Mason Cholewa has been looking forward to this game in Pittsburgh for a long time.
As a native of the Steel City, the UCF defensive lineman remembers exactly where he was when he first learned of the series.
"I'm super excited," Cholewa said. "I've been waiting to play this game since I was a senior in high school. That's when I got the ESPN (alert) on my phone that said UCF will be playing Pitt in a home-and-home. I was shocked, actually. Then it was really funny because I was in class and we all have phones and everybody got the same alert and they started staring at me, like oh. I'm just super excited."
Cholewa is expecting a cheering section of 60-70 friends and family.
"I've got family from both ends coming," Cholewa said. "I've got people from my neighborhood coming, high school coaches, my high school friends, cousins, grandparents, everybody."
Now a redshirt sophomore, Cholewa is seeing a much bigger role on the defensive line this season. It's been a solid start for the defensive line too as their play is a big reason why UCF currently leads the nation in tackles for loss. Cholewa has three TFLs through the first three games.
"I feel like the key to our success has been our rotation and the way we practice," Cholewa said. "We try to practice like it's a game. When the ball is thrown, we've got to sprint out. The ball is on the sideline, pick up the ball. It's the little things that count."
Cholewa, who attended Montour High School in McKees Rocks, knows a few players on that Pittsburgh sideline. He did receive some from recruiting interest from Pitt, but they wanted him to play offensive line and he was focused on playing defense in college.
"I played against two guys from Thomas Jefferson, Devin Danielson and Noah Palmer. Played with and played against Gabe Houy. He's their starting right guard right now. I played against Brandon Ford. Played against Paris Ford. That's about it.
"Gabe (Houy) was on my all-star team so we got pretty close. I never really got along with anybody who was from Thomas Jefferson. That's one of our rival high schools."
Pitt (1-2) is averaging a little over 14 points and 380.0 yards of total offense through their first three games.
"I think they're pretty big up front," Cholewa said. "They're going to come off the ball hard. They're going to be pretty physical. They're a northern team and that's their mentality."
