Pitt Football
Pitt DE Blaine Spires Built Himself in His Hometown

Pat Narduzzi often talks about what the city of Youngstown means to him. There’s a lot of pride, but for someone like Blaine Spires, there’s a lot of struggle, too.
Spires appreciates that Narduzzi understands what it means to be from Youngstown. He appreciates that strength & conditioning coach Michael Stacchiotti and recruiting assistant Anthony Johnson understand the pride — and the struggle.
“Along the way, sometimes you come across coaches, they might not understand where you’re from,” Spires said Wednesday on the South Side. “But with coach Duzz being here and having strong ties to my city, he even got in touch with one of my high school coaches that I haven’t talked to in a while, which is crazy to me. He called me and said, ‘Hey, these coaches reached out to me.’
“So, the fact that he’s got that tie there and understands what it’s like to come from the city I come from, it gives me a sense of comfort and it’s like okay, I gotta do my best for him, too.”
Spires — a 6-foot-3, 230-pound defensive end — has had a long, winding journey, reaching his third school in six years, and part of the reason he chose the Panthers was so he could get closer to home.
It wasn’t always easy, but without the experience, he isn’t sure where he’d be — or if he would have made it this far at all.
Youngstown has instilled in him, like all of its people, an “overall grit factor.”
“What it really is is that I come from the bottom of the bottom,” Blaine Spires said. “Since growing up, I’ve seen a lot, a lot of my friends don’t get to experience this, a lot of friends dead now. So, it takes real resiliency, and I think me being in college, my whole story is kind of resiliency. And without my background, I don’t know how far or if I would’ve been able to hold up. But if you make it out of there, you can do anything in life.”
Spires made it out, played a couple of seasons at Bowling Green, a couple more at Utah State and will finish his college career at Pitt. And it’s a blessing that he’s able to bring his family from Youngstown to his games.
His family will be able to watch him play in a system that will allow him to do what he does best: get after the quarterback.
It’s an attacking system, one that prioritizes getting after opposing quarterbacks and stopping the run. Spires loved that, and he loved the idea of getting off the line, playing vertical and doing whatever he could to create havoc in opposing backfields. He loves the speed and attacking style of everyone on the defensive side of the ball — and feels he’s a perfect fit.
“The thing that kind of set me aside being on the defensive line was that I did have the ability to be able to move as an athletic person off the edge,” Blaine Spires said. “And as far as me knowing offensive scheme and stuff, it helped me as well.”
With the losses on the defensive line, especially on the outside, Spires has an opportunity to make a difference. He’s an older, experienced edge rusher who has found a system that suits his style of play, but he also knows he has to earn respect in Pittsburgh.
He doesn’t want to step on any toes, so he’s putting his head down and leading by example. But Spires knows while he can make an impact on the field, he can also help the young guys around him, too.
It’s been a long journey, one that isn’t over yet, but while Spires didn’t know it would end so close to home, he’s fortunate — for the opportunity to play football and to give his friends and family a chance to watch him play in person.

