Pitt's Phil Jurkovec ascends to top of QB depth chart — but no guarantees

Pat Narduzzi likes to talk about competition at every position. No one is safe. No one should feel comfortable, especially in April.

When Pitt’s coach was asked Tuesday how his quarterbacks are progressing this spring, he curiously turned his attention to the position battle at backup quarterback. By doing so, he anointed Phil Jurkovec as his starter.

Phil Jurkovec, meeting the press after Day 11 of spring drills pic.twitter.com/sUtNUG0WV1

— Jerry DiPaola (@JDiPaola_Trib) April 4, 2023

“Right now, Christian (Veilleux) and my man Nate (Yarnell) are in a battle,” he said. “Ty (Dieffenbach, freshman from Calabasas, Calif.) has done some really nice things.”

Then, Narduzzi made a telling statement:

“They’re in a battle for that No. 2 spot,” he said. “We’ll keep evaluating, and it will be something that goes into the summer.”

Conspicuous by its absence from that brief answer about backup quarterbacks was the name Jurkovec. What about the redshirt senior transfer from Boston College, Notre Dame and Pine-Richland High School?

If Veilleux and Yarnell are competing for No. 2, that leaves Jurkovec No. 1, right? No. 1 being the next step up from No. 2.

Narduzzi didn’t go that far — he really didn’t need to — but he did offer significant praise for Jurkovec, who was the presumed starter, anyway, from the day his transfer became public Dec. 5.

“Phil has been outstanding, like we thought,” Narduzzi said of his observations over the first 11 practices of the spring. “He got maybe 25 snaps last two scrimmages. We’ve seen a lot of good things in practice. Just going to keep him safe and find out what we got.”

That’s no guarantee of a starting job for Jurkovec, but he’s ahead of Veilleux and Yarnell, based — at least, partially — on experience, a key element when college coaches choose a starting quarterback.

Veilleux, a transfer from Penn State, and Yarnell are redshirt sophomores. Veilleux started one game for Penn State in 2021, a victory against Rutgers. Yarnell replaced Kedon Slovis last year in Pitt’s victory at Western Michigan and also played briefly in the Sun Bowl.

Jurkovec’s prior relationship with offensive coordinator Frank Cignetti Jr., formerly of Boston College, is another advantage and part of the reason he chose Pitt as a transfer destination for his final season of eligibility.

No decision Narduzzi will make between now and the Sept. 2 opener will be more important — or more closely watched — than what he says about the starting quarterback. Pitt won nine games last season but only seven with Slovis, who quickly announced his transfer soon after the last regular-season game.

There was some thought, even inside the team, that Nick Patti might have been a better choice after he led the dramatic comeback victory against then-No. 18 UCLA in the Sun Bowl.

For that reason, Narduzzi will keep open his options. Meanwhile, Jurkovec spoke to reporters Tuesday for the first time this spring, emphasizing that the competition continues.

“I’m just out there every day competing,” he said.

Injuries last season at Boston College limited Jurkovec to eight games and 11 touchdown passes, with eight interceptions. He’s been with his new teammates for only three months, but at 6-foot-5, 235 pounds, Jurkovec provides a bigger, more athletic player than Slovis at quarterback. Spring is a time for him to polish the offense he learned from Cignetti at BC and settle in as a leader.

Narduzi declared the defense the winner, by a slim margin, in the past two scrimmages, but he refused to say one side is ahead of the other.

“We do so much on defense. Coach Cignetti is not game-planning,” Narduzzi said. “A year ago, he ran four plays of the same play, four in a row. He’s not really worried about (a winner in the scrimmage).”

He also said high winds Saturday at Acrisure Stadium limited what could be accomplished on offense.

“We didn’t throw it as much,” Narduzzi said. “I wouldn’t say anybody is ahead of anybody. It depends on what play, what day.”

Said Jurkovec: “We go through the ups and downs. (The defense) is throwing a lot at us. It’s a lot of stuff we’re not going to see, usually, in the games. It’s a lot of good pressures. That’s good for practice. We’ve made a lot of progress.

“It’s a lot of the plays I’ve run for years. It’s just a different defense we’re going against but the same plays.”

“At times, it can be frustrating in spring ball. But we know it’s practice. We just have to work the techniques and keep getting better.”

In 24 games in three seasons at BC, Jurkovec threw for 5,184 yards and 35 touchdowns while running for 10 more scores. But Jurkovec can’t showcase his running ability in the spring when Narduzzi blows a whistle every time a defender gets close to him. Still, Cignetti wants his quarterback to run, if it’s appropriate.

“That’s something that’s harder in the spring to really show,” Jurkovec said, “but the scramble phase, he always talks about, is the second phase. You have to go through your progressions. If nothing’s there, you have to scramble and we can get a lot of big plays off of that.

“There’s a lot up in the air, what’s a sack and what’s not. You can’t really tell until the game. The defense loves to call the sacks if they get a hand on you. But they’re trying to protect us, so we get it.”

What Jurkovec can show is his ability to lead others.

“I try to pick my time,” he said. “There are certain times a quarterback has to speak.”