When Erick Hallett II finally decides he has taken this football thing as far as it can go — whether that’s five, 10 or 15 years from now — Pitt’s senior free safety said he hopes to go to law school in his native Texas.

Already holding a bachelor’s degree in philosophy and political science (and pursuing another in media and professional communications), Hallett has the confident look of someone who might be comfortable in front of a jury.

Some day.

Those grand plans of a lifetime must be set aside over the next several months while he concludes his Pitt career. Asked what type of law he might like to practice, he doesn’t even want to think about it.

“I can’t get into all that. I have to focus on football right now,” he said.

Safeties coach Cory Sanders said he sees that focus every day.

“When he steps foot on this field, you can tell it’s football,” Sanders said. “He’s not bringing any other baggage, anything else from the outside.”

Not an easy task for young people these days.

“It’s tough in general for kids today,” Sanders said. “There are a lot of distractions in their ears, things going on off the field and social media. We have a lot of guys with the right mindset.

“If you come up here as we close (practice), you’re going to see over half the team going back to watch film. That says a lot about the team in general and their maturity and where they want to go.”

So focused on trying to replicate — or improve upon — Pitt’s 11-3 record from a year ago, Hallett said he’s trying not to relive the past.

When he went home to Cypress, Texas, after the season, he barely spoke with friends about his two interceptions (one was a pick-six) and MVP award in the ACC championship game against Wake Forest. He just felt like one of the guys.

“All my boys from back home are doing good, whether it be track, whether it be football, academically,” he said. “(The game) is something we talked about a little bit, but it wasn’t a big topic of discussion.”

Over the first 16 days of training camp, Pitt’s defensive backfield did not receive as much attention as the competition at quarterback and linebacker did. There was a reason for that.

The cornerback and safety positions are locked down with experienced players. Three of the returning regulars — Hallett, strong safety Brandon Hill and cornerback Marquis Williams — have a total of 56 starts among them. Backup cornerbacks A.J. Woods and M.J. Devonshire were regular contributors last season and made timely interceptions in the Wake Forest (title game) and North Carolina victories.

“We built off that chemistry,” Hallett said. “Playing together allowed us to feel our weaknesses, feel our strengths and complement one another. Now, we can know each other. I know where (any teammate) is going to be on this certain play. He knows where I’m going to be on this certain play.”

Said Sanders: “You can see a lot of camaraderie and just those guys playing off each other, which has been really good to see the past two weeks.”

It also might help players recover from adversity such as what Pitt experienced while giving up a total of 82 points in losses to Western Michigan and Miami.

“Those were lessons that we had to go through. Losses that we had to go through,” Hallett said.

Chatting with reporters after practice Tuesday, Hallett gave credit for his big plays to the coaching staff, the design of the defense and his teammates up front.

“The quarterback’s always in a hurry,” he said. “It makes our job really easy. And vice versa. There are a lot of coverage sacks that we probably don’t get a lot of credit for.”

After more than two weeks of camp, players must grind through another two weeks before they get to the opener against West Virginia. Grind may not be the right word, at least for Hallett. He said he never gets tired of practice.

“I love coming out here to get better,” he said. “It doesn’t matter who I go against. Coming out here and working on your craft, it’s a release. It’s my escape. So, I love to do it.”

One of the byproducts of such diligence were 16 interceptions, a number surpassed last season by only three Power 5 schools.

As the play leading to one of Hallett’s two interceptions against Wake Forest unfolded, he broke on the ball before the intended receiver did, according to Sanders.

How did that happen? “Practice,” Hallett said.

“To go out there and not work as hard to be the best that I can be so I provide the best for the team, I feel like that would be a disservice.”

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