Experienced secondary begging to be challenged

Before heading into a practice last week, Pitt head football coach Dave Wannstedt made it… Before heading into a practice last week, Pitt head football coach Dave Wannstedt made it clear as to what the strong point of the defense is this season: his secondary.

He mentioned the talent and experience of his secondary and welcomed the challenge of anyone who wants to throw on them – a challenge his defensive backs like to share with him.

“You know, if you want to throw the ball on us, there’s a good chance we’re going to come down with it,” he said.

It’s the return of starting cornerbacks, senior Bernard “Josh” Lay and sophomore Darrelle Revis, who provide the optimism for Wannstedt.

Lay and Revis, who hail from the same hometown of Alequippa, Pa., bring an abundance of leadership on the defensive side. The two combined for 71 tackles, 24 pass deflections and five interceptions last season.

The production from last year, however, is not what has Wannstedt talking about the two. Their work ethic and improvement during his first practices is what really impresses the first-year head coach.

“Our secondary is playing well right now,” Wannstedt said. “Josh Lay is having an outstanding camp. He has come out every day and really performed well.”

The senior Lay, who was named to the all-Big East team last year as a junior, has played in 35 of Pitt’s last 38 games and has not missed a game since his freshman year.

Lay’s role as a leader in the upcoming season doesn’t come as a surprise to Wannstedt, because according to Lay, it was his head coach that first expected the qualities out of him.

“The guy that I’ve been very pleased with is Josh Lay,” the first-year head coach said. “Josh is one of those guys that has had the ability, but he’s on a mission right now. He’s got some goals and he’s working extremely hard to achieve those things.”

“I put it on myself to become a leader,” Lay said. “Just because I’m a senior and coach Wannstedt when he first came in, he came to me and mostly depended on me to be a leader.”

Revis on the other hand enters his sophomore season after starting 11 of 12 games last year, earning first-team freshman all-America honors from The Sporting News and a second-team all-American honor by Rivals.com. Despite owning just one year of experience under his belt, Revis enjoys his new role, joining Lay in being a leader on the defense.

“Coming into this summer, they pushed me hard to become a leader,” Revis said. “I went to a leadership conference and it helped me out a lot. Being mature enough as a sophomore to be a leader means a lot to me.”

“Revis is really playing the way I expected him to and he’s coming off a good year,” Wannstedt said of his preseason second-team all-Big East selection.

Joining the two in the secondary is senior free safety Tez Morris. Morris brings the most experience to the 2005 Panthers, starting in 35 career games over his last three seasons.

Morris finished third on the team last year with 85 tackles, including 37 solo stops. He also deflected three passes and recovered a fumble.

After moving to the strong safety position during spring drills, red shirt sophomore Mike Phillips will battle for a starting job after seeing playing time as a freshman last season at cornerback.

Phillips, who defensive coordinator Paul Rhoads described as being “too good to keep off the field,” made 30 stops last year in addition to his two interceptions and nine pass deflections.

The secondary as a whole knows and understands its job as the season is about to get underway, and they believe they’ll get it done.

“We’re the most put-together group,” Lay said. “We want people to throw at us. That’s just more opportunities for us to get interceptions and we’re definitely going to try and intercept as many passes as we can.”