Nate Yarnell Earned Inside Track On Pitt's Starting QB Job

It's time to hand the keys over to Nate Yarnell as the Pitt Panthers starting quarterback of the future.

PITTSBURGH -- It's been a season-long saga for the Pitt Panthers in 2023. Their first option to start at quarterback was an abject and unequivocal failure. Their second option flashed then fizzled in the middle of the year. But the third try might be the charm as they're able to draw at least one positive from a sour season. 

It's been just two starts this season and three for his career but Yarnell has proven that he can elevate the floor for the Pitt offense with his decision-making alone and, with some more experience, could be in a position to raise its ceiling as well. The Panthers will enter the offseason with Christian Veilleux and Yarnell in competition for the starting job, but Yarnell has already earned the inside track on winning that competition in 2024. 

Phil Jurkovec looked the part of a quality starting quarterback in the season opener against Wofford and Christian Veilleux did the same after beating then-No. 14 Louisville in the first start of his career. Both those players unraveled down the remainder of their tenures as starter and Yarnell won't be afforded the same opportunity (or challenge, depending upon how you want to frame it) this season. But one can appreciate what Yarnell has done despite that. 

Yarnell's brightest moments have been different from Veilleux and Jurkovec's. He's been accurate, smart, patient and bold when the situation demands it. The competition Yarnell has faced in his three career starts - Western Michigan in 2022 and Boston College and Duke this year - has not necessarily been a murder's row but he's played capably for someone without a wealth of experience and little support around him. 

Even Yarnell's one big mistake - a redzone interception midway through the fourth quarter when Pitt had a chance to cut a two-score lead in half - came when his intended receiver, Kenny Johnson, was knocked off his route by a referee. And the Panthers likely shouldn't have been in that situation. Not only did Malcolm Epps drop a potential touchdown-scoring pass in the endzone just three plays earlier and two penalties pushed the Panthers back outside the 10-yard line. 

Repeatedly, the failures of the offense fell outside of Yarnell's control. His receivers dropped passes, the offensive line missed blocks, the unit as a whole committed costly penalties that killed drives and the play-calling didn't always fit the down, distance and scenario. Yarnell was not perfect and has plenty of his own mistakes to work on, but he did enough for the Panthers to win the game and end the year on a high note. 

The numbers tell enough of the story - Yarnell has completed 66% of his passes for 595 yards, four touchdowns and one interception over just four appearances, including a 25-35, 265-yard, two-touchdown and one-interception performance against a stout Blue Devils passing offense. He ended the year as the only Pitt quarterback with a completion rate above 51% and a positive touchdown to interception ratio. 

But the eye test says a lot as well. Yarnell's mobility bought him extra time in the pocket, where he never looked rattled, and kept the Pitt offense on schedule with athletic runs. He completed throws to all levels and areas of the field and got a wide variety of receivers involved, an especially impressive feat with starting tight end and big-play threat Gavin Bartholomew sidelined by an injury for both of his starts. 

What his ceiling can be is still a mystery but Yarnell has shown enough to earn, if nothing else, an inside track on winning the starting job heading into this offseason. He has been the most consistent player at his position for this team. 

The staff trusts him, the players trust him and Yarnell has earned that trust. Yarnell will still have to compete and prove that this is more than a flash in the pan, but all signs point to him being the best quarterback on the roster. The Panthers can have their first multi-year starter since Kenny Pickett if they decide to give him the keys to the offense like he's earned. 

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