Pitt flew into Winston-Salem, N.C. already light on linebackers, with Braylan Lovelace and Kyle Louis not making the trip from Pittsburgh, and now the Panthers will be without a key ‘backer.
Solomon DeShields walked off the field hurt after the Kenny Johnson kickoff coverage, and the ACC Network broadcast reported that DeShields will not return to the contest against Wake Forest, ruled out with an undisclosed injury.
It’s a very big loss for the Pitt defense, thinning out an already thin linebacking corps and taking away an impact linebacker for most of the game.
DeShields has racked up 36 tackles (19 solo), 6.5 tackles for loss and two sacks this season, starting at the Star linebacker spot and playing both outside positions.
With Lovelace and Bass back in Pittsburgh, and DeShields now unable to return, it’s time for Jordan Bass and Rasheem Biles to feature more prominently in the linebacking rotation.
“Last week you saw Jordan Bass get four snaps on defense, and we’ve slowly got him in there. Rasheem Biles is a guy that played a lot of special teams,” Narduzzi said Thursday. “He’s a football player, and he’s going to be really good. We’re going to probably get him some snaps this week as well, just little by little, get his feet wet and then see what happens.”
The starting unit of Bangally Kamara and Shayne Simon has seen a heavy workload through the first one-and-a-half quarters against Wake Forest, and Bass, Biles, Brandon George and Nick Lapi will receive snaps, too.
