CINCINNATI — Pat Narduzzi knew before the week that Pitt needed to prepare for Cincinnati star Dontay Corleone, even before Corleone was cleared to return to action.
Narduzzi turned out to be correct.
Corleone is returning to action and starting for Cincinnati this afternoon as the Bearcats host Pitt at Nippert Stadium, according to a report by Pete Thamel of ESPN. Corleone was cleared to return to games earlier this week by the Cincinnati sports medicine staff, and his status for the game was initially uncertain.
Corleone was treated for blood clots in his lungs in June and ruled out indefinitely.
Corleone — a 6-foot-1, 320-pound defensive tackle from Cincinnati, Ohio — emerged as one of the best 0-technique defensive tackles in college football over the last two seasons.
Corleone racked up three tackles (one solo), a tackle for loss and a sack in a 27-21 win over the Panthers, dominating the Pitt offensive line throughout the contest. Pat Narduzzi pointed to Corleone as a difference-maker before the game and that prediction came to fruition.
He racked up 39 tackles (22 solo), 6.5 tackles for loss, three sacks, a forced fumble and a pass breakup at nose tackle last season — earning second-team All-Big 12 honors. And in his collegiate career, he’s accumulated 84 tackles (41 solo), 12 tackles for loss, six sacks, three forced fumbles, two recoveries and a pass breakup.
Narduzzi expected Corleone to be able to go this week, pointing to the star defensive tackle as “the dude” upfront.
“Obviously the Corleone kid on defense, he’s a heck of an outstanding football player,” Narduzzi said Monday at his weekly press conference. “He was out, as you guys know, during the summer, but I expect Dontay to be back. I think he’ll be back for us.
“I think he spent plenty of time talking to people, expect him to be back. He’s the dude up front. They’ve got some other great players up front. Eric Phillips a big defensive end, No. 97, is a great player. Bartlett at linebacker stands out to me, their middle linebacker, gets things rolling. Then the back end, they’ve got skill guys to cover you up.”
Pitt and Cincinnati are scheduled to kick off at noon on Saturday at Nippert Stadium in Cincinnati. For those not in attendance, the game will be broadcast on ESPN2.
Not good given the state of our OL