Pitt Defense Has Key ‘Fixer’ In S Donovan McMillon

It’s not always viewed favorably when a defensive back racks up a whole bunch of tackles, as was the case last season when Donovan McMillon led Pitt in tackles, but Pitt uses its safeties a little bit differently than other schemes might.

Pat Narduzzi and Randy Bates use McMillon a little bit differently than the other Pitt safeties, too.

“We count Donovan, depending on the formation, as a run fitter,” Narduzzi said Monday during his weekly presser. “He’s a run fitter because he’s in the box. Four D-linemen aren’t going to make the play every time, to your point. Those guys, that’s why they’re in there. That’s why they’re not coming out. They’re the fixers, okay?”

A Pat Narduzzi defense is predicated on stopping the run. So, when the defensive line attacks an opposing offensive line, playing aggressively at the line of scrimmage, it’s typically the linebackers’ job to find the hole and fill it. McMillon plays that role like a linebacker.

McMillon is a fixer. And he’s a pretty good one, too.

The defensive line and the linebackers (and McMillon) in this case need to be able to work cohesively to stop the run effectively. It’s not about being a hero, it’s about simply doing your job. That’s it. McMillon is well aware.

Pittsburgh Panthers defensive back Donovan McMillon (3) September 23, 2023 David Hague/Pittsburgh Sports Now

“I just go out there and make the plays that come to me at the end of the day,” McMillon said Tuesday after practice. “I don’t know what expectations of tackles are. But if there’s a guy there, I’m gonna tackle him. It’s always fun having a lot of tackles and everything, but I just like to be around the ball and make as many plays as I possibly can to help the team.”

It’s not as though McMillon has lined up in the box a whole lot more than last season, a slight jump from just under 52% of his defensive snaps to just over 53%. But he’s still in the box quite a bit more than his fellow safeties.

Javon McIntyre (41% to 45%) and P.J. O’Brien Jr. (33% to 46%) are also in the box a bit more this season.

McMillon has played the second most defensive snaps this season, tied with Ryland Gandy at 183, and that’s with a smaller workload against Kent State in the season opener. He’s credited with four missed tackles against the Golden Flashes by PFF, which is a season-high — and a bit of an outlier.

McMillon didn’t miss more than three tackles in any game last season, finishing with 32 run stops and a strong 8.1% missed tackle rate.

McMillon leads Pitt with 32 tackles (16 solo) this season, but he’s also missed seven tackles, which gives him a 17.9% miss tackle rate. He’s missed five tackles when looking solely at run-defending opportunities (a 19.7% missed tackle rate), but he’s also recorded six stops and forced a fumble.

McMillon is a good tackler. He recorded 27 stops in run-defending situations last season, at an average depth of 6.5 yards from the line of scrimmage. He had a slower start this season, but McMillon has been a rocket out of the secondary in each of the last two weeks — an indispensable boundary safety.

“I think in our defensive scheme the safety is the free hitter at all times, so it’s not like a normal defense you’d think about,” McMillon said. “You think about normally a 3-2-5 or something where the linebackers are pushing off the edge and everything and the gaps are getting filled at all times and it’s gonna hit the perimeter. But with whams and different block schemes, it’s going to open up B gaps and front-side Cs where I’m gonna have to end up putting my head in there a majority of the time.

“So, that’s where I don’t see it as a problem, you know? It’s not like I’m going down and making 20-yard down-the-field tackles, I’m making tackles at the line of scrimmage, which is a good thing at the end of the day.”

McMillon hasn’t been perfect this season, lagging a bit behind the standard he set as a run defender and tackler last season, but he’s also forced a fumble and secured his first career interception. McMillon may be a “fixer” in the defense, a key run-stopper, but he’s also a playmaker. And Pitt will need him to be both going forward.

Pitt is looking to improve its run defense entering conference play, and McMillon’s play will be a key part of those efforts.