Pitt QB Room Have Signs of Bright Future

The Pitt Panthers have inexperience in their quarterback room, but still find themselves rated towards the middle of the pack of the FBS.

Nov 25, 2023; Durham, North Carolina, USA; Pittsburgh Panthers quarterback Nate Yarnell (19) prepares to throw the ball during the first half of the game against Duke Blue Devils at Wallace Wade Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jaylynn Nash-USA TODAY Sports / Jaylynn Nash-USA TODAY Sports

PITTSBURGH -- The Pitt Panthers quarterback room is one with inexperience, but one national writer is interested to see what they do this upcoming season.

David Hale of ESPN ranked all 134 FBS quarterback rooms heading into the 2024 season and organized them into 20 tiers, with tiers 5 and 11 having two tiers each of their own, adding up to 22 overall.

Pitt landed in Tier 12, which Hale described as, "On the Come Up." Teams that fell into this tier included ACC foes in Boston College and Virginia, Michigan State, Texas Tech and Tulane. These teams ranked 61-66, with teams 1-60 in the first 13 tiers and then the final eight tiers having teams 67-134.

"None of these QBs have more than a season's worth of starts under their belts, but all have shown signs of a bright future," Hale wrote. "They're still a long ways from meeting their potential, but there's a ton of upside here."

Redshirt junior Nate Yarnell and Alabama transfer/redshirt freshman Eli Holstein will lead the way for the Panthers going into this fall. Yarnell will serve as starter, while Holstein will serve as the backup.

Yarnell has started just three games in three seasons with the Panthers, and just six games overall, completing 51-of-76 passes for 790 yards and five touchdowns to one interception.

He made his first contribution in 2022, coming in for a road game against Western Michigan, as both quarterbacks in starter Kedon Slovis and backup Nick Patti missed out with injuries they sustained in the loss to then ranked No. 24 Tennessee at home.

Yarnell would serve as game manager, completing 9-of-12 passes for 179 yards and a touchdown in the 34-13 win.

He then played in the Sun Bowl for one drive at the end of the season and made two appearances late in road losses to then ranked No. 14 Notre Dame and Syracuse last season before earning the starting job late in the season.

Yarnell made the most of his opportunity, leading Pitt to a 24-16 win in the home finale. He completed 11-of-19 passes for 207 yards and a touchdown, while also rushing in for a touchdown as well in the victory.

He also started in the season finale on the road to Duke, where he had his best statistical output, completing 25-of-35 passes for 265 yards and two touchdowns with an interception. It wasn't enough in the end, as Pitt lost 30-19 to finish 3-9 on the season.

Yarnell will work in a different offensive scheme under new offensive coordinator Kade Bell, that should allow him to spread the ball more often and quicker than under previous offensive coordinator Frank Cignetti Jr.

Holstein joined the program back in January, after redshirting in his sole season with the Crimson Tide. He starred for Zachary High School in Zachary, La. completing 65% of his 244 passes for 2,153 yards, 22 touchdowns and three interceptions, while also rushing for 505 yards and nine touchdowns on 64 carries. He played even better as a junior - 3,779 total yards and 43 total touchdowns as Zachary amassed a perfect, 15-0 record with a state championship win in 2021. 

Pitt did rank towards the bottom of the ACC in Hale's list, with them, Boston College and VIrginia ranking No. 15, No. 16 and No. 17 in the conference. Stanford, who comes in from the Pac-12, had the lowest ACC ranking, landing in Tier 16, dubbed "Hello darkness, my old friend."

The rest of the Pitt opponents ranked in this list are Syracuse in Tier 5b, SMU and rival West Virginia in Tier 6, Clemson in Tier 7, North Carolina in Tier 8, Louisville in Tier 10, Cal in Tier 11a, rival Cincinnati in Tier 14 and Kent State in Tier 20.

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