There were high expectations for Francis Brewu entering his freshman season, considering he was the strongest player on the Pitt team as a true freshman, and he certainly delivered.
Brewu — a 6-foot-1, 280-pound rising sophomore from Westerville, Ohio — was named to the PFF All-Freshman team for his play this season. It’s extremely hard to crack the lineup as a young player, but he managed to work his way into the rotation as a key contributor.
It comes after Brewu announced on social media that he will return for his second season with the Panthers, which was a big boost for the present and future of the program.
Brewu initially committed to Pitt as a four-star recruit out of Thomas Worthington High in Ohio (fighting off serious late interest to secure his signining), enrolling early. He made an immediate impression on his teammates and the coaching staff — emerging as the strongest player on the team.
Brewu recorded 214 snaps this season, picking up more and more playing time as the season unfolded. He racked up six pressures, three hurries and two quarterback hits, according to PFF.
He racked up 13 tackles (two solo), 2.5 tackles for loss and a sack this season.
“Francis started off a little bit robotic, but he’s a pleaser,” Pat Narduzzi said earlier this year. “When you talk about a 4-3 and — he’s a guy that’s just trying to do exactly what Coach Daoust or we want him to do every play, and if you tell him to stay in his A-gap, stay in his A-gap. He’s really consistent with his footwork and doing what he’s supposed to do.
“Probably the hardest transition was just trying to teach him how to run to the ball. He’d play the run and turn around and look like this for a while and see where the ball is going, but he’s improved there.”
Pitt is set to return a nice group of defensive linemen with Sean FitzSimmons, Nick James and Isaiah Neal (with FitzSimmons and James already announcing their returns), and Whittington and Brewu are in line for a major increase in snaps. The defensive line wasn’t perfect this season, but there are reasons for optimism.
