“Come over here, Kyle.” 

That’s how Pitt coach Pat Narduzzi gets All-American linebacker Kyle Louis in the interview room at the Hilton Uptown Charlotte on July 23. 

Narduzzi wraps his arm around Louis, who is staring down at his name plate from the press conference. Narduzzi and Louis engage in a question-and-answer session of their own.

“How many guys study video like you?” Narduzzi asks. 

“I don’t know too many,” Louis responds. 

This is understood at the Duratz Athletic Complex at Pitt. Narduzzi and linebackers coach Ryan Manalac can confirm. Narduzzi will spot Louis in the dark watching the install for the upcoming practice. It’s 5:50 a.m. Most players do not wake up for practice before 6:30 a.m. during training camp. 

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“OK, and you make sure during the fall … ” Narduzzi continues. 

“Bring people in,” Louis interrupts. 

These are the study habits of the best linebacker in college football heading into 2025. Louis is the latest three-star gem from Pitt.

The 6-foot, 225-pound linebacker grew up watching safeties such as Jabrill Peppers, Tyrann Mathieu and Derwin James. Louis – a first-team Sporting News All-American last season – is one of those new-aged hybrid linebackers that can be hard to define. 

“He’s like our nickel star,” Narduzzi told Sporting News. “He’s athletic enough to be a safety and tough enough to be a linebacker. He’s a rare breed, in my opinion. He’s a rare, rare breed.”

He also is a great, great player. 

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Kyle Louis’ place among best FBS linebackers 

Louis – who also made the SN Preseason All-America team – is one of three returning FBS linebackers along with Texas’ Anthony Hill Jr. and Ohio State’s Sonny Styles who had at least 100 tackles and five sacks in 2024. Louis – who had 100 tackles and seven sacks – also had four interceptions. He emerged as the best all-around linebacker in the ACC – and perhaps all of college football. That off-the-field work is not limited to the film room. 

“I worked on blitzing patterns, working on trying to be faster – working on my coverage skills a lot more,” Louis said. “The reps on film that showed a pick or a sack – I probably worked on that move 1,000 times at night in the indoor facility.” 

Returning FBS LBs with 100+ tackles and 5+ sacks

This is where all those hours of film study pay off. Manalac – who sometimes has to take his chair back in the meeting room – sees that. 

“He’s looking for angles to make plays,” Manalac told SN. “For a guy who made a lot of impact plays for us last year – winning the game at North Carolina, sealing the deal at West Virginia – I think you’re seeing the tip of the iceberg – there is a lot more work on the front end that delivered those outcomes.”

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Louis came up with the game-clinching interception on fourth-and-10 in a 38-34 victory against West Virginia on Sept. 14. Louis closed out North Carolina with a sack late in the fourth quarter of a 34-24 victory on Oct. 5. Yet it’s one play against Syracuse that Narduzzi and Manalac point to as the best example of Louis’ film study come to life. 

Louis had a 59-yard interception return for a TD in the first half – one of five Panthers’ interceptions – that ignited a blowout on Oct. 24. Louis jumped a route intended for tight end Oronde Gadsden and made the play. 

“He’s connected – has his hand on his back hip and comes up and makes the interception – he loves visualizing it,” Manalac said. “Loves that. When you make that play in the game and it comes as a result of the film preparation, that is so rewarding because you know it is your hard work that paid off.”

“That run he had against Syracuse, that was unbelievable,” Narduzzi added. “That was a run. He got horse-collared, no call and still got in the end zone.”

This is the process for Louis. He is not watching game film for the purpose of creating a highlight reel. He is constantly correcting mistakes. 

“I just watch my good plays to make me feel better – but you don’t really learn anything from watching what you did right,” Louis said. “When you see what you did wrong – and you know, ‘All right, when you do that, that’s why he got that instead of that,’ it’s understanding what I can’t do and understanding where my help is. It helps me to not hesitate.” 

Kyle Louis leads ‘Sharks’ for Pitt in 2025

At the ACC Kickoff, Louis wore a silver necklace with a large shark pendant. The shark has its mouth wide open with a “K9” in front of it. The Pitt linebackers – a group that also includes Rasheem Biles and Braylan Lovelace – have taken the “Sharks” nickname and run with it. Pitt fans can be seen at home games wearing bathing suits and carrying signs that say, “No swimming!” 

“If you’re a shark, you’re going to be a shark 24/7,” Louis said. “That’s being a better man, knowing to be more resilient, to be hungry all the time – that’s instilled into your character. That, overall, will make you a better football player.” 

Manalac also knows the other side of Louis. He’s at the Boys & Girls of Western Pennsylvania teaching kids how to play chess. Louis and some teammates were at Manalac’s house for Thanksgiving last year. 

“He’s playing Spoons with my kids and other teammates and he wants to win,” Manalac said. “He is flailing on my floor in my dining room trying to get the Spoon before (linebacker) Drew Foster does. He wants to compete and he wants to win. He just happens to love football, and he’s great at it.”

Pitt started 7-0 last year before losing six straight games, including a 48-46, six-overtime loss to Toledo in the GameAbove Sports Bowl. Louis recalled the pain in that locker room afterward. That’s in the past. Louis has high standards for the upcoming season – and that extends beyond the linebacker room.

“We’ve gotta set the tone,” Louis said. “Every game, everybody is looking out for the sharks. Everybody asking, ‘Where the ‘Sharks’ at?’ The pressure is on us. Every game from the first game to the ACC championship, the ‘Sharks’ will be making plays.”

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Kyle Louis is Pitt’s latest three-star gem

Louis fits the Pitt mold, too. At the ACC Kickoff, Narduzzi pointed out that the Panthers have had 20 players selected in the NFL Draft the last five seasons. 

Of those 20 players, however, only four had a four-star recruiting ranking according to 247Sports.com. The average star rating of those 20 players was 2.9. Louis was a three-star athlete from East Orange (N.J.) Campus. 

“A lot of guys want to go play the video game,” Narduzzi said. “He wants to watch the video. To me, there’s that element that someday the NFL is going to get a guy that is going to study the tape. I say this all the time. I would rather have a 4.6 guy that watches video then a 4.4 that watches no video because that 4.6 guy is going to play like a 4.4 guy because he knows what’s going on.”

Manalac and Narduzzi both believe Louis will have a similar impact – even if it is not the same prolific statistics from last season.

“I’m not worried about his production,” Narduzzi said. “I’m worried about him doing his job. NFL scouts are going to watch him and say, ‘Was he in the right place?'” 

That question should answer itself in 2025. 

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Pitt players in NFL Draft from 2020-24

Here is a look at the Pitt players drafted since 2020 and their star rating according to 247Sports.com.