Hamlin finally set to play major roles in Pitt’s secondary

started four consecutive games in the middle of the year and finished with 41 tackles and an interception. While Pitt’s defense comes back strong for 2018, with nine starters returning, the two that are gone are from the secondary in cornerback Avonte Maddox and safety Jordan Whitehead.

“I think we’ve got some quality depth back there. There’s going to be a war,” Narduzzi said of ongoing position battles, such as strong safety and the cornerback slot opposite Dane Jackson.

Though he’s a near-lock to be a starter, Hamlin won’t argue with that. As someone who used to sit in the back of the secondary meeting room as a young player, Hamlin has moved up both figuratively and literally — and he likes what’s behind him.

“I sit in the front of the room and look back, and it’s like a whole room full of people who can play,” Hamlin said. “Even the young guys, I feel like they can play. That’s a good feeling, just to have that depth.”

They have depth and a nickname. According to Hamlin, one idea that new defensive backs coaches Archie Collins and Cory Sanders have stressed is figuring out their “brand.” If they replace Maddox and Whitehead, becoming what Hamlin sees as “a dominant group,” they’ll be worthy of chatter around the ACC.

“We call ourselves the ‘sniper gang,’” Hamlin said. “As the sniper gang, we gotta come out here every day and set our brand. Keep the energy up, keep the swag up, and that’s the main two components we gotta work on.”

Hamlin added that he and redshirt freshman Paris Ford came up with that name. Ford — another WPIAL product who was a four-star prospect at Steel Valley — has worked a little bit on offense, but the plan is for him to help bolster the defense as he makes the transition from high school safety to college cornerback.

He hasn’t been made available to speak with reporters yet this summer, but Narduzzi was happy to see him pick off a pass Sunday in a drill.

“He’s doing well,” Narduzzi said. “He was a little up and down. … The second day, he really progressed. It was like back to normal, back to where he was when he came out of spring ball, so we got him re-adjusted and refocused on the details, and he was really good [Sunday].”

When Narduzzi was defensive coordinator at Michigan State, his secondary called itself the “No-Fly Zone.” That one caught on, as the Spartans talked it and walked it, tying for 10th in Football Bowl Subdivision with 18 interceptions in 2014 and picking off 17 a year earlier.

Pitt’s defense had nine interceptions a year ago, so Narduzzi isn’t about to bestow any grand monikers just yet.

“I think you only find that out at the end of the year. They can be the snipers or be whatever they want to be, but, at the end of the year, we’ll find out where they are and really what their name is,” Narduzzi said, then grinned. “You guys will have a name for them, too, I’m sure.”

Panthers fans would be happy to call them anything but a liability.