PITTSBURGH (93.7 The Fan) – After an interception and a pair of fumbles against Syracuse, the Panthers benched quarterback Christian Veilleux in favor of redshirt sophomore Nate Yarnell for Thursday night’s game against Boston College.
The 6’6” Yarnell started one game last year going 10 of 14 for 195 yards and a touchdown at Western Michigan as he was third-string behind Kedon Slovis and Nick Patti in 2022. Yarnell found himself behind transfers Veilleux and Phil Jurkovec as the third-string QB again this season.
A graduate student transfer, Jurkovec returned home for one final year of eligibility. The Pine-Richland HS graduate won the starting job in training camp and started the first five games of the season. After winning the opener over Wofford, he lost every other start going 57-112 for 818 yards, six touchdowns and three interceptions. He ran 39 times for 60 yards and a score.
A transfer from Penn State, Veilleux took over at halftime of the North Carolina game. He would make his first start when the Panthers beat Louisville, the Cardinals only loss of the season. His stat line for 2023, 94-184 for 1,179 yards with seven touchdowns and eight interceptions. He would rush 24 times for negative 14 yards.
Yarnell and Veilleux each have two more seasons of eligibility. Freshman Ty Dieffenbach from California did not play this season and could redshirt with four more seasons to play. In three seasons at quarterback in high school, Dieffenbach threw for 4,153 yards and 48 touchdowns.