Inside The Panthers

ESPN Analyst Ranks Pitt DB Unit Third in ACC

ESPN's David Hale believes the Pitt Panthers have the third-best defensive back unit in the ACC.

Stephen Thompson

ESPN Analyst Ranks Pitt DB Unit Third in ACC
ESPN Analyst Ranks Pitt DB Unit Third in ACC /
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PITTSBURGH -- The Pitt Panthers will have one of the best defensive back units in the ACC next season if one ESPN analyst is right. 

David Hale has helped lead coverage of ACC football for the better part of the last decade and he sees Pitt as a team with a top-tier unit of defensive backs. He ranked them third in the league, trailing only Florida State and NC State. 

"Pitt led ACC in contested catch [percentage] and adjQBR and was second in adjusted completion percentage. [It returns] two really good veteran corners. The biggest question is whether they get the same production up front (second in pressured dropbacks)," Hale wrote on Twitter. "Still... Pitt had best QBR in the ACC by a wide margin when NOT getting pressure last year."

Each of the Panthers' three top cornerbacks - Marquis Williams, M.J. Devonshire and A.J. Woods - but does face some turnover at safety, where they will tap Donovan McMillon, P.J. O'Brien and Javon McIntyre to replace two multi-year starters in Erick Hallett and Brandon Hill. 

Hale added that he believes Devonshire will be an all-conference player this coming season. Devonshire was the only Panther he listed in a very early prediction of the All-ACC defensive backfield.

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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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