PITTSBURGH (93.7 The Fan) – He wanted better leadership at the position, so Pitt Head Coach Pat Narduzzi signed three quarterbacks on National Letter of Intent Day Wednesday.
One is by the traditional way and the other two from the portal and will be immediately available.
The most recognizable name is a former Pine-Richland record-setter. Phil Jurkovec comes to Pitt for a final year of eligibility and would be the odds-on starter in 2023 after the transfer of this year’s starter Kedon Slovis.
“Big, athletic, tough, leadership-type guy,” Narduzzi said. “Something we desperately needed in that room. He brings the leadership that maybe we lacked a year ago and he’s tough.”
Narduzzi missed out on Jurkovec twice, once out of high school and then again when he entered the portal and ended up at Boston College. The 6’5”, 226-pounder spent two years at Notre Dame, 12 of 16 for 222 yards in parts of eight games with the Irish. He had a successful first year at BC under current Pitt offensive coordinator Frank Cignetti throwing for 2,558 yards with 17 touchdowns and five interceptions. Injuries would take parts of his last two years. He ended up throwing for 35 touchdowns with 17 interceptions in 24 games with the Eagles, rushing for another 429 yards and nine scores.
“He’s had some great years at Boston College,” Narduzzi said. “We are happy to finally be able to bring him home because we recruited him hard for years. He’s going to have the best year of his life here in Pittsburgh this season.”
There is a little mystery if the Panthers were interested in Jurkovec first or Slovis wanted out first. Either way, it’s the Pine-Richland graduate wearing blue and gold next year.
“He was in the portal prior to a defection and you have to have a plan,” Narduzzi said. “We had a strategy. We had our talks in the office with what our quarterback situation was like and what might happen. As soon as we know what direction, it didn’t take us long. We pulled the trigger on Phil and we are excited to have him.”
“Kedon is a great kid. I love him. He had to make a decision for himself and we were prepared if something would happen.”
They also added a Penn State transfer to bolster the room. The official signing for Christian Veilleux. He’s also a bigger quarterback at nearly 6’4”, 200 pounds but more of a pro style. He was a three-star recruit out of Canada a couple of years ago who also had offers from Clemson, LSU, Michigan, Tennessee, UCLA, West Virginia, Boston College and Pitt.
“Serious, serious guy,” Narduzzi said. “He’s locked in. We offered him out of high school (Cignetti also offered him at BC). Had him on campus a few times.”
“One of those guys you knew a lot about. Who he was. You already met with him. You didn’t have any questions about character. We did all that homework. It was an easy, easy (decision) we want that guy.”
The final one was a late add, another tall pro-style quarterback. Ty Dieffenbach from California who Narduzzi said also can play receiver. They wanted a third QB with Slovis, Nick Patti and Derek Kyler all moving on. The 6’5”, 190-pounder also had offers from Colorado (pre-Deion Sanders), UNLV and San Diego State.
High School Strong
Pitt signed 22 players, only three were transfers and Narduzzi said that’s the way he wants to run his program.
“I’m still the guy that wants to build our roster off high school players,” Narduzzi said Wednesday. “There’s better high school players for us to get I think people are dipping into the portal maybe too much. I think it could help you one year and kill you the next year.”
“We are going to recruit the best high school players we can. We are not going to settle for less. If we can find great young talent, I would rather develop those guys. I would rather them be in our culture. Sometimes if they are in a different culture and they are done in a different way? I want to develop our kids.”
He said he will then supplement with transfers.
Kids recruiting kids
Narduzzi said what he likes about Pitt’s recruiting, they are about building relationships. He believes that style still works and it’s proven in his class. He thanked his coaches and staff for their tireless work, but said a lot of the credit goes to the current players.
“That’s the key to recruiting, our kids and how they act when they come on campus,” Narduzzi said. “I can’t tell you how many players say ‘Coach, I felt like family right away’. It was instant. That’s how you get recruits here. We’ve got great people here.”