Brandon George is tackling more than just football at the University of Pittsburgh (Part 2)

(Second of two parts)

Brandon George was a true triple threat at Berks Catholic: He could beat you on offense, defense, or special teams.

He’s become a triple threat of a different sort at the University of Pittsburgh: Marketing, business information and supply chain management.

The junior linebacker and triple-major is on schedule to graduate with degrees in all three by the end of his fourth year, rare for any college student, unheard of for someone spending 30-plus hours a week studying and training for football.

“My coaches had never heard of it,” George joked.

It’s no wonder he hasn’t had time to visit Kennywood yet.

George has always been driven, on and off the field. He had a 4.0 semester as a sophomore, was on the Atlantic Coast Conference honor roll and carries a 3.4 GPA into his junior year.

When an academic advisor mentioned to him that he “only” needed to add a few more summer classes – and take 18 credits next spring — to pick up that third degree, George figured, why not?

And, with the NCAA granting an extra year of eligibility to student-athletes due to educational interruptions caused by COVID, there’s an option for George to stay a fifth year and pursue a master’s degree.

“That doesn’t surprise me,” said Pittsburgh linebackers coach Ryan Manalac. “He excels in a lot of different area. He’s a young man you can see is going to be successful in whatever line he chooses.”

George is already working on a fourth degree: Football.

When he played for the Saints the game was a lot simpler. It was read and react. See ballcarrier, hit ballcarrier.

It’s not quite that simple when you’re trying to stop Trevor Lawrence and Clemson, Ian Book and Notre Dame or Phil Jurkovec of Boston College.

You better do your homework before you get on the field.

“The game has switched to a more mental, cerebral game,” said George. “We’ll spend three hours on the field (during preseason camp) but six hours breaking down every little detail. It’s a mental strain — but, I love it, I love every second of it.

“Chalk talk is fun; that’s where you make a lot of your improvements. That’s where you see your most growth.”

The 6-4, 230-pound George has seen plenty of growth with the Panthers. He carved out a niche as a valuable special teams player as a freshman, playing in the final 11 games on the punt and kickoff return and coverage teams.

He began to see more time at the Mike, or middle linebacker, spot last season and entered camp last week with designs on winning the starting job.

The competition will be tough. The Pitt linebacker room is deep, and two players with starting experience at the Mike position return: Redshirt junior Wendell Davis, who earned the starting job last season before an early injury knocked him out, and fifth-year senior John Petrishen, who started the final nine games of the Panthers’ 6-5 season.

“It’s definitely a competitive situation,” said Manalac. “He’s overcoming two guys with starting experience, which is hard.”

George has the physical tools; no one is going to question that. But he doesn’t have the on-field experience of the guys ahead of him on the depth chart, so he’s got to put in extra time in film study to close that gap.

“What gets fast is everything pre-snap,” George said. “You have teams like UCF (Central Florida) running a play every 12 seconds, which is insane. You have to (digest all of that) in the drop of a hat. That’s the main thing that changes from high school to college, the speed of the pre-snap game.

“My position is a very cerebral position,” he said. “I’m setting fronts, calling defenses, choosing who goes on a blitz, identifying the pass-run. You’re responsible for a lot. As a freshman, there were a lot of older guys (with experience when I got here). I understood that those guys know a lot more than I do.”

“Brandon can run and he can jump and he can lift weights — all that stuff’s there,” said Manalac. “He walks in every day prepared, ready for whatever the install is of the day. He’s a very intelligent player; he’s not behind mentally. (All he needs is) battle experience. The more reps he gets the better he’ll be.”

Following his junior season George is hoping to land an internship with the Penguins, Pirates or Steelers so that he can put his business and marketing skills to work. After football he hopes to make a career in sports marketing.

“I can’t imagine my life without sports,” he said.