Pitt defensive line coach Charlie Partridge likes leadership shown by senior end Habakkuk Baldonado
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Habakkuk Baldonado recorded nine sacks for Pitt last season, and he was poised to become an even better defensive end this season.
Among his 43 tackles were a career-high seven that he made when they mattered most: in the ACC championship victory against Wake Forest. At the end of the season, he was named second-team All-ACC.
Now, Baldonado, a 23-year-old senior, has nearly reached the halfway point of his fifth collegiate season. Thanks to an injury, he has played in only 3½ games while recording just a half-sack.
“He’s frustrated. He wants to produce like every player out there on the field,” defensive line coach Charlie Partridge said Tuesday after practice.
But Partridge is far from worried about the 6-foot-5, 260-pound native of Rome, Italy. Other personal characteristics that will serve him well in the NFL and later in life are coming to the surface.
“He’s handling it like a professional, playing hard,” Partridge said. “He’s producing. We’re just not seeing the sack numbers that he wants and that we would like to see on his behalf.”
Partridge said Baldonado is contributing in other ways fans can’t see because those moments occur behind closed doors.
Baldonado has become a leader who doesn’t talk incessantly but picks his spots appropriately.
“The more you invest in something, the more it means to you,” Partridge said. “In those moments, you’re going to speak up, and Haba is fully invested. The time he has put in, the time he continues to put in, when things aren’t going exactly the way we want, he speaks up on behalf of the whole group and really does a great job of being a strong leader, not worrying if someone likes what he says. He doesn’t care.
“He’s going to say what needs to be said. If they like him, they’ll like him down the road and I love that maturity about Haba. He just corrects whatever needs to be corrected and moves on and he says it with passion.”
On the field, Partridge can depend on Baldonado being where he’s supposed to be.
“The thing I like about Haba, he’s one of those guys who’s staying in his lane, doing his job and not trying to force anything, which is hard to do,” Partridge said.
The veteran line coach couldn’t say that about all of his players after the 26-21 loss to Georgia Tech on Saturday.
Partridge and other defensive coaches were pleased for most of the night. Through three quarters and the first 4½ minutes of the fourth, Georgia Tech had only three field goals to show for its efforts.
“There were a lot of things we were proud of,” Partridge said. But, he added, “You have to finish the game defensively. At the end of the day, that’s the biggest goal we have this week (while preparing for Virginia Tech on Saturday).”
Georgia Tech scored 17 points in only nine minutes of the final quarter, and Pitt suffered an embarrassing loss.
It wasn’t his players’ effort that bothered Partridge. It was, perhaps, too much effort, he said.
“There were some guys who were trying to do more than their job,” he said. “There were guys who were trying to make a play that wasn’t necessarily their play.
“There were a few guys who went outside their job. When that starts to happen on defense, no matter what your system is, you’re going to get in trouble. That’s what got us there in the end.”
Pitt fell behind midway through the third quarter and never recovered to regain the lead.
Pitt’s defense can’t afford similar problems against Virginia Tech. The Hokies (2-3, 1-1 ACC) have surrendered the second-fewest sacks among the 14 conference teams (six). Meanwhile, Pitt leads the ACC and is 13th in the nation with 16.
Partridge said defensive tackle Calijah Kancey, a first-team All-ACC last season, is playing well while dealing with double-team blocks. Attention on Kancey allows ends such as Baldonado, Deslin Alexandre and John Morgan to, at least, pressure the quarterback if they can’t get him on the ground.
“It’s hard to hold onto those double teams with Calijah forever,” Partridge said. “Calijah is playing at a high level. He’s doing everything he can to learn how to defeat double teams. He’s had some success doing that.”
Perhaps order will be restored the way Partridge likes to see it when Pitt’s ends start sacking the quarterback while the opposing offensive linemen are busy trying to contain Kancey.
Actually, that’s what needs to happen if Pitt wants to be dominant defense.