Inside The Panthers

WATCH: Pitt Freshman QB Throws Dime

In a social media post, a Pitt Panthers freshman quarterback is shown throwing a dime into the end zone during spring camp.
Kevin Sinclair|
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In a press conference immediately following the spring game (available on YouTube), Pitt Panthers running backs coach was asked if Mason Heinstschel’s strong play that day reflected how he performed throughout the previous 14 spring sessions.

“Yes, sir. All spring,” Lamar said. “All spring. I mean, in the beginning, he had to get adjusted a little bit. Coach Kade Bell got him adjusted rather quickly...than any other normal freshman. But after that, he's been doing that all spring, so it's no surprise to us.”

On social media recently, an impressive throw from Heintschel surfaced. Pitt fans can check out that clip below. 

Just minutes before Coach Lamar’s comments on Heintschel, Pitt head coach Pat Narduzzi also weighed in on the rookie quarterback. 

“(Heintschel is) a good football player,” Narduzzi said. “I mean, he's just got a little swagger to him, and he threw the ball well, had a nice RPO.”

In the final press conference prior to the spring game, offensive coordinator Kade Bell went into more detail on the Ohio product. 

“Mason, for a young guy, he's very mature,” Bell said on April 10, available on YouTube. “He showed up from Day One like a pro. I mean, I can't keep him out of my office. That's a good thing, though, for a young guy. 

“He's not coming here thinking that he's going to redshirt. Does that make sense? And when you got a young guy like that, man, it makes everybody better, because it's like I've got to even do more because if he's a freshman, doing that...that's the expectation. 

“It's not doing the bare minimum at quarterback. I tell our kids, I tell them all the time in that room, it's not just watching practice one day or watching the next day. Are you up here at the office? Are you meeting with the receivers? Are you throwing after practice? Right? 

“We're not here just to doing the bare minimum at quarterback, right? If you want to be a great quarterback and you want to take your game to another level, you've got to be the hardest working guy in the room, in the building, really. So, I'm trying to get that expectation, and getting them to understand that, that's been big this spring.”

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Kevin Sinclair
KEVIN SINCLAIR

Kevin Sinclair writes coverage of the Pitt Panthers along with the Baltimore Ravens, the New England Patriots, the Pittsburgh Steelers, and the Tennessee Titans for On SI. Previously, he was a recruiting reporter and managing editor at Irish Illustrated, the privately-owned Notre Dame site within the 247Sports Network, for over seven-and-a-half years. Kevin studied multimedia journalism and has been a sports writer for nearly a decade.

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