John Petrishen named ACC Linebacker of the Week

Pitt linebacker John Petrishen was named the ACC Linebacker of the Week on Monday, after leading the Panthers in tackles and coming up with a clutch pick in their 54-29 win over Duke.

All told, Petrishen came up with a team-high 13 tackles in the game as well as one sack, one tackle for a loss and one quarterback hurry. But the play that landed Petrishen on the highlight reel was a fourth-quarter interception on an errant pass by Duke quarterback Riley Leonard. That pick ended a promising drive for the Blue Devils and gave the Panthers a chance to kill the clock and pad their lead, and they would do both on the following drive to seal the game.

With Saturday’s performance in the books, Petrishen leads Pitt in interceptions with three on the season. The Lower Burrell native also ranks among Pitt’s top five defenders in tackles, sacks and tackles for losses, with 45, three and seven, respectively, through the first nine games of the season. All of those are career highs for Petrishen.

This is the second time Petrishen has earned Linebacker of the Week honors from the ACC this season. The first time was on Oct. 4, after Pitt’s 52-21 win over Georgia Tech. In that game, Petrishen caught the first interception of his career and returned it 33 yards for a score.