Pitt Unsettled on Third QB to Replace Kedon Slovis, Nick Patti, If Needed
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PITTSBURGH -- The Pitt Panthers' top two quarterbacks, Kedon Slovis and Nick Patti, both sustained injuries in this past weekend's game against Tennessee. Patti, who clearly hurt his ankle while scrambling towards the goal line in the fourth quarter, remained in the game but moved around the field with a pronounced limp favoring his right foot.
Slovis did not return and while the severity of either injury is unknown, the Panthers will still need to prepare a contingency plan. They were inches away from having to throw either redshirt freshman Nate Yarnell or Dartmouth graduate transfer Derek Kyler straight into a game against a ranked SEC opponent tied in the fourth quarter.
The focus of training camp was figuring out whether Patti or Slovis would start the season opener, leaving Kyler and Yarnell behind the eight ball. Narduzzi said it's already difficult to get non-starting quarterbacks the proper physical reps and the fact that neither participated in spring practices. Kyler didn't make his transfer official until June and Yarnell was injured.
"Third team guys aren't getting a lot of reps during the week," Narduzzi said. "Second team [players] aren't getting many reps, to Nick Patti's defense as well. It's tough to get everybody reps."
Complicating matters further is the fact that Pitt hasn't decided who actually is the third-stringer. Narduzzi said during training camp that Yarnell and Kyler were competing, but that neither separated themselves. Yarnell was listed as the third quarterback on all three depth charts the program has released this season, but when Patti was struggling to stand on his ankle during the Tennessee game, it was Kyler who strapped up his helmet and warmed up with intent while Yarnell kept a headset on.
Narduzzi said that, during practice, they've deferred to Yarnell, who's had more experience in the system but that doesn't necessarily mean that he'd be ready to go on game day.
“I would say it's still unsettled," Narduzzi said this week. "Probably two out of three team periods Nate's given us a look. Because he's done it before, that's the guy we pick. Like defensively we want that guy. So he's played more ball than Kyler has as far as just playing ball. Derek's paying attention and locked into the offense because he's on that end. I would say it's a toss-up who the third guy would be.”
It's entirely possible that one or both of Slovis and Patti are ready to go when the Panthers hit the field to face Western Michigan this weekend, but their last game showed that the quarterback depth chart is fragile and some kind of backup plan, which Pitt wasn't prepared to employ last week, is necessary.
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