PITTSBURGH — Pitt has been looking for a starting quarterback all season long, and while it may be a bit too early to crown Nate Yarnell, he’s off to a great start against Boston College.
Yarnell, who earned his first start of the season against Boston College, led Pitt on a 15-play, 85-yard touchdown drive in the second quarter — capping the drive with a 4-yard touchdown drive to give the Panthers an early 10-3 lead.
Through just over a quarter, Yarnell has completed 5-of-8 pass attempts for 90 yards and carried the ball three times for 18 yards and a touchdown.
Yarnell was inserted late last weekend against Syracuse, with the outcome all but decided considering the flow of the game, and he completed 3-of-5 pass attempts for 48 yards in relief. He played in two games before earning the start against Boston College, completing 5-of-8 pass attempts (62.5%) for 123 yards with a touchdown.
Yarnell did his job in a win against Western Michigan last season, completing 9-of-12 pass attempts for 179 yards and a touchdown, and he completed 1-of-2 pass attempts for a 16-yard dart against UCLA in the Sun Bowl. But he has just 17 pass attempts over two-and-a-half collegiate seasons.
He will now look to show something greater in his first extended action of the season, and perhaps, show that Pitt has a quarterback option heading forward into the 2024 season. He’s off to a good start so far.
Looks better than the other two by far. Best read option we have seen all year.