Pitt's Randy Bates eager to see what his young, hungry defense can accomplish

Randy Bates was joking when he wondered about his career path and those he has allowed to impact it.

“Why I took a job where my life is dependent on 17- and 18-year-old guys being consistent is silly,” he said.

Yet he has been coaching for 43 years, seven as Pitt’s defensive coordinator and nearly 2¹⁄₂ times longer than some of his players have been alive. And he’s been loving every minute of it.

Through most of his time at Pitt, his defenses have been some of the best in the ACC. But like any coach, Bates is judged to be only as good as the players on his unit, how many splash plays they make and how many games the team wins. Whether that’s fair is not the point. Expectations remain high inside and outside Pitt’s practice facility.

This season, many defensive players are young and inexperienced, a fact that did not prevent the 64-year-old retired Naval Lieutenant from speaking positively about his guys Tuesday while taking a break from preparations for the opener Saturday against Kent State at Acrisure Stadium.

“This is a group of guys who will make plays. I believe that to my heart,” he said. “I thought last year, when there were times that we were in great position to make plays, (we) did not make plays.

“I think we’re physical. We can stop the run and we’re going to stop the run and make people throw the football. That’s what I believe this group has going for them.

“They’re getting it. They’re younger. They’re wide-eyed. The inconsistencies aren’t that they want to be wrong. It’s just that they haven’t been there enough to do it. Sometimes, that takes time and experience.”

It’s difficult to predict who among Pitt’s defenders will be on the field for Kent State’s first snap. Coach Pat Narduzzi has named co-starters at both defensive tackle positions, money (outside) linebacker and free safety. Of the 24 players listed either two- or three-deep at their positions, 13 are freshmen or sophomores and seven have not reached their 20th birthday. Only two players who started more than half of the games in 2023 — safeties Donovan McMillon and Javon McIntyre — are listed as starters this season.

The most interesting position is defensive tackle where Narduzzi has listed five players — Nahki Johnson, Francis Brewu, Anthony Johnson, Nick James and Isaiah Neal — as co-starters for two spots.

“Every day’s a new day,” Bates said. “We told the guys from the start that the guys who practice the best and make the most plays will be the guys who play. We’re still letting them compete. It’s a never-ending rotation until somebody stands out and takes it away.”

Brewu joins defensive end Sincere Edwards as two freshmen expected to play. That’s in addition to redshirt freshmen Maverick Gracio and David Ojiegbe (ends), Neal and safety Cruce Brookins (safety).

“Those guys are every bit ready to play,” Bates said, acknowledging that mistakes can happen with freshmen.

“At times when you’re a freshman, it’s ‘What are you doing?’ They’re 17-, 18-year-old guys and don’t have as much experience in college football. Sometimes, it goes pretty fast for them. As they continue to learn, they‘ll continue to get better and as they get better, they’ll have every opportunity.

“We recruited them to play, and if they’re ready to play right now — God, bless them — we’ll play them. We have some mature guys who are embracing it. Until you actually run out of the tunnel for the first time in Acrisure Stadium, it’s a different world.”

The player assigned to hold everything together on the field is senior middle linebacker and captain Brandon George, who has played in 52 games since 2019 without a start.

“Brandon can speak probably better than me because they will look at him as a guy who’s been out there,” Bates said. “Sometimes, they look at me and adults in general and think we’re all crazy until they actually get out and do it.”

In the secondary, senior cornerback Rashad Battle and Brookins will be starting— or, at least, playing significant minutes — for the first time.

Injuries limited Battle to three games the past two seasons, but he said he is ready for the new challenge.

“I did a lot of meditation, a lot of praying, telling myself this is what I want to do,” he said. “Being focused and being locked in on just one day at a time, one hour at a time, one rep at a time, really relying on that.”

Bates said Brookins, a Steel Valley graduate, is “one of our rolling starters.”

Translation: He will roll on and off the field with McMillon, McIntyre and P.J. O’Brien.

“He’ll be out there a good bit,” the coach said.

Scott, a redshirt sophomore first-year starter, has heard a few too many times about Pitt’s lack of experience on defense.

“That’s something everybody’s been pointing out these last couple of months,” he said. “(We’re) just embracing the challenge. A year from now, we’ll be having a different conversation.”