It’s fair to say that former defensive line coach Charlie Partridge was the biggest reason why a large number of defensive linemen decided to initially commit to Pitt.
That can be said for early enrollee defensive linemen Francis Brewu, Sincere Edwards and Zachary Crothers.
But while Partridge may have left for the NFL, the overwhelming sentiment Wednesday at the UPMC Rooney Sports Complex was gratitude. Pride, too. Crothers looked at it as a form of motivation. He has a connection now in the NFL — that’s the goal that all three linemen aspire to achieve, of course.
Pat Narduzzi hired former East Carolina defensive ends and outside linebackers coach Tim Daoust to fill the void left by Partridge’s departure.
Doaust is a veteran defensive coach who has extensive ties to Narduzzi from their time together and what appears to be a lasting friendship.
“Tim and I have known each other for years and he’s an incredibly impressive person and coach,” Narduzzi said in the Pitt release. “He has coached everything on defense and is a tremendously effective teacher and evaluator. From a personal standpoint, he is a great family man and values developing relationships. I’m really excited about bringing him to Pitt and I know our players and staff will really enjoy working with him.”
Daoust, who has served as the defensive ends and linebackers coach at ECU, in addition to holding special teams coordinator responsibilities, has spent the last three seasons at East Carolina.
“My family and I are incredibly excited to join one of the most tradition-rich programs in all of college football,” Daoust said. “Pat has long been a mentor for me. I understand and embrace the responsibility of the position. I’m ready to get to work on bringing another championship to Pitt.”
Daoust is obviously still very new, just about a week into his Pitt tenure, but he’s beginning to build those bonds with his new players. Brewu, a 6-foot, 275-pound four-star defensive tackle, committed to Pitt largely because of Partridge’s ability to develop “undersized” defensive tackles. But he likes what he’s seen from Daoust so far.
“I’m excited to get to work with this new coach,” Brewu said Wednesday. “He seems like a good guy. He seems passionate, that’s the No. 1 thing for me, I want a coach who really cares about what he’s doing, and he seems passionate, so I’m excited to build a relationship with him.”
Crothers, a 6-foot-4, 245-pound three-star defensive end, sees a similar energy level from Daoust as he did with Partridge. There’s a level of excitement in building a relationship with Daoust and starting to work together on a personal and professional level.
Edwards, a 6-foot-1, 245-pound four-star defensive end, is another 2024 recruit who was drawn by the intrigue of working with Partridge in the Pitt defense. In the short time he’s spent with Daoust, he’s already come to respect his new position coach.
“He’s a great coach, man,” Edwards said Wednesday. “I truly respect him. I love his beliefs, he’s big on fundamentals, and that’s the biggest thing he’s been preaching since he got here.”
It remains to be seen how the Doaust era of the Pitt defensive line will unfold, on the field and on the recruiting trails, but it appears that he’s off to a good start with his new players.
It helps that the likes of Dayon Hayes, Nate Temple and Bam Brima are returning as veteran leaders, too.
