Former Pitt QB Returning as Honorary Captain vs. Notre Dame

PITTSBURGH - If there's a moment in former Pitt Panthers quarterback Tyler Palko's collegiate career that stands out, it would be hard to find a better one than his postgame speech following an upset win against Notre Dame.

So, of course, with No. 9 Notre Dame coming to town this weekend, who could be a better honorary captain?

Head coach Pat Narduzzi joined the Pat McAfee Show today to preview the massive matchup, which has the popular television show College GameDay covering, and he announced that Palko will serve as the honorary captain.

"We always have someone come in on game day, speak to our football team," Narduzzi said. "We've done it for a long time. AJ, you guys probably did it at Ohio State. Dantonio got it from probably Jim Tressel, but we've always had an honorary captain come speak to our team, so we've got an honorary captain coming in - I won't mention his name here because it's a special guest. We're excited about the new guy coming in."

It appeared he was going to hold off on announcing, but at the last second, he decided to reveal it.

"Tyler Palko's coming in," Narduzzi added.

"We always have an honorary captain speak to our team before the game..

Tyler Palko is gonna be doing it tomorrow"@CoachDuzzPittFB #PMSLive pic.twitter.com/TttIITEZnC
— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) November 14, 2025

McAfee, who grew up in the Pittsburgh area himself, attending Plum High School, praised the "legendary" Palko family.

Palko hails from nearby Imperial, PA himself and played high school for his dad Bob Palko at West Allegheny High School. The two worked together as father-and-son and would win both the 2001 WPIAL and PIAA Class 3A titles.

He came to Pitt as the AP Pennsylvania Big School Player of the Year and USA Today All-American Second Team honoree in 2001.

Palko then went on to play four seasons at Pitt, completing 645-of-1,075 pass attempts for 8,343 yards with 66 touchdowns and 25 interceptions - adding 12 scores on the ground. He finished his Pitt career top five in career passing yards and touchdowns.

He had one of the best games of his career in an upset win vs. Notre Dame in 2004. He led the Panthers to a 41-38 victory, throwing for 334 yards and five touchdowns in the process - and drew headlines with an impassioned postgame speech.

Following four seasons at Pitt, he went undrafted in the 2007 NFL Draft but spent time with the Pittsburgh Steelers and Kansas City Chiefs and also spent time on the New Orleans Saints and Arizona Cardinals' practice squads. He also played for the California Redwoods in the UFL and Montreal Alouettes in the CFL.

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