So let's get this straight.
Pitt's 3.92 sacks per game last season was tied with SMU for the most in college football. The Panthers' 338 sack yards ranked third nationally. They were 12th in rushing defense (108.5 yards per game) and 15th in total defense (312.9 average).
No fewer than six key contributors are back on the defensive line, in addition to three linebackers with playing experience and four players with all-conference talent in the defensive backfield.
Despite everything, could this group be underrated as the 2020 season approaches?
Defensive tackle Jaylen Twyman, who was a guest Wednesday morning on the ACC Network's "Packer and Durham," thinks it's a possibility, or at least he's hoping opponents forget about the unit's effectiveness in 2019.
"I mean, I'd rather them not even talk about us, so offensive schemes ain't scheming for us. I'd rather just go out there and show it come Sept. 5 or whenever the season is," Twyman said. "We see it, but we don't. We just try to stay focused and keep working. The biggest thing that we talk about as an older group and show the younger guys is just playing off of each other."
Working to get better is something Twyman, a preseason All-American selection by at least six reputable publications, has spent the offseason doing.
And the All-ACC defensive tackle has a ready-made role model.
They wear the same jersey number (97), play the same position, and the guy occasionally drops by UPMC Rooney Sports Complex on the South Side, where his name is present just about everywhere.
Twyman and former Pitt defensive tackle Aaron Donald, a star player for the Rams, share a similar college trajectory -- Twyman is even being thought of as a potential first-round pick in the 2021 NFL Draft -- and the pair stay in contact.
"Most of that comes from, you know, of the little success that I had last year," Twyman said. "Him just telling me, 'Stay humble,' and stuff like that. I always pick his brain about when he was at Pitt and the plays that he used to make and when he became that guy. So I just try to mimic everything he does from working out to what he's saying to how he approaches the game and stuff like that. He sees that I gravitate to him, and he's just open-minded about teaching me everything that he knows."
For Twyman, that means finding ways to improve upon last season, when he led Pitt with 10.5 sacks and 12 tackles for loss.
"I'm trying to find different ways to get to the quarterback with different techniques and stuff like that," Twyman said. "Missed sacks that we left on the field or, just about, you know, one of our weaknesses last year was getting the ball out and getting more turnovers, so we've been talking about getting to the quarterback and getting the ball out. It's about taking that next step, every time."
Despite all the quarterback pressure Pitt put on the opposition in 2019, it resulted in just 14 turnovers gained (five fumble recoveries, nine interceptions).
Overcome that issue and the defense might be able to change its self-appointed nickname, one that should sound familiar to Steelers fans but also is appropriate.
"(Safety) Damar Hamlin just changed it to Blitzburgh," Twyman said. "A couple of days ago, probably Saturday, we brought it up and (Hamlin) was like, 'We're not D-Block no more. We're Blitzburgh.' So, I guess, Blitzburgh it is."
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