Pat Narduzzi discussed Pitt’s quarterback situation Monday
Pitt’s quarterback hierarchy seemed to be settled heading into the conference matchup with Syracuse in Week 6, as Max Browne had a breakout game against Rice the previous week and apparently put an end to the competition between himself and Ben DiNucci for the starting job.
However, after Browne was sidelined with an injury to his throwing arm against the Orange on Saturday, head coach Pat Narduzzi announced he would miss “a couple weeks” during his postgame press conference, raising a few questions about the future of the position.
The presumption was that DiNucci would get the start in the upcoming matchup with No. 20 North Carolina State after stepping in for Browne against Syracuse, and Narduzzi confirmed as much during his press conference on Monday.
“Ben DiNucci is the guy. I've had a meeting with Ben this morning about preparation and putting as much into it as he possibly can, and Ben has got a ton of ability,” Narduzzi said. “We've got faith in Ben, and Kenny Pickett will be his backup.”
Monday’s announcement was essentially a formality, as Narduzzi previously stated that the competition for the starting position was strictly between Browne and DiNucci in his eyes. However, Narduzzi was also asked about his decision to play Pickett, who was expected to redshirt this season but ended up taking the final snap against Syracuse after DiNucci lost his helmet on the penultimate play of the game.
Narduzzi said he’d like to play Pickett and didn’t want to burn his redshirt for just one play. But he brushed off the idea of giving Pickett a package and seemed reluctant to commit to playing him regularly, at least at the expense of DiNucci.
“Quarterback is not a position you're trying to rotate and get guys series,” he said. “We've got to get Ben in the rotation and get Ben in the flow of the game and let him go.”
That seems to be Narduzzi’s philosophy when it comes to his signal-callers, as the plan never seemed to be for Browne and DiNucci to split time under center when things were going well. So by the sound of things, Pitt fans shouldn’t count on seeing much of Pickett this season unless things go awry for DiNucci.
As for DiNucci, he’ll have his hands full when the Panthers host the Wolfpack at Heinz Field this Saturday, as the visitors rank 13th in the nation in sacks, with 17 through six weeks. Senior defensive end Bradley Chubb accounts for 6.5 of those and could give Pitt’s offensive line trouble.
Of course, if DiNucci is able to get a few passes off, he could have a big day, as North Carolina State’s passing defense ranks 122nd among FBS teams, allowing 296.3 yards per game through the air.
