Players have better command of defense
improvement in others. Its points-allowed-per-game average improved by a point — from 25.6 in 2014 to 24.6 — while its sack total nearly doubled from the previous season, from 19 to 37.
With eight returning starters on defense — including stars such as end Ejuan Price and safety Jordan Whitehead — that progress should, theoretically, continue. Narduzzi’s record at Michigan State indicates just as much. In 2008, his second year with the Spartans, the defense improved its scoring average by nearly five points and intercepted two more passes.
Such comparisons, however, are heavily dependent upon personnel. With only three returning starters at Cincinnati in 2005, for instance, Narduzzi’s second Bearcats defense saw its yardage-allowed total balloon more than 50 yards per game and its scoring average increase by four points.
Given what Pitt has returning — from its players to coaching staff — the team feels good about its defensive potential.
“People don’t want to hear this from the outside because people want results right now, but it’s simple — the consistency within a staff, having all your coaches there, really allows you to be able to develop all the skills you have within each coverage, with each technique and with the fundamentals of a given skill set,” Conklin said. “To me, it’s huge. You’ll see a marked improvement, maybe not from the naked eye but from the coaching staff, we’re seeing major improvements already in day two, even from where we were in the spring.”
Conklin, too, has seen drastic improvements in his second season captaining a defense. In his second season as defensive coordinator at Florida International in 2014, the Golden Panthers underwent a drastic boost in the scoring defense rankings, going from 113th in Division I to 49th in a single year.
The greater comfort and understanding that comes with having a year of experience in a scheme has been palpable for Pitt players. The system wasn’t particularly difficult to learn last year, but returning players have been able to master concepts they were only able to grasp in 2015. As linebacker Quintin Wirginis said, “There aren’t so many questions in the film room.”
With everything put together, the possibility for a defensive leap forward is there. Now, it’s a matter of having heightened knowledge translate to the field.
“The biggest difference is the comfort level, not only with the players, but with another year of getting to know the coaches,” Price said. “We’re 100 percent bought in. I think everybody is on the same page.”