With Pitt on Tap, Hafley Preparing for Program That Helped Pave His Career
Andy Backstrom
Staff Writer
This past Saturday, Jeff Hafley reunited with North Carolina co-defensive coordinator Jay Batemen, who was the head coach of Siena when Hafley was a senior. But this week is even more personal for the 41-year-old head coach. He’s going up against Pittsburgh, a program that gave him a whole lot more than just his first Division I coaching gig.
“That’s where I met my wife,” Hafley said on Sunday. “Probably my greatest memory there was meeting Gina. I’ve got a lot of good ones, though. We could talk for probably about an hour—maybe five hours—about my memories there.”
Hafley recounted Pittsburgh’s 13-9 upset victory over then-No. 2 West Virginia in Morgantown, a win that dashed the Mountaineers’ national championship aspirations. He rattled off the names of the Panthers’ coaching staff, a group that Hafley said “influenced and changed my life.”
Hafley served on six-year Panthers head coach Dave Wannstedt’s staff from 2006 to 2010 before moving to Rutgers and, subsequently, the NFL. Hafley discussed his relationship with Wannstedt, as well as his budding friendship with current Pittsburgh head coach Pat Narduzzi during Tuesday’s weekly press conference.
Hafley said that Narduzzi actually texted him before BC’s season opener at Duke, wished him luck, and followed up afterward with a congratulations message.
He also explained that Narduzzi reached out to him after one of the ACC coaches Zoom meetings and said that he was available if Hafley ever needed anything. Hafley said that he really appreciated the gesture. He also made it clear just how much respect he has for Narduzzi as a coach, who Hafley described as a “defensive guy.”
“You can see the way his team plays, he keeps them together, they play very hard, they’re very disciplined, they’re very tough, very physical, and that’s a credit to him,” Hafley said, per BC Athletics. Truthfully, I think he has them as a team playing together, probably better than anybody we’ve played so far this year.”
Hafley mentioned how Pittsburgh is very aggressive on defense, particularly when it comes to rushing the passer. He heaped praise on Panthers defensive line coach Charlie Partridge, who was on staff at Pittsburgh with Hafley back in the mid-2000s and now oversees a position group largely responsible for Pittsburgh’s ACC-leading 19 sacks.
The Panthers’ D-Line is spearheaded by the two-headed monster of defensive ends Patrick Jones II (4.0 sacks) and Rashad Weaver (3.5 sacks), the latter of whom is back after missing the 2019 season with an ACL tear. As a group, Pittsburgh’s front seven has been nothing short of dominant this fall. The Panthers are allowing the second-fewest rushing yards (57.5 per game) of all 15 ACC teams. The only team above them in that category is UNC, which has only faced the two worst rushing attacks in the conference so far this year: Syracuse and BC.
Pittsburgh is arguably even more menacing on the backend, where it’s allowing a meager 174.8 passing yards per game in 2020—the fewest of any team in the league. It all starts with hard-hitting safety Paris Ford, a redshirt junior who leads the team with 19 total tackles to go along with a trio of TFLs and a pair of interceptions.
BC’s defense is a talking point for Saturday’s game, too. After all, the Eagles have skyrocketed from 125th to 25th in total defense from last year to this season, granted that there are only 74 FBS teams participating in the fall season right now. One year removed from giving up a program-worst 32.2 points per game and resetting the single-game school record for yards allowed twice, BC is conceding just 17.7 points and 369.7 yards per contest.
“I think that it comes down to fundamentals and technique,” Hafley said. “People might watch us and say that we’re not doing a whole lot of things schematically. We believe on defense that you win by playing with great fundamentals and technique.”
Hafley went on to explain that he and his staff put a greater emphasis on vision, footwork, hand placement, getting off blocks, and tackling than complex stunts and blitz packages. He said that that’s especially important this season, after COVID-19 derailed spring ball and altered the course of training camp. Above all else, Hafley wants his defense playing fast.
The unit will be up against a pass-heavy Pittsburgh offense. Third-year starter Kenny Pickett is in year two with offensive coordinator and former UMass head coach Mark Whipple. Pickett is off to a blazing start. The 6-foot-2 senior has thrown for 1,123 yards and six touchdowns while averaging a career-best 8.4 yards per attempt. Pickett has also used his legs to reach the end zone on four separate occasions in this young season.
Hafley touched on Whipple’s pro-style offense, which he said features a mixed bag of formations, at times showing 10-personnel and, on occasion, incorporating unbalanced packages. As far as specific playmakers go, Hafley highlighted true freshman wide receiver Jordan Addison as well as Maryland grad transfer wideout DJ Turner, and, of course, Pickett.
It’ll be a showdown between two of the top-four passing offenses in the ACC. For BC quarterback Phil Jurkovec, the game also has added meaning. The Notre Dame transfer is from western Pennsylvania and was recruited by Pittsburgh when he was at Pine-Richland. Jurkovec is coming off his second 300-yard game of the season. In the process, he became the first Eagles gunslinger to throw at least 56 passes in a game since Matt Ryan.
“He’s gaining confidence, and I think that’s the one thing, if you ask him, I don’t know how much he had coming in,” Hafley said. “I think he’s gaining it, and I think the more confidence we get him, the better he’ll be, and I think that’s going to take some time.”
It helps to have a security blanket like Hunter Long. The redshirt junior ranks third nationally—and first among tight ends—with 25 receptions. He leads the team with 270 receiving yards and has stitched together two nine-catch performances in a row.
“You realize the talent you have, and no matter what your system is, you put your kids in the best position to make plays,” Hafley said. “That’s what our coaching staff has done with Hunter. … If we didn’t do that, we’d be doing an injustice to the kid.”
While Long has had more touches than ever before, the same can’t be said for running back David Bailey. The junior was named to the Doak Walker Award watch list this offseason but has totaled just 15 carries the past two games. Hafley is well aware of the situation.
“He’s a team guy, and I told him that his time is going to come,” Hafley said. “I know we threw the ball about 90 times last week, but there’s going to be a time when he’s going to get it 30 times and we’re going to need him.”
Hafley and his staff will have to rely on all of their weapons to move the ball on Saturday. The new-look Eagles’ offense will be presented with its biggest test yet: a Pittsburgh defense that’s changed a lot since Hafley left the program but is back to being a thorn in opponents’ sides.
Andy Backstrom
Staff Writer
This past Saturday, Jeff Hafley reunited with North Carolina co-defensive coordinator Jay Batemen, who was the head coach of Siena when Hafley was a senior. But this week is even more personal for the 41-year-old head coach. He’s going up against Pittsburgh, a program that gave him a whole lot more than just his first Division I coaching gig.
“That’s where I met my wife,” Hafley said on Sunday. “Probably my greatest memory there was meeting Gina. I’ve got a lot of good ones, though. We could talk for probably about an hour—maybe five hours—about my memories there.”
Hafley recounted Pittsburgh’s 13-9 upset victory over then-No. 2 West Virginia in Morgantown, a win that dashed the Mountaineers’ national championship aspirations. He rattled off the names of the Panthers’ coaching staff, a group that Hafley said “influenced and changed my life.”
Hafley served on six-year Panthers head coach Dave Wannstedt’s staff from 2006 to 2010 before moving to Rutgers and, subsequently, the NFL. Hafley discussed his relationship with Wannstedt, as well as his budding friendship with current Pittsburgh head coach Pat Narduzzi during Tuesday’s weekly press conference.
Hafley said that Narduzzi actually texted him before BC’s season opener at Duke, wished him luck, and followed up afterward with a congratulations message.
He also explained that Narduzzi reached out to him after one of the ACC coaches Zoom meetings and said that he was available if Hafley ever needed anything. Hafley said that he really appreciated the gesture. He also made it clear just how much respect he has for Narduzzi as a coach, who Hafley described as a “defensive guy.”
“You can see the way his team plays, he keeps them together, they play very hard, they’re very disciplined, they’re very tough, very physical, and that’s a credit to him,” Hafley said, per BC Athletics. Truthfully, I think he has them as a team playing together, probably better than anybody we’ve played so far this year.”
Hafley mentioned how Pittsburgh is very aggressive on defense, particularly when it comes to rushing the passer. He heaped praise on Panthers defensive line coach Charlie Partridge, who was on staff at Pittsburgh with Hafley back in the mid-2000s and now oversees a position group largely responsible for Pittsburgh’s ACC-leading 19 sacks.
The Panthers’ D-Line is spearheaded by the two-headed monster of defensive ends Patrick Jones II (4.0 sacks) and Rashad Weaver (3.5 sacks), the latter of whom is back after missing the 2019 season with an ACL tear. As a group, Pittsburgh’s front seven has been nothing short of dominant this fall. The Panthers are allowing the second-fewest rushing yards (57.5 per game) of all 15 ACC teams. The only team above them in that category is UNC, which has only faced the two worst rushing attacks in the conference so far this year: Syracuse and BC.
Pittsburgh is arguably even more menacing on the backend, where it’s allowing a meager 174.8 passing yards per game in 2020—the fewest of any team in the league. It all starts with hard-hitting safety Paris Ford, a redshirt junior who leads the team with 19 total tackles to go along with a trio of TFLs and a pair of interceptions.
BC’s defense is a talking point for Saturday’s game, too. After all, the Eagles have skyrocketed from 125th to 25th in total defense from last year to this season, granted that there are only 74 FBS teams participating in the fall season right now. One year removed from giving up a program-worst 32.2 points per game and resetting the single-game school record for yards allowed twice, BC is conceding just 17.7 points and 369.7 yards per contest.
“I think that it comes down to fundamentals and technique,” Hafley said. “People might watch us and say that we’re not doing a whole lot of things schematically. We believe on defense that you win by playing with great fundamentals and technique.”
Hafley went on to explain that he and his staff put a greater emphasis on vision, footwork, hand placement, getting off blocks, and tackling than complex stunts and blitz packages. He said that that’s especially important this season, after COVID-19 derailed spring ball and altered the course of training camp. Above all else, Hafley wants his defense playing fast.
The unit will be up against a pass-heavy Pittsburgh offense. Third-year starter Kenny Pickett is in year two with offensive coordinator and former UMass head coach Mark Whipple. Pickett is off to a blazing start. The 6-foot-2 senior has thrown for 1,123 yards and six touchdowns while averaging a career-best 8.4 yards per attempt. Pickett has also used his legs to reach the end zone on four separate occasions in this young season.
Hafley touched on Whipple’s pro-style offense, which he said features a mixed bag of formations, at times showing 10-personnel and, on occasion, incorporating unbalanced packages. As far as specific playmakers go, Hafley highlighted true freshman wide receiver Jordan Addison as well as Maryland grad transfer wideout DJ Turner, and, of course, Pickett.
It’ll be a showdown between two of the top-four passing offenses in the ACC. For BC quarterback Phil Jurkovec, the game also has added meaning. The Notre Dame transfer is from western Pennsylvania and was recruited by Pittsburgh when he was at Pine-Richland. Jurkovec is coming off his second 300-yard game of the season. In the process, he became the first Eagles gunslinger to throw at least 56 passes in a game since Matt Ryan.
“He’s gaining confidence, and I think that’s the one thing, if you ask him, I don’t know how much he had coming in,” Hafley said. “I think he’s gaining it, and I think the more confidence we get him, the better he’ll be, and I think that’s going to take some time.”
It helps to have a security blanket like Hunter Long. The redshirt junior ranks third nationally—and first among tight ends—with 25 receptions. He leads the team with 270 receiving yards and has stitched together two nine-catch performances in a row.
“You realize the talent you have, and no matter what your system is, you put your kids in the best position to make plays,” Hafley said. “That’s what our coaching staff has done with Hunter. … If we didn’t do that, we’d be doing an injustice to the kid.”
While Long has had more touches than ever before, the same can’t be said for running back David Bailey. The junior was named to the Doak Walker Award watch list this offseason but has totaled just 15 carries the past two games. Hafley is well aware of the situation.
“He’s a team guy, and I told him that his time is going to come,” Hafley said. “I know we threw the ball about 90 times last week, but there’s going to be a time when he’s going to get it 30 times and we’re going to need him.”
Hafley and his staff will have to rely on all of their weapons to move the ball on Saturday. The new-look Eagles’ offense will be presented with its biggest test yet: a Pittsburgh defense that’s changed a lot since Hafley left the program but is back to being a thorn in opponents’ sides.
