WPIAL standouts Braylan Lovelace, Cruce Brookins hope to increase their impact on Pitt's defense

With so much change occurring in all corners of Pitt’s practice facility — on the Beano Cook fields, in the locker and weight rooms, inside the coaches’ offices and certainly in the offensive playbook — Pat Narduzzi occasionally uses the words “work in progress” to describe certain elements of his team.

Which is not unexpected only halfway through spring drills, more than five months before the first game.

Speaking to reporters Tuesday about the scrimmage last Saturday at Acrisure Stadium, Narduzzi noted a need to “clean things up.”

He didn’t quantify for reporters the number of turnovers either forced by the defense or gifted by the offense. But there were enough to irritate the coaching staff and award blue jerseys to the defense, indicating triumph in the scrimmage.

“I thought the defense had more energy than the offense,” Narduzzi said.

But there is change on defense, too, whether it’s popular and accomplished defensive line coach Charlie Partridge leaving for the NFL or the 10 players who lined up for the 2023 finale against Duke who are off the roster or unavailable now. Some used up their eligibility and moved on to their life’s work; defensive end Nate Temple suffered a lower leg injury and is out for the season; Bangally Kamara, Sam Okunlola and Deandre Jules transferred.

So, where does Narduzzi turn to fill the holes? He’s looking toward many sources, including transfers and holdovers, but two players who grew up in the WPIAL are part of the metamorphosis.

Sophomore linebacker Braylan Lovelace (Leechburg) and redshirt freshman safety Cruce Brookins (Steel Valley) are pushing for more playing time.

Narduzzi mentioned both during his chat with reporters Tuesday.

“Cruce is going to get some action at the nickel back, which I think he can be a threat as a blitzer,” the coach said. “He’ll have a major role.”

Lovelace is pushing middle linebacker Brandon George for playing time, even while George is having a good spring, according to Narduzzi.

Meanwhile, Brookins said, “Things are coming a lot easier. My eyes got better, dissecting things. Just playing fast, no thinking. I’m out there just playing football like I used to. Physicality. That’s how I’ve played since I was young. Steel Valley is rooted on physicality.”

The turnovers were results of “attacking the ball,” Lovelace said.

“If the ball’s in the air, we were saying it was ours. Not stuttering my feet on a tackle, just running through and taking my shots.”

Lovelace said he has been talking with and getting tips from former Pitt linebacker SirVocea Dennis, now with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

“He gave me a whole note sheet on what he would look at (for offensive tendencies), what he still looks at to this day in the NFL. That really helped me a lot to slow the game down. So, you know what’s going on before everybody else does.”

Lovelace said he has adopted a different mindset this year.

“Last year, I was trying to prove I could play as a freshman,” he said. “Now, I’m trying to prove myself as a starter, not so much as a rotate guy. Keep my head down, stacking each day, just trying to be better each day.”

Lovelace said he likes to think about what he did and why he did it, similar to how offensive and defensive coordinators spend their days.

“In high school, I was really just playing football,” he said, “not too much thinking about what was going on.”

Now, he sees “what really goes into games.”