2 years after knee injury, Pitt's Rashad Weaver drafted in 4th round by Titans
When Pitt defensive end Rashad Weaver suffered a serious knee injury in training camp two years ago and needed season-ending surgery, he didn’t feel sorry for himself.
It just reinforced the work ethic that carried him through his five-year Pitt career.
LETS GOOOO! I’m so thankful for the @titans believing in me and I’m ready to work! ⚔️⚔️ #TitanUp https://t.co/O0kmKLYcLQ
— Rashad Weaver (@RashadWeaver) May 1, 2021
His response to the injury was simple. “It happened. Let’s grind,” he told Mike Florio and Chris Simms of NBC Sports.
Turns out, the grueling rehab paid off. The Central Catholic grad was drafted in the fourth round (135th overall) Saturday by the Tennessee Titans. He was selected as an outside linebacker 45 picks after his bookend teammate, defensive end Patrick Jones II, went to the Minnesota Vikings in the third round Friday night. Jones and Weaver (6-foot-4, 259 pounds) were the first two Pitt players to be drafted.
Remarkably, in Weaver’s first season back from the knee injury in 2020, he joined Jones as consensus All-Americans. He used his 82-inch wing span to defeat blockers and tie linebacker SirVocea Dennis for the team lead in TFLs (14½, including 7½ sacks). He also forced three fumbles.
Weaver’s post-surgical season was similar to what he did in 2018 before he got hurt. That year, he had 14 TFLs and 6½ sacks. Overall, in his three seasons on the field (he redshirted in 2016), Weaver totaled 34½ TFLs, 28 quarterback hurries and 17 sacks.
“He was coached very well at the University of Pittsburgh like all of us were,” said ESPN draft analyst Louis Riddick, who played for Mike Gottfried and Paul Hackett at Pitt from 1987-90.
? @CoachDuzzPittFB on the newest member of the @Titans
Rashad Weaver » @RashadWeaver #H2P pic.twitter.com/WbHI9CIklQ
— Pitt Football (@Pitt_FB) May 1, 2021
“It’s the foot quickness and natural twitchy explosiveness that leads me to believe he may be a guy who rushes inside in sub, instead of outside like his teammate Patrick Jones did.
“But this is a good football player.”
Added ESPN’s Todd McShay: “I liked his power and also his awareness. He had nine passes defended over the past three years. He gets his hands up when he knows he’s not going to get home as a pass rusher.”
Jerry DiPaola is a TribLive reporter covering Pitt athletics since 2011. A Pittsburgh native, he joined the Trib in 1993, first as a copy editor and page designer in the sports department and later as the Pittsburgh Steelers reporter from 1994-2004. He can be reached at jdipaola@triblive.com.
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