Pitt LB Solomon DeShields commits to Texas A&M
Texas A&M has landed a commitment from Pittsburgh linebacker Solomon DeShields, according to On3’s Hayes Fawcett.
DeShields finished the 2023 season with 58 tackles and a pair of sacks for the Panthers. He was ranked as the No. 8 linebacker transfer in the country, according to the On3 Transfer Portal Rankings.
Solomon DeShields signed with Pittsburgh as a three-star linebacker in the class of 2020, according to the On3 Industry rankings.
He starred on both sides of the ball at Millville Senior in Millville, New Jersey prior to beginning his college career. As a senior, DeShields recorded 68 tackles, eight sacks and four interceptions. He also caught 44 passes for 661 yards.
As a freshman in 2020, Solomon DeShields saw action in four games, playing special teams and as a reserve linebacker.
In 2021, he appeared in 13 games and finished the year with nine tackles.
DeShields saw his playing time and role increase in 2022 as he played in all 13 games, finishing with 19 tackles, including five tackles for loss and four sacks.
This past season, he was one of the best players on Pitt’s defense, playing in all 12 games and making 11 starts. Now he is off to Texas A&M where he will hope to be a key contributor for Mike Elko in Year 1 in College Station.
Trev Alberts opens up on football coach Mike Elko: ‘He’s a first-class individual’
Texas A&M Athletics Director Trev Alberts has been impressed by new head coach Mike Elko thus far.
One thing has stood out about Elko — he’s a defensive guy.
“This is a defensive mind and I’ve been to several practices and watched coach Elko, very much involved in the defense,” Alberts said. “And I think one of the things we will have this year is you’re going to have a defense that’s fundamentally sound and gets to the football, and that’ll be fun to watch.”
Elko’s calling card is defense, and it’s one of the primary reasons he’s now the head coach at Texas A&M. He previously served a stint as the program’s defensive coordinator before taking over as the head coach at Duke.
He had instant success at Duke, not traditionally an easy place to win games.
That’s what’s impressed Trev Alberts so far in getting to know his new head coach, who he did not hire.
“I’ve really enjoyed it. I didn’t know Mike well, I sort of watched him from afar, watched him as a head coach,” Alberts said. “I knew he was a defensive coordinator here. But everything that I sort of thought in watching video after video, he’s a first-class individual, not only a great football coach.
“We’re really fortunate he’s our coach. What I love about his path, when you look back at his journey to become the head coach at Texas A&M, nothing was given to him. He worked hard at every level to grow his career, to learn, to go through the fire, to find himself here now. Pretty remarkable trajectory and journey for him.”