Pitt FB Recruiting
Pitt QB Commit Left Backyard Brawl Excited for His Future
If you’re a fan of Pitt football or college football in general, Saturday was an exciting afternoon at Acrisure Stadium.
The Pitt and West Virginia football teams put on quite a show for the sellout crowd in one of the top games ever played in the 107-year history of the Backyard Brawl.
Coming out on top of such a memorable game was a three-and-a-half-hour promotion for the Pitt Panthers football program for recruits watching on television along with the many blue-chip players in the stadium.
Luckily for Pitt, they hosted a ton of high school recruits from various grade levels, along with players who have already committed to the class of 2025.
One of those players was three-star quarterback Mason Heintschel from Clay High School in Oregon, Ohio.
The 6-foot-2, 200-pound gunslinger traveled to Pittsburgh following another great performance for his high school team as he combined for over 500 total yards and five touchdowns in a win over Findlay.
There were plenty of points to go around 👀 in Oregon as the @CHS_EaglesFB 🏈 edged Findlay in a thrilling game 😃, 54-40. pic.twitter.com/IajaWXeQeZ
— BCSN (@BCSNsports) September 14, 2024
So, between starring in a huge win over a rival school and then being in person to watch your future team beat their right, it was quite 48 hours for Heinstschel.
“It was so exciting,” Heintschel told Pittsburgh Sports Now. “I’m excited to be a part of this rivalry and I’m excited to be a part of this team. It was just a fun game to watch in person. Everyone can appreciate a good football game and that was good hardnosed football. It was a great game and definitely a great day to be a Pitt Panther.”
For most games, Heintschel is on the field and has a role in the outcome for his team but that wasn’t the case Saturday for his future team, which made things very difficult and nerve-racking, to say the least.
“I’m going to be honest with you, I was all over the place during that game. It was a rollercoaster of emotions for me. I absolutely had the most faith for us to win the game. After their touchdown to put them up 10, I’m not going to lie, I was stressing a bit, but I knew the offense was going to go down and score. I was stressed from start to finish; emotions were high but I’m so glad we came out with the win.”
Not surprisingly, when Pitt had the ball, his focus was on watching Eli Holstein and offered this perspective on what he saw and what impressed him.
Pittsburgh Panthers quarterback Eli Holstein (10) September 14, 2024. Michael Longo/PSN
“I thought he played really, really well,” said Heintschel. “He’s been playing so well this season as I’ve been able to watch all of their games. I know how hard he’s worked so it’s great to see him playing this well. He does such a great job leading that offense and I was impressed with how he improvised, especially on those last couple of drives. He really used his legs to do some damage, which reminds me a lot of my game, so it was fun to watch.
“I enjoyed watching him make plays off-script and something that I noticed because I do that myself sometimes for our games. His ability to run the ball was crucial but also made some really big plays with his arm.”
Heintschel gave his commitment to Pitt back in March before anyone knew what the new offense would look like. Now that he’s had a chance to actually see what the Kade Bell system is truly all about, Heintschel is even more excited about becoming a part of this program and eventually following in the steps of Holstein.
“I was talking about that exact thing with my dad on the way home from the game,” said Heintschel. “This offense just looks so much fun to be a part of and it really fits my skill set. I talked with coach Bell after the game was over and told him I’m so excited to be a part of it. I knew coming into this season that they were going to have a great offense but seeing how up-tempo they are, it’s so fun to watch I’m so excited to eventually be a part of it.”
