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Phil Jurkovec of the Pitt Panthers walks off the field after a failed attempt on a third down in the third quarter during the game against the Cincinnati Bearcats at Acrisure Stadium on Sept. 9, 2023, in Pittsburgh.
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Sources: Phil Jurkovec benched as Pitt’s starting quarterback; Christian Veilleux expected to start vs. Louisville

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Sources: Phil Jurkovec benched as Pitt’s starting quarterback; Christian Veilleux expected to start vs. Louisville

When the Pitt offense takes the field on Saturday, Oct. 14 to face Louisville, it will have a new man under center. Multiple sources informed the Post-Gazette that sixth-year senior Phil Jurkovec has been relieved of his duties as the team’s starting quarterback.

Sources told the Post-Gazette that Jurkovec informed his teammates that he had been benched Wednesday morning during a players-only meeting for members of the Panthers offense. Offensive coordinator Frank Cignetti Jr. also spoke with the offense about the big position change later in the day.

Christian Veilleux, a redshirt sophomore, is expected to replace Jurkovec as the team’s starting quarterback. One source told the Post-Gazette that Veilleux will be backed up by redshirt sophomore Nate Yarnell, meaning Jurkovec is now the No. 3 quarterback on Pitt’s depth chart.

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A former standout at Pine-Richland High School, Jurkovec returned to his hometown last December as a graduate transfer. Multiple members of the Pitt football coaching staff have said on record that the news of Jurkovec’s transfer to Pitt was what led Kedon Slovis, the team’s starting quarterback in 2022, to transfer out of the program.

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In five games as the team’s starter, Jurkovec has completed 57 passes on 112 attempts (50.9%) for 818 yards. He has thrown six touchdown passes and has been intercepted three times, each coming in Pitt’s 17-6 road loss to West Virginia. Jurkovec’s quarterback rating of 37.5 is the 107th-best in the country.

Pitt has gone 1-4 in Jurkovec’s five starts, with a loss coming in each of its last four contests. While his most recent effort against Virginia Tech, where he completed 11 of 22 passes for 235 yards and two touchdowns, looks decent on paper, the bulk of that production came on two long plays, both of which were aided with long runs after the catch.

Following the team’s loss to Virginia Tech, Pat Narduzzi was asked if he intended to make any changes to his team’s offense this current week, which also happens to be Pitt’s bye week.

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“I’m going to re-evaluate where we are,” Narduzzi responded. “I see a lot of things that need changed on offense. We had nine first downs. It’s hard to win a football game when you have two explosive plays, and that’s all we got. We gotta look at what we’re doing, how we’re doing it and fix it. That’s my job as a head coach to fix it. It doesn’t come down to one guy. It’s everybody. It’s a team loss. Period.”

Although Jurkovec’s benching might not be the only change, it certainly marks a major shakeup within the Panthers locker room.

Similar to Jurkovec, Veilleux also transferred into the Pitt football program this past offseason, coming from Penn State. Veilleux has seen limited action this season, appearing in Pitt’s win over Wofford and its loss to No. 14 North Carolina. In three total quarters of action, Veilleux has completed 12 passes on 27 attempts for 145 yards. He has thrown a touchdown pass and been intercepted twice.

Noah Hiles: nhiles@post-gazette.com and Twitter @_NoahHiles

First Published: October 4, 2023, 7:44 p.m.
Updated: October 5, 2023, 9:55 a.m.

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Phil Jurkovec of the Pitt Panthers walks off the field after a failed attempt on a third down in the third quarter during the game against the Cincinnati Bearcats at Acrisure Stadium on Sept. 9, 2023, in Pittsburgh.  (Getty Images)
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