Scott McKillop is in the middle of it all.

From his position at middle linebacker for Pitt's defense, to the program's marketing campaign where McKillop's likeness adorns schedule posters hanging around town, McKillop is in the middle of everything.

Rightly so, for this Butkus Award candidate who last year led the nation in tackles and will enter his senior year in the fall as one of the most potent defensive forces in the country.

That said, the two guys flanking him yesterday in the first contact drills of Pitt's spring practice might be the most vital components of the defense when the season rolls around in August.

At the Sam linebacker is senior Adam Gunn, on the other side of McKillop at Will linebacker is junior Shane Murray.

Gunn and Murray started every game last year and, while they didn't grab headlines the way McKillop did last season, the bookends of the linebacker corps improved every time they took the field.

And that is why Pitt coach Dave Wannstedt expects Gunn and Murray to be the glue of a unit that has the makings, especially with McKillop anchoring the middle, of being special.

"Last year at this time I was convincing Shane that he was going to be a linebacker and not a safety, and Adam Gunn was the one guy we were all convinced everybody on the team could take his job away from him," Wannstedt said. "They were both battling issues and overcame them, and I expect both of those guys to make big plays this year. They have both come a long way in a year."

Gunn, a former standout at Kiski Area High School (and teammate of McKillop's there) understands heading into this season that Wannstedt expects his unit to be as solid as any.

"We are one of the groups with the most experience and we know that," Gunn said. "We are supposed to be leaders of this defense and we know that right now. There's no excuses this year, there is no reason why we shouldn't all have great years."

Murray, a former quarterback at Central Catholic, remembers what it was like last year, when a positional merry-go-round from quarterback to safety to linebacker eventually stopped at linebacker and, when he got his chance -- starting the Panthers' season opener against Eastern Michigan.

"To be honest, because a lot of it was new last year, making mistakes in the first couple games was acceptable to a point," Murray said. "This year, though, no mistakes are acceptable. Ever."

Murray is a certifiable tough guy, a kid hailing from across the river from Pitt's South Side facility in Hazelwood.

He understands accountability, he knows what work ethic is all about.

"Even if you make mistakes, you better still knock somebody in the mouth every snap when you are a linebacker," said Murray, a 6-foot-1, 210-pounder. "When I have a big, 300-pound lineman coming at me, I have to be a tough, physical person and just say, 'OK, you better come at me hard because I am trying to knock your head off.'

"Football isn't for everybody, and, when you play linebacker, you better be the toughest of anyone on that field."

Toughness, and consistency, is precisely what Wannstedt is expecting from Murray, Gunn and McKillop in the fall.