Tamon Lynum is walking into a pretty good situation at Pitt. M.J. Devonshire, Marquis Williams and A.J. Woods have played just about every snap in the Panthers’ secondary over the past two seasons, and now all three are gone.
That’s a lot of snaps (3,307) and a lot of production (12 interceptions and 39 pass breakups) to replace. It isn’t ideal for the Pitt coaching staff, but Lynum is walking into a room that’s ripe for the taking. He’s also walking into a room that he already feels comfortable in. It wasn’t the recent trend of Pitt producing NFL corners that drew him in; it was relationships.
“I didn’t really know too much about the past guys that had went to the draft from here,” Lynum said earlier this month at the UPMC Rooney Sports Complex. “Really the main reason I came was coach (Archie) Collins, coach (Pat) Narduzzi, they made me feel comfortable. So, that was really the main thing.”
Lynum — a 6-foot-2, 190-pound cornerback who transferred in from Nebraska — is originally from Orlando, Fla. He didn’t know much about Pitt before deciding to commit back in December. He can count on one hand the number of times he’s watched a Pitt Panthers game.
- When former Pitt quarterback Kenny Pickett led the Panthers to an upset win over then-No. 2 Miami in 2017
- When Pickett led the Panthers to an ACC championship win over Wake Forest in 2021
That’s about it. He didn’t know much about Pitt other than those two experiences that came as he sat on the couch and watched his TV. It wasn’t until Collins started recruiting him that he began to learn more about the Panthers.
He grew close with Collins and Narduzzi, and he’s since grown close with Randy Bates, and it’s probably because the Pitt coaches all interact in a similar way.
It’s high energy. There’s a lot of passion but also a lot of attention to detail.
It helps, too, that Pitt plays the kind of defensive scheme that Lynum was looking for.
“You know, at Nebraska, we played off-man, here it’s kinda press man, so it’s kinda the same, but I want to be press,” Lynum said. “That’s what I like most.
“Everybody really can’t do that, so you gotta be really smart, talented, physical. You gotta want to be on that island. Gotta want to be out there by yourself.”
Lynum is a big, physical corner who should be able to use his length to his advantage when matched up with ACC wide receivers. Pitt will need his size and speed combo on the outside, and it will certainly be a change from the smaller corners that have been deployed over the past couple of seasons.
And if the reports out of Lincoln are true, Lynum is an incredibly hard worker. He worked as a gunner on kick coverage, he filled in when needed across the secondary and basically lived in the Nebraska facility. Hard work should be expected, which is exactly what the defensive staff wants out of the players.
He only recorded 117 defensive snaps last season, but he racked up 12 tackles (10 solo), one tackle for loss, one sack and two forced fumbles in 12 games. According to PFF, he allowed one reception for 17 yards on three targets. He doesn’t have a ton of experience defensively, working into the rotation in 2023, but he’s a long, aggressive cornerback who can drop back and stop the run, too.
“I would say my length does really help me out a lot with high pointing balls, getting my hands on receivers on the line, so those are kind of things I like to take advantage of,” Lynum said.
It’s about learning the playbook at this point. He’s had some help from guys like Rashad Battle, Donovan McMillon and P.J. O’Brien Jr., but it’s still a work in progress. The spring session will be very important for not just Lynum but the entire cornerbacks unit. It’s a unit that is looking for someone to step up.
Ryland Gandy is likely one of those guys, he was the one who received a few extra game reps down the stretch last season, but Pitt likes to roll its corners out three or four deep. Tamarion Crumpley and Noah Biglow are in the mix. Battle is finally healthy. Maybe Shadarian Harrison makes the second season jump.
They all offer their own individual strengths and weaknesses, but there’s no certainty. Lynum isn’t a sure thing either, but he was brought in for a reason. He’s going to play. And he wants to play like NFL stars Jalen Ramsey and Derek Stingley, Darius Slay and Jaycee Horn.
Lynum is built like a Pitt cornerback. He has the look. Now it’s about putting it together on the field this spring and showing that he can step into the shoes left behind.
