Although uncertainty surrounds the Pitt football program ahead of the 2018 season, one aspect of the team that has sparked some optimism is its linebacking corps, which the ACC Digital Network recently predicted would be the fourth-best linebacking unit in the conference this year.
The reason behind the optimism is the fact that Pitt will return all three of its starters at linebacker in Saleem Brightwell, Oluwaseun Idowu and Elijah Zeise. In 2017, the trio combined for 216 tackles, including 21.5 tackles for a loss and six sacks. Of course, it’s worth noting that Idowu was responsible for more than 40 percent of the team’s production in each category.