Pitt's potential for a truly defense in 2020 starts up front with their talented edge rushers Patrick Jones II and Rashad Weaver, but it has to be followed up by consistent linebacker play behind them.
That's where Phil Campbell III comes in, along with Cam Bright and Chase Pine.
But last week at the UPMC Rooney Sports Complex, Campbell confirmed a switch in linebacker spots. Last year Campbell played the Star linebacker spot with Bright at Money and Pine at Mike. This year, Campbell and Pat Narduzzi confirmed Campbell and Bright will switch spots, keeping Pine at Mike linebacker.
For those unfamiliar with a typical 4-3 defense, the Star linebacker is like the traditional Sam linebacker, who lines up on the strong side of the defense and helps covering tight ends and primary receivers more often. The Money linebacker is like the traditional Will linebacker, who lines up on the weak side of the offense, is the first to take on the run and pass rush. The Mike linebacker is the Jack Lambert style linebacker who flows gap to gap, calls out the defense and makes switches.
The switch will allow Campbell to do what he does best, and that's getting physical in the box and playing downhill. His 56 tackles were fifth most on Pitt's defense in 2019, but his 5.5 sacks were also fourth most on the roster. And that was with him primarily being the Star linebacker in their system.
Now, you'll get more opportunities for Campbell to make big plays playing downhill like this huge sack that helped close out Eastern Michigan late in the fourth quarter in Pitt's 34-30 win in the Quick Lane Bowl. You can see his quick burst through B-gap and how he quickly destroys the attempted block from the running back all before he finishes the play:
Campbell is excited to make more plays like that in his new role.
"With Money I see a little bit more action being in the box more," Campbell described. "I really love being in between the tackles, reading the linemen and reading the backs. I love Money. That's the biggest change to my game, being in the boundary more. I've been studying a lot more film and coverages to be on top of what opposing offenses will do every play."
Campbell looks more natural when he's allowed to switch into this role. And Narduzzi noted as such when asked about it.
"Phil Cambell's been a beast lately," Narduzzi said of Campbell's work in training camp. "He made a play [Thursday] that just wowed. He looks really good. Cam Bright is like he was last year, doing a very nice job. I think we've got two of the nicest outside linebackers in the country. Two athletic guys."
Campbell also looks a lot better when he's working with space in the box. Watch how he works as the twist off the edge to get inside of Jaylen Twyman and get a sack last year against Syracuse:
The switch should also help Bright focus more on using his coverage skills, as he was the Money linebacker last year and only nabbed 0.5 sacks. Narduzzi noted the important differences between the two and how the move, while not completely different in responsibilities, will be beneficial.
"He liked the move from Star to the box," Narduzzi said of Campbell. "He's athletic enough to play both. He's more physical than Cam, no disrespect to him. He's taken the change well, but the positions are so similar. It's not like it's some foreign position, he moved from one side of the field to the other. Less skill receivers over there so he gets more opportunities to blitz, and he loves to blitz. He's tough and playing with about as good as leverage as he can with those big dudes. He plays with his pads down. I'm really impressed with what he's done so far."
But as Campbell notes, his experience with Bright at the other outside linebacker spot lets the two of them switch and play fluidly, even if they mistakenly line up on the wrong sides.
"There was a situation where we ended up on opposite sides of where we should've been," Campbell recalled of a play in practice last week. "But we naturally switched roles and it worked. With our experience, we can line up on either side and just play. We have a lot of speed on either side and that really helps with coverage."
In a year without Twyman, even though Pitt can still lean on players like Jones and Weaver, it will pay to have Campbell contribute more on the pas rush and fill in any drop off from losing the team's best player. Part of what has the defense feeling great about the adjustments has been their history with the unit under defensive coordinator Randy Bates.
"Since Coach Bates got here we've improved every year," Campbell said of his defensive coordinator. "Coach Bates is enthusiastic the second he walks in the building. It's hard to be in a bad mood or not enthusiastic around someone like that. He loves football, he loves coaching us and we can tell. I love playing for someone like that. We've looked at our weaknesses every offseason, looked at how teams attacked us and learned from other teams throughout the season. This year we're really focusing on our weaknesses and what we can do better. All of us around the defense, especially the backers, we're going full speed ahead. This is the best we've ever been as backers."
MORE ON PITT
Narduzzi pumped for Pitt's emerging youth
Transfer QB Yellen shows strong arm
Pitt camp preview: Offense | Defense
To continue reading, log into your account:
