SirVocea Dennis Leading Quietly, By Example in Refreshed Pitt Football LB Room
PITTSBURGH -- The Pitt Panthers are returning a lot from their 2021 ACC Championship-winning team - 74% of their snaps, to be exact. Kenny Pickett and Jordan Addison, made up a large share of that figure, but another large chunk came from veteran-ladden linebacker's room, which was devastated by the loss of four seniors.
The current state of Pitt's linebacking corp is fluid. Senior SirVocea Dennis, last year's leading Panther tackler, is one of the few returners and the only one with a full season of starting experience under his belt. As a result, he's tasked with guiding newcomers and budding contributors through a camp chock full of uncertainty.
There are questions about who will play, where they'll play and how much they'll play that need to be sorted out before the Panthers take the field for the season opener against West Virginia. Multiple players are competing for snaps while Dennis is one of the few sure things.
"He's a great guy," Missouri State transfer Tylar Wiltz said. "I know that, anything I need - and I live like a ten-minute walk away, he lives on the other side of town - he's there. He watches film not just on himself, but on everyone else. He's coaching on the sideline."
Dennis carries himself with a seriousness on the field that is immediately apparent to all his teammates, but they know him primarily as a light-hearted guy away from the game. His leadership style reflects that.
Despite being the only returning starer, Dennis is cycling through the different backer positions - "cross-training" as linebackers coach Ryan Manalac calls it - just like the rest of the unit. He's still learning and doesn't shove his knowledge and experience in teammates' faces, opting instead for more subtle acts.
"Me and Brandon are the only ones that have in-game experience and we both play Mike, but I usually try to leave that to [Coach Manalac]. That's his job. I try to be everybody's teammate. I don't really want to be everyone's coach and make it seem like I'm trying to overwhelm them with information and things to do."
Dennis is also deferential to the experience from outside of Pitt that joined the room this offseason. He said Wiltz and Notre Dame graduate transfer Shayne Simon have helped the rest of the unit grow by sharing some different perspectives.
"They've played in many different defenses," Dennis said. "Tylar, he's been across the country, really and then Shayne, coming from Notre Dame, he's played in a really good defense. I pick their brains a lot. We try to bounce ideas off of each other and come up with ideas that we can bring to our defense."
That said, one of the ways Dennis does feel he can influence without engulfing is by living the example. He knows what it takes to win at the highest levels of college football and tries to exude a sense of singular focus every time he takes the field.
"Football is a fun game," Dennis said. "I've played it since I was four or five years old. So I try to have fun on the field in between those white lines but the mindset definitely changes. When I'm around the guys, it's all fun and games but when I'm between those white lines, we have a purpose and it's to win."
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