Pitt’s secondary is expected to be a strength, but other than Darrelle Revis the starting spots are still up for grabs.
Pitt has one starting cornerback job that needs to be filled. Both safety spots are up for grabs, too, at least in the mind of defensive coordinator Paul Rhoads,
That means three of the four starting spots in Pitt’s secondary will be won in the next three weeks of training camp on the South Side.
Ordinarily, such uncertainty in one unit would be cause for great concern.
When it comes to the secondary, though, nothing could be further from the truth. In fact, by the time the season starts and the depth chart is settled, the secondary more than likely will be one of the team’s strengths.
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For now, the starters are Darrelle Revis and Reggie Carter at cornerback, Sam Bryant at strong safety and Mike Phillips at free safety. They have a combined 93 games and 44 starts. Revis is entering his third year as a starter, Carter and Bryant are fifth-year seniors, and Phillips is a redshirt junior, so experience and maturity are strengths.
It will be interesting to see where Elijah Fields fits into the mix.
Pitt’s secondary will get a boost of sorts in the opener against Virginia. Its top WR is out indefinitely.
Phillips is coming back from the gruesome injury he suffered in the equally gruesome loss at Nebraska.
By all accounts he has been performing well.
Pitt coach Dave Wannstedt was impressed with Phillips’ play Wednesday morning, when he caused two fumbles and recovered one of them. He popped the ball out of the hands of tailback Brandon Mason on one play, then stripped Derek Kinder on a sideline pass and scooped it up.
If you’re a glass-half-empty sort like myself, you’d be more concerned that Pitt fumbled twice than impressed that Phillips forced two of them. Hold onto the ball!
I am a big fan of Pitt’s secondary. That being said, we all know the key for Pitt’s defense is stopping the run, where hopefully the secondary won’t need to play a big role.
