During the past two seasons, Pitt has provided an opportunity for its young linebackers to get involved and make an immediate impact.
Redshirt sophomore Kyle Louis turned in an All-American season this past fall, while sophomores Braylan Lovelace and Rasheem Biles became central pieces of a unit that became known as the ‘Sharks.’ That trio was just as involved as freshmen in 2023.
Pitt linebackers coach Ryan Manalac and the Panthers will look for incoming freshmen Emmanuel Taylor and Justin Thompson to push for similar success early in their careers.
“Time will tell. I like their skill set and I think they have the ability to come in here and prove themselves,” Manalac said on National Signing Day in December. “You talk about Rasheem, as a freshman, he had a hand on three punts, so he flashed there. You hope these young guys can come in and contribute in some way and help change the game. I think they have that ability.”
Manalac and the coaching staff will get to work molding the two linebackers, who enrolled earlier this week.
“It’s a huge learning curve. Coach Bates does a great job on all of us on defense as we continue to teach those guys. We pride ourselves on development. When those guys get here in January, they have such a jumpstart on somebody coming in June. Mentally, physically, the strength, getting in the weight room, getting with our nutritionist, all that stuff is a huge leg up for their ability to come in and have an immediate impact,” Manalac said.
Taylor – a 6-foot-1, 200-pound recruit out of Green Run High School in Virginia – compiled more than 120 tackles as a senior, including 32 for a loss as his helped his team to a 13-1 record.
Manalac has known about Taylor for several years now after meeting him while recruiting former Pitt linebacker in Jordan Bass. At the time, Taylor was playing wide receiver but has grown into playing linebacker. That dynamic ability is something that the Panthers look for in their recruits.
“As a linebacker coach, I love to see versatility of skills,” Manalac said. “It translates into ball skills on defense. There’s a lot of transferable skills — change of direction and being able to run and get away from people. Coach Narduzzi taught me a long time ago, we want our linebackers to be just like a running back: find the holes and go make those tackles in the same place. We love those guys that have an offensive skill set.”
The Pitt linebacker coach took a trip to Green Run to watch Taylor display those skills live.
“Got a chance to watch Manny play this year in a nice rainy game down there in Virginia. Wind was blowing like crazy. It was good to see his toughness show up. He’s in the backfield, one of the first guys down the field on kick off, just plays hard. He fits the mentality we want, the length, the speed and aggressiveness.”
One thing that stood out to Manalac was Taylor’s willingness to bring on contact.“Some dogs bite, some never do. I think Manny’s a guy that likes that. He wants that aggressiveness. You saw when he has the ball in his hands, he’s going to run through the smoke. Same thing on defense, running through a blocker and going to make a tackle. We want that aggressiveness and guys that go make plays,” Manalac said.
As for Thompson, Pitt is receiving another athletic playmaker with speed and finish.
“He’s a great player, has great speed. You see a versatility of skills with him being able to blitz, stop the run and cover in space,” Manalac said.
Thompson checks in at a 6-foot-2, 225 pounds out of Good Counsel High School in Maryland where he amassed 45 tackles, three tackles for loss and a forced fumble as a senior.
“Justin’s an awesome young man. Really impressed with how detailed and disciplined this guy is. He has his nutrition planned out, his work out routine. Got to watch him work out in the spring and he’s chiseled, changes direction well and is a vocal leader — all the things you want from an intangible standpoint,” Manalac said
Manalac projects that Thompson will play at ‘Mike’ on the inside and ‘Money, while Taylor could see himself on the outside at ‘Star’ or ‘Money.’
“I think we got two great ones,” Manalac said. “Excited about their length, speed and agility in both of them and great young men.”
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