Nick Patti had every reason to become Pitt's next starting quarterback.
He did everything right. He bought into Pat Narduzzi's culture as a true freshman. He redshirted. He accepted the backup job to Kenny Pickett. He sat the bench and waited for his turn at leading the program for which his best friend had been a transformational talent and one of the greatest throwers in its history.
It was all there, right in front of him.
Until it wasn't.
And, yet, Patti has remained as genuine, humble, and mature as possible throughout this eight-month process.
"Nick Patti was the classiest guy in the world. Understood. Gets it. Smart. Classy. Just like you knew Nick Patti would be. He’s a team guy, he understands. You’ve got to love Nick Patti.”
That was what Narduzzi said on Wednesday, after naming Kedon Slovis the Panthers' starting quarterback for 2022.
If what Narduzzi is saying about how Patti is handling this situation is true, then good for Patti. We'll take it at that value.
In today's world of instant-gratification college football, anybody else would have immediately entered the transfer portal and sought out a starting opportunity elsewhere.
Patti isn't just anybody else.
This has happened ad nauseam, where a Power Five talent gets scooped up by a Group of Five school or, worse, a Football Championship Subdivision school after being cast to the side by his previous school. The transfer portal rules allow for a one-time move -- a rubber-stamping of more-than-one policy is in play -- from school to school without penalty of having to sit out a year.
Any regular guy would have taken advantage of this as soon as possible. Any regular guy would have entered the portal on Thursday, after the job he was groomed for, poured out gallons of sweat for, and dedicated years of his life for was swept away from him in a flash on Wednesday.
Patti is not any regular guy.
The understanding from Day 1 of Slovis arriving in Oakland in January was that Patti was, once again, going to have to suit up for a battle.
To our public knowledge, that battle was a true one, through and through. It came to a formal conclusion on Wednesday, but Narduzzi said it was decided after the team's scrimmage this past weekend at Acrisure Stadium (or, "The Ac," as defensive tackle David Green called it after practice on Thursday).
Factors included: Consistency, taking care of the football, throwing accuracy.
If that's what truly determined Slovis winning the job over Patti, then so be it.
I'm not entirely convinced. And that's not a knock on Slovis, who has experience as a starter at Southern California and had to earn his keep just as much as Patti did.
Patti looked solid in camp, and was a worthy adversary to the experienced Slovis.
But, we can also look at the circumstances that Patti can't seem to avoid.
What message would Narduzzi be sending to future potential transfers if Slovis -- who has this year and next year of eligibility remaining -- did not win the starting job?
Come to Pitt, leave your comfortable California home, and sit the bench!
That doesn't have a nice ring to it, does it?
Of course not.
You know what else doesn't?
Come dedicate your entire college football career to us, and you'll never get to start!
Wait, what? What message is that sending?
Now, Patti is an outlier here, because this just doesn't happen often. But, I think you get my point.
Slovis was not "guaranteed" the job in January, but as time ticked, the job became his to lose.
He didn't lose it. In fact, he won it.
Consider what Patti told us at Pitt football media day at the start of training camp:
"I have a lot of respect for (Slovis). We've talked. He has a lot of respect for me. And we know that the best guy's going to play. So, if he's better than me in this camp, I have a lot of respect for him. I'm comfortable with the way I'm playing. I'm playing at a high level. I know he is, too, and the coaches are going to make the decision. It's not going to be up to us. Our play's going to dictate it, but we're going to go out, put our best foot forward every day, and whoever he guy is, is going to be the guy."
Patti hasn't been made available to comment on losing the battle to Slovis, but I'd bet a good amount of money that he feels the same way after the fact.
Two indications that this was a true battle are hidden in plain sight.
One, if Slovis was automatically going to start, Patti would have entered the portal before spring camp.
Two, the mentioning by Narduzzi of the two earning equal reps in the team's two full-go scrimmages in fall camp.
I don't doubt that Patti will see the field this year. His mobility is a desirable trait and can be used in varying packages designed by offensive coordinator Frank Cignetti Jr. There's something to be said about having two starting-caliber quarterbacks on roster, though Pitt surely won't fall into the trope of "if you have two quarterbacks, you have no quarterbacks."
Slovis was named QB1, and he has to be that. Speculate how you want on the length of his proverbial leash, but I'll wager that it's a long one.
Patti will stick around, wait for his shot, and continue to do exactly what he has been doing for four years.
And, he's happy to do so.
"Another chance to prove I can be that dude, and that just speaks to my confidence," Patti said at media day. "I had an idea we were going to bring someone in. Kenny leaving, us being ACC champions, we're a hot spot for people, especially quarterbacks."
Patti was back on the field for Thursday morning's practice. He was working with Cignetti and Slovis and was just as involved with drills as he was when the competition was still live.
Patti is an ambassador for the program, for the position, and for all that scarcely is brought to light and is right about college football.
We have to applaud him and admire him for that.
He will get his shot to continue to prove that he can be "that dude."
How often will that happen? In what circumstances?
That's to be determined.
