody probably has a team room like this,” Watts said. “What stuck with me was the vibe that I got here. I was part of a group chat before I even got here, and I felt I was part of a family before I even stepped foot on the campus.

“It felt normal. It felt like home.”

Watts’ senior class that totals 14 players who have known no other coach will play its last home game Saturday when the Panthers welcome Boston College to Heinz Field.

Among those being honored on senior day will be Damar Hamlin, one of the ACC’s top safeties. He didn’t travel nearly as far as Watts — he played barely off campus on some of Central Catholic’s finest teams — but he came to Pitt largely because of a promise Narduzzi made to him.

“He basically told me I was going to play right away,” said Hamlin, who played in three WPIAL championship games at Heinz Field. “Even through my circumstances (injuries), it still happened. He kept his word there.”

Hamlin, who will play his 38th game in Pitt’s secondary Saturday, draws pride from having his name mentioned among local players who came to Pitt and found success — NFL guys such as Tyler Boyd and Jordan Whitehead.

“Just being put in that conversation is the reason why I came to Pitt in the first place,” Hamlin said, “was to be able to do something like play for my city and give my city a reason to cheer, give them something to brag about.

“Of course, if you can be the hometown hero, why not?”

The seniors haven’t always enjoyed success. Players are still getting over the 28-0 loss to Virginia Tech last Saturday and the fact they failed to repeat as ACC Coastal champions.

“We haven’t played another game yet so we’re still kind of feeling it,” senior cornerback Dane Jackson (Cornell/Quaker Valley) said. “But we’re trying to put that behind us and focus on Boston College.”

Asked if it’s difficult to do, he said, “I’ve never been shut out before, so, yeah, pretty much.”

Yet while fans correctly gauge a team’s success on its number of victories, college players are in the midst of something more important.

“I guess I just grew up,” senior wide receiver Aaron Mathews (Clairton) said.

Defensive line coach Charlie Partridge likes to win, but he also like to see freshmen grow into men and leaders.

“Most of us get into coaching for developing men,” he said. “Amir, since the day I walked in the door to where he’s come now, just in how he handles his life, I’m really, really proud of him.”

Senior Saleem Brightwell, who’s played in 47 games, began his career in 2016 as a redshirt freshman who picked off Deshaun Watson at the goal line to help Pitt upset Clemson.

Now, he’s seizing control of meeting rooms and calling out alignments from his middle linebacker post.

“You could argue he’s one of the (most influential) emotional leaders on our entire football team,” Partridge said. “When he speaks in the locker room or the team meeting room, he’s coming directly from his heart. There’s no filter. What is on his heart is coming out of his mouth. The team knows that. They know where he’s coming from. They know he loves this place and wants to see everybody do well.

“Because it’s so sincere, both sides of the room, offense, defense, feel Saleem. That’s what you want out of your seniors.”

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