What Benching Phil Jurkovec Means For Pitt
PITTSBURGH -- Pat Narduzzi and the Pitt Panthers have ripped the bandaid off this week, introducing a new starting quarterback during the bye week ahead of a date with top-25 Louisville.
Phil Jurkovec is out and Christian Veilleux is in as the starter for Pitt, according to a report from Noah Hiles of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, which has a range of implications for the Panthers as they trudge through the balance of the 2023 season.
Here are three things that this move means for Pitt moving forward.
The Future Is Now
Not only is Jurkovec not the starting quarterback, but he has been demoted to third-stringer, meaning Veilleux and Nate Yarnell are the top two quarterbacks on the roster. Pitt has cut their losses on the graduate transfer and will turn to a pair of redshirt sophomores.
The 2024 season begins with this game against Louisville. No, this season is not necessarily a lost cause, but look at the current record and who is left on the schedule and Pitt's body of work to this point. Even getting to a bowl game will be a struggle given the many other deficiencies this team has.
Whether or not Veilleux and Yarnell are obvious upgrades over Jurkovec is a dubious proposition - remember that Veilleux's first action against FBS competition in a Pitt uniform was not necessarily sterling - but they are beginning to prepare for 2024 even more than they are trying to plug the holes in the 2023 offense.
Narduzzi Feels Some Pressure
This season has been, pretty comfortably, a disaster for the Panthers so far. Pitt entered 2023 with high hopes only to watch them come crashing down around them with a 1-4 start.
But credit where it's due - this likely was not an easy change to make. He has an attachment to Phil and admitting defeat on another transfer quarterback as a season with high expectations tailed off early is a humbling experience as well. Still, it was the decision that had to happen and better late than never for Narduzzi and the rest of the staff.
He was never in danger of losing his job, but Narduzzi recognized the urgency of the moment and how quickly what little remains of the momentum from 2021 and 2021 could be snuffed out. Maybe he could have made the move earlier, but waiting until the bye week to give Veilleux two full weeks of preparation makes sense as well.
Pitt Still Has More Problems
For as much attention as the quarterback situation has been given, this Pitt team has some other major problems to overcome.
Phil Jurkovec didn't miss 26 tackles against Virginia Tech, cause the offensive line to lose three starters to injury, make the defensive line porous against the run and unable to affect quarterbacks or make the running game non-existent. And benching him doesn't solve any of those problems.
If Pitt is going to properly support Veilleux during their run down the second half, they'll need to get a lot better in a lot of different areas or the results will be largely the same.
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