Pitt’s new starting outside linebackers turning ‘Sharks’ persona into clutch plays

Stephen Thompson / Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

The 2023 Pitt football season was, in no uncertain terms, miserable.

The nine losses — more than this program has suffered in a single year since the late 1990s — left little worth watching last fall.

But lost in the misery of the 2023 season was the development of two very bright stars. Kyle Louis and Rasheem Biles, who only dipped their toes into game action a year ago, are blossoming in their second full collegiate seasons. “The Sharks,” as they call themselves, put their stamp on a 38-34 victory over West Virginia last weekend.

“Our goal for this week … we were going to make a big play,” Louis said following the Backyard Brawl, the ball he intercepted to ice the game still in hand. “We were going to let them know we’re here, we were going to let the city know we’re here, the sharks are here.”

The sharks are certainly here, and Pitt fans can expect to see their signature shark fin celebration more and more on fall Saturdays.

“That’s our culture,” Louis said. “You bring a different kind of energy to the defense, a different kind of energy in the room. We’re trying to bring a different kind of energy in the city. We’re trying to have everyone throw up the sharks in the student section when we make a play.”

Pitt head coach Pat Narduzzi said he wanted to tighten the rotations on defense, and he’s done just that, cementing both Louis and Biles as full-time starters. They each logged career-high snap counts against the Mountaineers, with Biles on the field for 62 plays compared to just 34 the week before (Louis' increase was more modest, from 54 snaps against Kent State to 74 against Cincinnati and 78 against West Virginia).

Narduzzi is finding increasingly few reasons to keep these two explosive playmakers off the field. The sense of confidence Narduzzi has in his two new outside linebackers is relatively new and somewhat surprising, given where this room was after spring ball concluded.

A two-year starter at Pitt’s star position, Bangally Kamara, transferred to South Carolina. Shayne Simon, the starting mike linebacker, graduated and signed with the Buffalo Bills as an undrafted free agent. Solomon DeShields, the starter at the money position who was coming off a career year, then transferred to Texas A&M following the end of spring practices.

In 12 games, Solomon DeShields logged 58 total tackles, 8 tackles for loss, 2 sacks and 1 pass breakup. Bangally Kamara played just 10 games and recorded 55 tackles, 6.5 for a loss, 2 sacks and also 1 pass breakup. How was Pitt supposed to replace the sudden loss of these two veterans a year ago? As it turns out, the answers were already in-house.

Through three games, Louis has recorded 27 tackles, 2.5 for loss, a sack and an interception. And Biles has 25 tackles, 5 stops for a loss, 2.5 sacks and 1 more pass defended.

One-quarter of the way through the season, they are on pace to become Pitt’s first pair of 100-tackle defenders since 2006. Add Donovan McMillon (on pace for 128 tackles this year), and the Panthers could have three players surpass the 100-tackle threshold for the first time since tackles became an officially recognized college football statistic in 2001.

Biles and Louis are producing at an eye-popping rate, so when Pat Narduzzi says he has a different caliber of player at outside linebacker this year, he isn’t blowing smoke.

“Those two guys are playmakers. Seems like every week there's a fight to say who is the best one out of those two right now 'cause they are playing at a high level,” Narduzzi said.

“Again, they're different than what we had a year ago at that outside backer spot. They're making more plays. They're aggressive. They pull the trigger. They don't hesitate.”

Biles and Louis bring a level of sideline-to-sideline speed and athleticism rushing the passer Pitt didn’t have a year ago. For a team that’s looking to turn up the pressure after not looking quite like itself in 2023, Biles and Louis have been near-perfect fits. The volume of tackles is certainly notable, but their affinity for splash plays has become even more significant.

Part of the “sharks” persona these two new starters have brought to their teammates is an attitude in everything they do. One of their position group’s mottos is “eat face,” a phrase that’s mostly just a graphic way to pump each other up but also a real coaching point.

“It’s a Florida slang, but it’s also a fundamentals thing,” Louis said. “Keep your eyes up, chest up, and run through somebody.”

That aggression has translated to clutch moments, which Pitt has needed many of as it battled back from two different double-digit fourth-quarter deficits.

With just over nine minutes remaining in the game against Cincinnati, Biles shot past a helpless Bearcats tackle to sack Brendan Sorsby for nine yards on 3rd and 5. Five minutes later, Louis logged a tackle for loss on second down that led to a Bearcat punt and set up the Panthers’ game-winning field goal.

Then, this past weekend, in the Backyard Brawl, Louis made two third-down stops to force punts in the first half and closed the game with an interception off West Virginia quarterback Garrett Greene.

These are the moments these two passionate first-year starters live for. Sheltered by veterans to start their careers, Louis and Biles have been thrown into the fire and made their fair share of mistakes, but those miscues have been coupled with game-changing plays in critical moments. Through three weeks, these “sharks” aren’t just talking the talk but are translating a new, hawkish attitude into production and wins on the field.

“Just be a shark. Our linebacker corps, that’s our name, the sharks. So really just be a shark,” Biles said. “Fourth quarter, third down — that’s money down. That’s when players make plays. That’s when you get paid.”