Pitt HC Wants More from Defense

On the edge of the defense, especially, Narduzzi is looking for more takedowns behind the line of scrimmage. Looking back at 2024-25 season game film, the number of missed opportunities was something the staff picked up on.

“I know we missed like 40 sacks (last season),” Narduzzi said. “That's a lot of sacks. When you have about 40, you could have had 80. So, we're looking for some improvement there."

“Maybe it was 37 to 40, but it was at least 37, and there was a couple of, 'Ah, could he have made that?' opportunities...There was ones where we didn't get the quarterback down.”

As for a current true freshman who some believe could have a breakout year ahead of him as a sophomore in multiple roles across the defensive front, it was clear in the tone Coach Narduzzi spoke with that he’s excited about the young player. 

“Jeremiah (Marcelin), he's rotating in there,” Narduzzi said. “He's playing a little bit of the boundary as well, the money back. So, he's doing a little bit of both." 

“He's physical. And from what I see, he's going to earn himself maybe a role on third down as well when we get into our third down package. Jeremiah’s a good football player. I think he gets better every day."

“He's a good looking guy...he's physical…You need someone to puncture and blitz hard. I see that out of him right now,” Narduzzi continued. “ We're going to need six 'backers to rotate in there. 

“So, we consider him one of those guys that we're going to rotate him in just like we did with (Braylan) Lovelace and (Rasheem) Biles and Kyle Louis last year, just keeping them fresh and getting more speed on the field.”

In the front-seven, defenders who played significant roles last year, like Louis, Lovelace, and Biles at linebacker along with Sean FitzSimmons, Isaiah Neal, and Nick James lead the way. 

It may come down to how newcomers in starting or key rotational roles fare when it comes to lowering the referenced missed opportunities, and maintaining the type of points allowed average generated through the first half of the fall.