For all of the discussion around the season which Pitt quarterback Kedon Slovis has put forward, there has been an equal discourse about the players who could potential replace him.
That comes for better or for worse. There is a healthy discussion about the options for 2023, while some wish that Pat Narduzzi would pony up and bench the Southern California transfer amid his disappointing 2022 season.
Slovis has completed 59.3% of his passes for 1,737 yards, five touchdowns, and six interceptions in eight games. His completion percentage ranks 85th in Football Bowl Subdivision, his 217.12 yards per game are 68th, his 124.4 quarterback rating is 95th (ironically just ahead of former USC teammate J.T. Daniels at West Virginia), and his 43.8 QBR is 102nd.
Narduzzi has already publicly reassured Slovis as Pitt's QB1 for the time being, and it doesn't seem as if he'll waver on that decision.
But that doesn't mean that we can't look into the future. Beyond Slovis, here are Pitt's current options at quarterback for 2023:
β’ NICK PATTI
The redshirt senior who Slovis beat, so we were told, for the starting job out of training camp. Aside from the second half against Tennessee, we haven't had the chance to see Patti play this season, as he had to work back through an injury sustained in the second half of that game.
Here is the unfortunate pickle which Patti is in: Even if Slovis is not the quarterback of the 2023 Pitt Panthers, I'm not sure Patti would be, either. He would be in his final season of eligibility next season, but with a fellow rostered QB drawing good marks from the coaching staff and another ready to come in and compete as a freshman next season -- more on those in a bit -- Patti might be in the unfortunate loop once again of "competing" for the starting job while likely not having a realistic chance at it in the first place.
That said, if Patti didn't transfer out this year -- he hasn't -- does that necessarily mean he would be inclined to do next year? He would likely be QB2 in a perception sense, with him backing up a fellow veteran in Slovis. He could even be pushed further down, if...
β’ NATE YARNELL
...Yarnell continues to impress the coaching staff in the way he has.
We all know about the "Beethoven" performance he gave early in the season at Western Michigan, in Slovis and Patti's absences.
But the 6-foot-6 redshirt freshman has drawn praise from the coaching staff for his role on the scout team -- "He was (Tennessee QB) Hendon Hooker," as Narduzzi said after the Western Michigan game.
Not to mention, he showcased his ability in that game with a couple of rainbow shots down the field, which came at a time where we had not seen the Panthers' offense take many of them.
With Slovis struggling and with Patti injured throughout the middle parts of the season, the cries for Yarnell expanded to the Twitterverse, this site's very own commenting thread, and even into the seats of Acrisure Stadium:
Gameday signs π€ pic.twitter.com/e934dQ4c1L
β Corey Crisan (@cdcrisan) November 5, 2022
Yarnell is an interesting case, and not just because he is the team's current QB3; it's because he has another offseason to literally grow and develop into his already-impressive frame for being 19 years old.
β’ ELI KOSANOVICH
The redshirt junior walk-on from Aliquippa won't be anything more than a scout-team QB next season.
β’ JAKE FRANTL
And, that likely will be the same for the redshirt freshman walk-on Frantl.
β’ KENNY MINCHEY
Here is the wild-card within the whole deal. Minchey is a really good high school quarterback. He earned the label as a four-star recruit after throwing for 3,280 yards, 32 TDs, and nine interceptions with a 61.3% completion percentage last season as a junior.
He is the highest-rated quarterback prospect Narduzzi has pulled into Pitt throughout his tenure, and he is the top-rated recruit in Narduzzi's 2023 class, per 247Sports. An early encouraging sign of Minchey's reaffirmation as a commit came earlier this week, when it was reported that he will enroll early to the program.
Once Minchey sets foot in Oakland (or, I suppose, the South Side), what will Narduzzi and offensive coordinator Frank Cignetti Jr. do to support the future of the program?
Will he be thrust into the starting role immediately? Will be compete with (a likely returning) Slovis, Patti, and/or Yarnell for the starting job? Will he even be considered as a started right away? Will he redshirt?
In today's college football with a rampant transfer portal and the concept of players practically being able to leave their original program willingly and whenever they want, Narduzzi is in a precarious position with Minchey. The easy out on Slovis, should he choose to take it in the offseason, is for Narduzzi to say that Slovis underperformed in 2022, which would be true, and could pave a pathway for him to roll with Minchey (or at least allow Minchey to compete for the job).
On the completely opposite end, Narduzzi has to give the perception that the transfer quarterback is also his guy, and after earning the starting job in 2022, why would it be up for grabs in 2023?
That decision will alter the course of the Panthers' program for the foreseeable future.
I view Slovis as the Panthers' starter until Narduzzi has had enough, or until Slovis proves a consistent turnaround from his disappointing 2022 season. Otherwise, I wouldn't waste time getting the Kenny Minchey era under way.
How would you rank these quarterbacks? Who should be the starter now, with three games left in the season? Who should start in 2023? Sound off in the comments.
