Pitt defense adopts next-man-up mode

practice field for the first two days.

“To be honest with you, we all sit here and grant Jordan a pass, that he’s gonna be an automatic starter. We have some guys that have had a really good summer. He would’ve had competition, as well,” Conklin said. “Now I know he’s taken a lot of reps and he’s been very productive and he’s got all the media accolades, but we feel like some guys have closed the distance this spring and closed the distance this fall camp these first two days.”

It would seem highly unlikely that Whitehead, perhaps the most talented player on the defense let alone the secondary, won’t regain his starting job. But if his unit plays well without him, say, Week 2 at Penn State, or Week 3 against Oklahoma State …

“When Jordan comes back, it’s not just gonna be handed to him,” Conklin said. “He made some choices. We live with those choices. You feel bad as a coach, just like you would as a parent, because you want to change behavior. You feel bad. It hurts you. But you want him to move on from it. We’ve got guys that gotta get ready. We gotta go win football games with the guys that are on the field, so that job won’t just be handed back to him.”

Conklin confirmed that Whitehead continues to work with the team in the film room despite not doing so on the field. Whitehead’s return could come as soon as tomorrow, or he could be “in and out” the next few weeks, as coach Pat Narduzzi said Tuesday.

As for Ford, who seemed to have a chance to figure into the secondary mix as soon as this season, Conklin left little doubt the former Steel Valley star is now behind the eight ball. There’s no guarantee Ford will join the team this year at all, but, if he does, he’ll have work to do.

“It puts him behind, for sure. We’ll have to get him caught up as fast as we can,” Conklin said. “When he was coming in, the thought process still stayed the same — we’d try to get him involved in some third-down stuff early, see how he kind of developed there. But, yeah, it puts him behind, and he’ll have to catch up in a hurry.”

So with no Whitehead, and possibly no Ford, who are the names to know? Redshirt sophomore Jazzee Stocker and redshirt freshman Bricen Garner, a Central Catholic grad, are filling in for Whitehead at free safety. Stocker, formerly known as “Jay,” might have the leg up there given his experience. At strong safety, redshirt junior Dennis Briggs is competing with another redshirt freshman, Phil Campbell, while Henry Miller is in the mix.

The wild card could be another Central Catholic alumnus, Damar Hamlin. He got his feet wet last year as a sophomore at cornerback, but now he’s working at safety, too.

“We’re trying to develop that versatility as we move forward,” Conklin said. “And he’s smart, too. He hasn’t had a chance to take a lot of reps, but he’s a smart kid and he picks it up fast. It’s good for him to learn both.”