Former Pine-Richland and Pitt quarterback Ben DiNucci was drafted by the Dallas Cowboys with the 231st overall pick in the seventh round of the 2020 NFL Draft.
DiNucci spent his first three years of college at Pitt, moving into the starting lineup as a redshirt sophomore. He played in 10 games in 2017, completing 55.7% of his passes for 1,091 yards, five touchdowns and five interceptions.
After losing the starting job to then-freshman Kenny Pickett by the end of the 2017 season, DiNucci transferred from Pitt to FCS James Madison.
With the Dukes, he continued his progression, getting all the way to the FCS National Championship Game in 2019, where James Madison lost 28-20 to North Dakota State.
Despite playing just two seasons at JMU, he’s tied for third in school history with 479 completions, fourth with 5,716 passing yards and fourth with 45 passing touchdowns.
DiNucci became the fourth former WPIAL player to be selected in the 2020 NFL Draft, following Imani Christian’s Kenny Robinson, who went to the Carolina Panthers and McKeesport’s Khaleke Hudson, who was selected by the Washington Redskins, both in the fifth round, and New Castle’s Geno Stone by the Baltimore Ravens earlier in the seventh round. He is the first former Pitt player to be selected.
All hail Kenny Pickett next years #1 pick
Wow – I watched a few JMU playoff games and I saw the same weak arm that characterized his Pitt tenure but he had a great system to work with – short passes with wideouts who could run after the catch so he had good numbers on a really good team. Is QB depth in the NFL so poor that a QB who failed at a Power 5 school and has better intangibles than skill set can get drafted out of an FCS school? Probably answered my own question.
If you are a Div. 1A senior QB that didn’t get drafted you’re probably going to need the phone number of a good psychiatrist after seeing this guy picked.
You develop your talent and tweet system to their talents; we wasted Voytek and this kid. Arm strenght isn’t the overriding factor when determining how a kid will contribute at qb. Many a strong-armed kids were terrible and vice-a-versa.
Prior to Pitt offering him, his best offer was from an Ivy League school. Pitt didnt waste his talent. Was not able to compete at D-1 in a successful manner. He was a good high school QB who didnt have the skill-set to go D-1. More power to him for getting drafted but the tape doesnt lie.