Andrea Adelson, ESPN Senior Writer 9y

Expect Pitt to be better stopping the run under Pat Narduzzi

If there is one thing to expect out of the Pittsburgh defense in Year 1 under Pat Narduzzi it is this: Everything will be geared toward stopping the run.

Last year, Michigan State ranked No. 1 in the country in run defense under his direction, giving up an average of 88.5 yards per game. Pitt was not nearly as good, giving up an average of 160.8 yards on the ground to rank No. 55 nationally.

But the Panthers should be better, not only because Narduzzi is now head coach. They return a strong interior -- something all his best Michigan State defenses had. With seniors Darryl Render and Khaynin Mosley-Smith returning to anchor the tackle spots, Narduzzi feels good about that position headed into fall practice.

"The strength would be our D-tackles right now," Narduzzi said. "We have four guys inside I think can be disruptive. It starts up front so you better have those guys. We need some D-ends that need to step up. But you better be able to stop the run, and how do you stop the run? Those guys right there. Those four-down guys have to stop the run. Everything starts up front."

Depth must be developed at end, where Pitt is hoping some combination of Shakir Soto, Rori Blair and Ejuan Price is enough to both help the run defense and go after the passer. But having strength right up the middle of the defensive line is not a bad place to start.

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