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A First Flight: SirVocea Dennis Nudging Young Linebackers Out of the Nest

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The Pitt linebackers corps.

When Pitt lost Cam Bright, Phil Campbell, John Petrishen and Chase Pine after last season’s ACC title season, only SirVocea Dennis remained as a starter.

It didn’t help that Pitt lost Leslie Smith, Preston Lavant, Wendell Davis and AJ Roberts to the transfer portal, too. Dennis remained amidst a group of young, inexperienced linebackers.

Pitt would eventually add Shayne Simon and Tylar Wiltz through the transfer portal, who have since become key contributors at Money and Star linebacker, respectively, but the duo of Bangally Kamara and Solomon DeShields were looked upon as the potential future of the position.

Kamara earned the starting Star spot out of camp, DeShields slid into the back Money spot behind Simon, and Pitt’s linebacking unit entered Week 1 against West Virginia with an expectation to stop the run. It didn’t happen. The unit missed assignments, alignments and tackles alike.

It was a performance that could be attributed to a young unit, but it didn’t meet the Pitt standard. There were times over the next handful of weeks when Pitt’s youth and inexperience at linebacker showed, but linebackers coach Ryan Manalac has seen the growth. A lot of it.

“I think there’s been a lot of growth, there are so many different areas in mental, physical growth, but if you go back to the beginning, there’s certainly been substantial growth,” Manalac said last week at the UPMC Rooney Sports Complex.

Dennis has been the anchor all season, a Butkus Award semifinalist graded as the fourth-best linebacker in college football by Pro Football Focus, but that was to be expected. As was the slow maturation of Kamara, DeShields and the new linebackers in the system.

Pitt allowed 104.3 rushing yards per game over the first six games of the season. That total has dropped to just 57.6 rushing yards per game over the last five weeks — jumping into the Top-10 nationally in run defense this season.

“I would definitely say it’s both the chemistry and focus on certain details, but lately we’ve been together a lot and that’s outside of class, outside of the film room, inside the film room,” Dennis said Tuesday at the UPMC Rooney Sports Complex. “It’s just given us a chance to be together and really know each other and learn each other and have fun. 

“So, that chemistry obviously helps us on the field because we know where the other one wants to be, how they play, how they think, and it just leads us to obviously better football.”

Pittsburgh Panthers linebacker SirVocea Dennis (7) November 19, 2022 David Hague/PSN

With Brandon George missing a lot of time this season due to injury, Dennis’ impact in the middle has been even more important. He leads Pitt in tackles and is second behind Calijah Kancey in tackles for loss and sacks — and he’s added three pass breakups and two forced fumbles.

It’s tough to understate his impact on the defense, but his leadership, production and personality will be missed.

Simon has emerged as not just a reliable Money linebacker, but a leader in the room. He’s a senior with the option to return next season, but it remains uncertain what he plans to do. Wiltz, who has found a key role at Star linebacker, will exhaust his eligibility following the season. And Dennis himself has a decision to make when it comes to pursuing the NFL or returning for another season.

Kamara and DeShields are the future of the position, the voices that will relied upon to lead the charge from the current era of Pitt linebackers to the future. It’s coming sooner rather than later, even if Manalac doesn’t want to admit it.

“I’m not ready to look past Voss yet,” Manalac admitted, with a laugh.

However, even if Manalac doesn’t want to look yet toward a future without Dennis marshaling the defense from the Mike linebacker spot, Dennis himself has been preparing Pitt’s young linebackers to step into the role for more than a year now. It hasn’t just been a couple of weeks of emphasizing the future.

“I’ve been saying that all year and even around bowl season last year,” Dennis said. “Because I know the potential these guys have, and I know what these guys can do. It’s just, sometimes people don’t see it in themselves, so you just try to give that little birdie a push so he can fly.”

Kamara has recorded 44 tackles (22 solo), 1.5 tackles for loss, a sack and seven pass breakups this season in 535 defensive snaps, and it’s been a season in which his natural athleticism has made up for his inexperience. It’s clear he’s still growing into himself, but he’s also put together some of his best performances over the last couple of weeks.

With just two tackles against Duke, the stats don’t pop off the page, but it was also perhaps his strongest performance in coverage this season.

DeShields has only played 213 defensive snaps this season, just under 20 per game this season, but he’s made his impact in splash plays. With five tackles for loss and four sacks, he’s lived in the backfield. Manalac said DeShields has made the most of his third down Delta package opportunities, too.

It’s been a season of growth for both Kamara and DeShields, but it’s tangible growth. It’s able to be seen weekly by those who are watching and certainly by Manalac himself.

“With Sully and Gully, two guys that are certainly very eager — in the linebacker room, we talk about pointing the thumb,” Manalac said. “It starts with me and asking each of them individually on every single play, it’s, ‘What could I have done better? Alignment, assignment, the way I finished, the thought process going into that play based on tendencies.’ They’ve certainly pointed the thumb, and I think they’ve improved tremendously all season.”

And if there’s one person in the unit that Dennis has seen grow this season, it’s DeShields. As he saw it, DeShields played like a player who did what he could early, going along with the flow, but he’s grown into a linebacker who can diagnose plays, drop back into coverage and rush the quarterback — anything he can to be productive.

Wiltz will not be returning next season. Dennis, Simon and George have decisions to make when it comes to their futures.

If Dennis chooses to leave for the NFL, which would make sense considering he’s shown the next level exactly what he’s capable of doing, Pitt’s leader in the unit is gone. Simon and George, Manalac said, are also vocal leaders — two players with uncertain futures.

While it may be a unit that leads as a collective outside of Dennis, his presence and production is tough to replace. Outside of Kamara and DeShields (with Dennis, Simon and George undecided), only Buddy Mack, Kyle Louis and Aydin Henningham remain on the roster as scholarship linebackers.

Dennis cannot lead the unit forever, he may not even lead it next season, but he sees the potential in the pairing of Kamara and DeShields. And it may come down to the duo leading Pitt’s linebacking corps next season. It’s time for the birds to fly.

Sandy Schall, Coldwell Banker
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