Tale of Two Western Michigan Games for Pitt S Erick Hallett
PITTSBURGH -- When Western Michigan beat the Pitt Panthers on their home turf last season, leaving a glaring blemish on an otherwise stellar 2021 campaign, Erick Hallett was a popular scapegoat.
The Pitt defense got shredded for 517 total yards, 357 of which came through the air as the secondary was burned repeatedly for big plays by quarterback Kaleb Eleby and the electric receiver tandem of Corey Crooms and Skyy Moore. Head coach Pat Narduzzi noticed that often it was Hallett on the wrong end of a big play but said that Hallett wasn't solely to blame.
"We didn’t help him a lot last year, coaches and the rest of the team as far as what we did and how we did it, just had some little things to adjust to," Narduzzi said. "I put it right on my shoulders a year ago."
But almost exactly one year later to the day, Hallett was back on the field playing the Broncos but the results were much different. He was the star of a stifling defensive effort, proof that this team had taken last year's loss to heart and channeled it into this year's win.
Pitt's secondary allowed just 130 yards passing and Hallett came away with two interceptions while covering Crooms, the star wideout. It was vindication for Hallett, an All-ACC honorable mention in 2021 whose reputation isn't consistent with his production.
Narduzzi thinks Hallett's role makes him more susceptible to big plays and the highlights can make a very solid player look like he's getting burned repeatedly, but closer study of the film reveals that Hallett is consistently right in lockstep with who he's covering.
“Guys are going to complete balls," Narduzzi said. "The thing that’s impressive about him, if you go back to last year and put the film on, every time they completed a pass [Hallett] was there to make the tackle. … He’s right there. You can’t make every play. You can’t make every interception. You can’t get a PBU every play."
"It’s hard. He’s playing off coverage man-to-man 65% of the time. He’s got a job and we trust him. Whether it’s [Josh] Downs at North Carolina, we trust him against anybody and he plays good coverage. He’s got a tough job.”
Coming into this season, Narduzzi called Hallett his most steady player. No matter the day, no matter the outcome, Hallett gives the Panthers the same quality play. As a result, his coaches can sleep well at night knowing his free safety spot is never an issue.
"I’ve told you guys, win or lose that guy has been good regardless," Narduzzi said. "I've never worried about 31."
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