Pitt's defensive players can learn from those who came before them

A thorough assessment of Pitt’s defense needs to start at the locker of defensive end Deslin Alexandre and includes the safe assumption that he was paying attention over the previous four seasons.

Alexandre graduated early from Deerfield Beach (Fla.) High School to join the Panthers in the winter of 2017. Up close, he watched how future NFL players Jordan Whitehead, Dane Jackson and Damar Hamlin went about their business while he accepted a redshirt.

Two years later, Alexandre was thrust into a starter’s role after Rashad Weaver’s season-ending knee injury. Fast forward two more years to the eve of the 2021 season, and here he is — a Pitt graduate with a degree in communications, a two-time member of the All-ACC Academic Football Team and a student in Pitt’s Katz Graduate School of Business.

Plus, the achievement that probably interests football fans more than anything: He’s a leader among an experienced Pitt defense after finding a way to record 6½ TFLs in 2020 in a reserve role.

Alexandre, 23, said he learned just by watching former Pitt ends Weaver and Patrick Jones, who are two of 12 former Panthers defensive players in NFL camps this summer.

“They laid the foundation for guys like me,” he said. “They showed us how to work. They showed us how to prepare.”

He said they also taught him to respect the game. “How (they) watched film, how (they) prepared was just tremendous. It showed on the field.”

Laying a foundation offers no guarantee of success for those who follow, but Pitt’s defense returns 15 players who recorded more than one TFL last season. Overall, the Panthers led the nation in total TFLs (111).

Many of those players are still developing into consistent performers, but the most experience rests with linebackers SirVocea Dennis, Cam Bright, Phil Campbell III, Chase Pine, Wendell Davis and John Petrishen.

Notice: That’s six names, and Pitt’s alignment calls for only three in the starting lineup. The luxury of 13 super seniors, including Campbell, Pine and Petrishen, gives defensive coordinator Randy Bates and coach Pat Narduzzi a wealth of depth.

The defensive line also has more seasoned bodies than starting jobs.

Alexandre will be book-ended by John Morgan III (seven TFLs last season) and backed up by Habakkuk Baldonado. Sophomore Calijah Kancey and seniors Keyshon Camp and Devin Danielson (Thomas Jefferson) anchor the interior.

The roster appears to paint a hopeful picture, but Bates and Narduzzi need to replace safeties Hamlin and Paris Ford.

Sophomore Brandon Hill got a head start last season after Ford opted out of the final four games. In his first collegiate start, he had a game-high eight tackles, forced a fumble and returned an interception 50 yards for a touchdown against Florida State.

Junior free safety Erick Hallett returns, joined by Kentucky transfer M.J. Devonshire (Aliquippa), junior Judson Tallandier and sophomore Buddy Mack.

Narduzzi called finding his best four safeties “my biggest offseason job.”

At cornerback, senior Damarri Mathis returns from a season-ending injury, with 36 games and 12 starts in his past. Juniors Marquis Williams (eight starts) and A.J. Woods (three starts) will compete for playing time with sophomore Rashad Battle and incoming freshman Khalil Anderson.

Solidifying the secondary is key to a successful season. The ACC is loaded with outstanding quarterbacks, with 13 of the 14 returning from last season. Miami’s D’Eriq King (73), Florida State’s McKenzie Milton (72) and North Carolina’s Sam Howell (68) lead the FBS in career touchdown passes among active players.

“No matter who the quarterback is, we still got to prepare the same way,” Alexandre said. “Give everybody the respect they truly deserve. The ACC is a great conference. You can never take a day off. We’ll be ready.”

To Alexandre, victory depends on paying the price at practice. He did that while learning to play end and tackle.

“It’s not as difficult if you put the time in, you put the work in, do all the little details it takes,” he said. “It’s just like putting your shoes on or wearing your pants. As long as you put the right amount of work to do it, it’s not that hard.”