Breaking Down the Two Deep: Pitt at Virginia Tech

Pitt has been fortunate enough to remain fairly healthy with the starters, but some of the bench players are starting to go down with some injuries. Obviously it is great to have most of your starters still healthy, but depth wise, these injuries may start to show.

Onto the depth chart for the Virginia Tech game.

QB - Tom Savage Chad Voytik

Pitt is fortunate that Savage will not miss any time with a concussion sustained against Virginia. Lane Stadium is a hostile environment, and although Chad Voytik appears talented, it is a tough venue to make your first career start. Savage played steady against Vriginia, but still made some poor throws. He needs to tune down the interceptions, as he already has six a fourth of the way into the season.

RB - Isaac Bennett James Conner

Conner still leads the team in rushing, but appears second on the depth chart. Neither back had much room to operate against the tough Virginia defensive line. Still, they have both shown the ability to post 100 yard games. A key play in the game was when third string back, Rachid Ibrahim made a big first down run to seal the victory. If Pitt still struggles opening holes for the big backs, you may see more Ibrahim.

WR - Devin Street* Tyler Boyd* Ed Tinker Kevin Weatherspoon

Pitt is still in good shape at receiver as long as Boyd and Street remain healthy. In case you did not see, but Tyler Boyd was added to the Biletnikoff watch list, giving Pitt two candidates for the nation's top receiver award. Wide Receiver U is back. Weatherspoon is making a solid progression, and he is becoming a nice third option in the passing game.

TE - JP Holtz* Manasseh Garner* Scott Orndoff Jaymar Parrish

A tight end failed to record a catch in the game against Virginia, snapping a nine-game streak where a tight end at least caught one pass for Pitt. Still, the group appears to be all capable of making a play, while they all look like good blockers as well. This unit may play a big factor this weekend with all the attention on Street and Boyd.

LT - Adam Bisnowaty Juantez Hollins

LG - Cory King Ryan Schlieper

C - Artie Rowell Shane Johnson

RG - Matt Rotheram Shane Johnson

RT - TJ Clemmnings Dorian Johnson

The unit did not play very well against Virginia. The backs had little room to run, while Savage played with a lot of pressure throughout the game. Gabe Roberts was initially the backup Center, but he is down with an injury. Shane Johnson is now the listed backup at right guard and center.

DE - David Durham* Bryan Murphy* Ejuan Price* Shakir Soto

No changes at this spot, but the team played much better than they did against Duke. Murphy is still slowed by an injury, but Ejuan Price looked excellent in Pitt's last game. The Woodland Hills product had two tackles for loss.

DT - Aaron Donald Darryl Render

Aaron Donald is second in the ACC in sacks, and tied for third in that category in the country. He came up with two sacks and a couple of hurries against Virginia, while continually making offensive linemen look bad in the process.

NT - Tyrone Ezell LaQuentin Smith

Ty Ezell had an active day against Virginia as he hurried the quarterback twice, and also deflected two passes. He remains a steady force and an unsung hero for Pitt.

SAM LB - Anthony Gonzalez Bam Bradley

Gonzalez looked better against Virginia, and it showed in his tackling. He recorded six solo tackles against the Cavs, and played a key role in holding the opponent to just three points.

WILL LB - Todd Thomas Nicholas Grigsby

Both Thomas and Bradley had slow days for tackles, as they combined for just three against Virginia. Still, Thomas is one of the stars of this defense, and they will need him to come up big against Virginia Tech.

MLB - Shane Gorgon Matt Galambos

Shane Gordon sat last week with an injury, and it allowed for Matt Galambos to make the start. Galambos is just a true freshman, but showed promise as he looked comfortable starting in a very important position.

CB - K'waun Williams* Lafayette Pitts* Titus Howard Trenton Coles

This unit did not give up too much, but do not forget the Virginia wide receivers had a horrible case of dropping the ball. Still, this unit looked improved to me. Williams played well in the run game as well, and made two tackles for loss.

SS - Jason Hendricks Terrish Webb

Hendricks has played well all year, and they will need a big game from him against the Hokies. If you recall, Hendricks intercepted Logan Thomas twice last season in Pitt's 35-17 win over the Hokies at Heinz Field.

FS - Ray Vinopal Ryan Lewis

After getting a heady load of the criticism for Pitt allowing 55 points to Duke, Vinopal went out and played very well against Virginia. He broke up Virginia's final pass attempt when they were deep in Pitt territory. Cullen Christian's injury has led to Ryan Lewis being listed in the two deep for the first time.

Special Teams: K - Chris Blewitt. P - Matt Yoklic LS - David Murphy

David Murphy is now the listed long snapper over Kevin Barthelemy

Returners: KR - Tyler Boyd/Lafayette Pitts PR - Kevin Weatherspoon

No changes made in the return game.