Inside The Panthers

ESPN Analyst Believes Pitt DL Still Underrated

ESPN's David Hale thinks the Pitt Panthers don't get enough credit for defensive line production.

Stephen Thompson

ESPN Analyst Believes Pitt DL Still Underrated
ESPN Analyst Believes Pitt DL Still Underrated /
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PITTSBURGH -- If nothing else, the Pitt Panthers have built a reputation for producing stud defensive linemen. From Hugh Green to Jabaal Sheard to Aaron Donald to Ejuan Price to Patrick Jones and Rashad Weaver to Calijah Kancey, there have been no shortage of great pass rushers to come out of Pittsburgh, especially in recent years.  

But often, the Panthers' depth of talent at the defensive line position gets unfairly overlooked, according to ESPN's David Hale, who covers ACC football primarily. Hale believes the Panthers deserve to be talked about in the same "D-Line U" conversation as a powerhouse team from inside their conference.

"We talk about Clemson as if they have just been churning out defensive linemen to the NFL and Pitt's been putting up these kinds of numbers on the d-line too," Hale said. "It's not insane to say Pitt has a pretty high ceiling and talent. It just doesn't ever seem to coalesce all together at the same time."

Hale pointed out that both Pitt and Clemson have had nine defensive linemen with five or more sacks and 10 or more tackles for loss since 2015. 

The Panthers have also finished in the top-three nationally in sacks in each of the past four seasons, leading the country in that category twice. Clemson, Georgia and Pitt make up the top-three sacking teams in college football over the past three seasons. 

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Stephen Thompson
STEPHEN THOMPSON

Stephen Thompson graduated with a bachelor's degree in communications and political science from Pitt in April 2022 after spending four years as a sports writer and editor at The Pitt News, the University of Pittsburgh's independent, student-run newspaper.  He primarily worked the Pitt men's basketball beat, and filled in on coverage of football, volleyball, softball, gymnastics and lacrosse, in addition to other sports as needed. His work at The Pitt News has won awards from the Pennsylvania News Media Association and Associated College Press.  During the spring and summer of 2021, Stephen interned for Pittsburgh Sports Now, covering baseball in western Pennsylvania. Hailing from Washington D.C., family ties have cultivated a love of Boston's professional teams and Pitt athletics, and a fascination with sports in general.  You can reach Stephen by email at stephenethompson00@gmail.com and follow him on Twitter. Read his latest work:

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