Same offense, new room: Fresh crop of QBs look to bring better results for Pitt in 2023

Not much has changed in Pitt’s playbook for the 2023 season. The position group responsible for running the offense, however, has a much different look.
Despite a 9-4 season that included a top-25 finish and a Sun Bowl victory, the Panthers struggled to move the ball through the air most games. Led by Kedon Slovis, who transferred to BYU in December, Pitt’s passing attack ranked in the bottom half of the ACC in most major statistical categories, finishing 10th in yards (2,896), 11th in touchdown passes (13) and 13th in completion percentage (57%).
As a result, last winter and spring, Pat Narduzzi and offensive coordinator Frank Cignetti Jr. gave their quarterback room a complete makeover. Just two signal callers on Pitt’s 2023 roster were on the team last season, and only one of them (Nate Yarnell) actually appeared in a game.
Rather than Slovis, it will be graduate transfer Phil Jurkovec starting under center for the Panthers. And instead of longtime backup Nick Patti, Pitt will rely upon either Yarnell or Christian Veilleux as the second option. The group is fresh, but collectively, Pitt has much higher expectations within the program because of its quarterbacks.
Head coach Pat Narduzzi leads his Pitt Panthers out on the field before their annual Blue-Gold game at Acrisure Stadium on Saturday, April 15, 2023.
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“I think our quarterback room is as good as it's ever been at Pitt, since I’ve been there,” Narduzzi told ACC Network last week. “It was as poor as it could be when I first arrived, but we’ve got some good depth in that room.”
Phil’s the man
Leading the charge for the Panthers will be Jurkovec, who is entering his sixth and final collegiate season. Some Pitt fans have been familiar with Jurkovec’s game for over a decade. But much time has passed since his glory days at Pine-Richland High School.
Jurkovec comes to Pitt from Boston College. The 6-foot-5, 235 pound quarterback entered the transfer portal last December after an unfortunate ending to his three seasons with the Eagles. With one year of eligibility remaining, Jurkovec decided to look into teaming up with his former offensive coordinator, Cignetti, where in their two seasons together at Boston College, he played the best football of his collegiate career.
“I had a few other places I could’ve transferred, but it just would’ve been a lot to completely start anew at some place and learn a whole new system,” Jurkovec told the Post-Gazette. “It was obvious that Pitt was the place to go.”
A source told the Post-Gazette this summer that even if Slovis intended on staying at Pitt for another season, the program’s plan was to bring in Jurkovec once he entered the portal. And that brand of strong confidence has only remained with the new Panthers’ quarterback since he arrived on campus.
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Unlike last spring and summer, when Slovis and Patti were in a competition for the starting job, coaches and players alike made it clear that Jurkovec was the guy who would be running the show in 2023.
“He had 15 consistent days out there,” Cignetti said of Jurkovec following the team’s spring game in April. “I thought he had a great spring. I saw him grow as a person. I saw him get better as a player. I saw 15 days of making good, decisive decisions, not only in the passing game, but he made good run checks, good protection adjustments. ... I thought he had a great spring. I can’t wait to see where he takes it.”
Narduzzi inadvertently named Jurkovec the starter during spring ball when he told reporters that Veilleux and Yarnell were in a battle for the backup job. Then last week at the ACC Kickoff, the Pitt coach left no room for doubt, officially naming Jurkovec the starter in a 1-on-1 interview with the Post-Gazette.
“At this point, Phil [Jurkovec] is the starting quarterback,” Narduzzi said. “I think he’s earned that.”
Backup battle
As mentioned above, Veilleux and Yarnell will battle for the backup spot in camp. Like Jurkovec, Veilleux was heavily recruited by the Panthers in high school. The redshirt sophomore transferred to Pitt in December after departing from Penn State, where he appeared in just five games in two seasons.
Veilleux showed flashes of promise when he was called upon as an injury substitute in 2021 against Rutgers, where he completed 15 of 24 pass attempts for 235 yards and three touchdowns. As a newcomer, the 6-foot-4, 220-pound quarterback is still learning the offense. However, while growing pains still exist, coaches are very high on his playmaking potential.
“Christian is a talented young man,” Cignetti said following the spring game, when Veilleux completed six of nine passes for 74 yards and a touchdown. “We have a talented quarterback room. It’s not where he is but where he’s going to be. I’m really excited about where Christian is going as a quarterback.”
Similar to Veilleux, Yarnell also had an opportunity to tease his potential. The 6-foot-6, 215-pound signal caller impressed Panther fans last September in his first collegiate start against Western Michigan, when he completed nine of 12 passes for 179 yards and a touchdown, leading Pitt to a 34-13 road victory.
Few have given Yarnell more vocal support than Narduzzi, who not only praised his play following the Western Michigan win, but also later in the season compared his efforts on the scout team to Kenny Pickett.
“I’ve seen Kenny Pickett compete on the scout field, like I’ve seen Nate Yarnell. Nate is a gamer — you watch him practice and he does some things and I’m like, ‘What are you doing?’ But then you put him on the scout team and he plays ball. That’s who Kenny was. He was a competitor.”
Behind Veilleux and Yarnell will be true freshman Ty Dieffenbach, the fourth and final scholarship quarterback on the roster. Dieffenbach, who measures at 6-foot-6, 220 pounds, was a late addition to Pitt’s 2023 high school recruiting class.
After originally committing to UNLV, Dieffenbach received an offer from the Panthers on Dec. 3. Just two days later, he announced his decommitment from the Rebels and his verbal commitment to Pitt. With three older players ahead of him on the depth chart, it’s likely that Dieffenbach will redshirt this fall.
Pitt’s 2023 roster also boasts a pair of walk-on quarterbacks: redshirt sophomore Jake Frantl and true freshman David Lynch. Frantl joined the team in camp last year but didn’t appear in any games. Lynch, meanwhile, walked onto Pitt’s roster this spring after having a successful post-grad season at IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla.