Inside The Panthers

Pat Narduzzi Confirms Phil Jurkovec Will Start vs UNC

The Pitt Panthers will stick with their same starting quarterback.

Stephen Thompson

Pat Narduzzi Confirms Phil Jurkovec Will Start vs UNC
Pat Narduzzi Confirms Phil Jurkovec Will Start vs UNC /
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PITTSBURGH -- After consecutive ugly performances, the calls for Pitt Panthers head coach Pat Narduzzi to bench starting quarterback Phil Jurkovec have been loud and frequent. 

But like he did following Jurkovec's three-interception outing against West Virginia in Week 3, Narduzzi stuck by his starter and said definitively with two days until kickoff against North Carolina, that Jurkovec will start the ACC opener this weekend. 

Narduzzi identified a number of issues that have affected Jurkovec's play over the past couple of weeks, first and foremost the pressure his offensive line has been allowing. But he added that the past week of practice has been encouraging and expects a big day from the offense against the Tar Heels. 

His tenure at Pitt has not been completely devoid of mid-season quarterback changes. He rotated through two different signal-callers in 2015 and three in 2017 before riding with Kenny Pickett when he was healthy through the 2021 season. The past two seasons, Narduzzi has stuck with quarterbacks that many called to bench. 

He left the door open for a change later in the season but said it's not the right time now and that the information he has says Jurkovec is Pitt's best chance to win. 

'Every year is different and every quarterback is different and I’m going to be patient with it," Narduzzi said. "No one’s saying there isn’t going to be a change but I look at the whole picture. I see everything. … And I think I’m smart enough and we’ve done this long enough that I can make the right decision when the time is right.”

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Stephen Thompson
STEPHEN THOMPSON

Stephen Thompson graduated with a bachelor's degree in communications and political science from Pitt in April 2022 after spending four years as a sports writer and editor at The Pitt News, the University of Pittsburgh's independent, student-run newspaper.  He primarily worked the Pitt men's basketball beat, and filled in on coverage of football, volleyball, softball, gymnastics and lacrosse, in addition to other sports as needed. His work at The Pitt News has won awards from the Pennsylvania News Media Association and Associated College Press.  During the spring and summer of 2021, Stephen interned for Pittsburgh Sports Now, covering baseball in western Pennsylvania. Hailing from Washington D.C., family ties have cultivated a love of Boston's professional teams and Pitt athletics, and a fascination with sports in general.  You can reach Stephen by email at stephenethompson00@gmail.com and follow him on Twitter. Read his latest work:

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