New Pitt head coach Pat Narduzzi addressed the crowd at a Pitt basketball game last week and promised the Panthers would be a tough team under his watch.
“We will play tough and we will practice tough,” Narduzzi said.
When you think about toughness, a lot of people immediately think about defense, which means that new defensive coordinator Josh Conklin is going to have the tough assignment of making this Panthers defense a very tough one to play against.
Narduzzi’s decision to hire Conklin away from Florida International appeared to be an easy one.
“I’ve known Josh for a couple of years now,” said Narduzzi. “I got a call from him a couple of years ago when he was the DC down there. It was one of the more flattering calls a coach can get. He said I have been watching your defense for years and I want my defense to play like yours.”
Conklin employed a lot of what Narduzzi did as the defensive coordinator at Michigan State and had similar results.
He was Florida International’s defensive coordinator the past two seasons and is regarded as one of the brightest young defensive coaches in the entire nation.
Conklin’s FIU defense was very aggressive and the results speak for themselves as FIU ranked fourth this season in the FBS in takeaways (33), 35th in total defense (363.8 yards per game) and 40th in scoring defense (24.8 points per game).
It’s going to be a challenge to put up similar numbers with the Panthers, at least right off the bat, but Narduzzi is going to give him free reign.
“I think it is going to be a smooth transition,” added Narduzzi. “I’m going to turn it over to Josh. He’s a great teacher and a great person. That’s what we were looking for.”
While the numbers would suggest that the Pitt defense wasn’t terrible last season, finishing the season ranked No. 26 in total defense, the eye test would tell you something totally different, as this defense has a long way to go.
It may take a while for Narduzzi to get the right type of players in, especially in the secondary, but he will be counting on Conklin to have the defense ready on game day and make all of the calls.
Even with the defensive background that Narduzzi has, don’t expect to see him stepping on Conklin’s toes on Saturday afternoons.
“Josh will make all of the calls,” said Narduzzi. “Game day is easy. The hard part is all the preparation that goes on during the week. I learned from (Mark) Dantonio. He didn’t meddle in the other rooms. He trusted his coaches. I learned from a good guy.”
Looking at the Pitt defense now, the one thing that you could say this unit isn’t tough.
Conklin is going to have the opportunity to change that perception.
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