Pitt will be teeing off on a Wake Forest quarterback Saturday afternoon with just a handful of career snaps under his belt.
According to a report from ESPN’s Pete Thamel, Wake Forest incumbent starter Mitch Griffis is out this afternoon, and with backup Michael Kern already ruled out, Santino Marucci will make his first career start against Pitt.
It’s a major swing for a Demon Deacons offense that has had trouble scoring this season.
Marucci has taken just snaps in his college career — none this season and none in 2022. He took six snaps against Norfolk in 2021, not attempting a pass in his mop-up action.
Griffis — the opening day starter — was benched in the first half of Wake Forest’s loss to Virginia Tech last weekend, giving way to Kern in the first half, and Griffis was forced back into the lineup after Kern left with a shoulder injury.
Kerns was ruled out against Pitt this weekend, and now Griffis was considered questionable with an injury of his own, too. And now Santino Marucci is starting against Pitt. But no matter who it is, the Pitt defensive linemen and defensive backs have a massive opportunity.
Griffis has been bad this season, his 35.9 QBR ranking among the worst quarterbacks in college football (a few points lower than Phil Jurkovec’s own QBR, for reference), and he’s completed 100-of-169 pass attempts (59.2%) for 1,211 yards with nine touchdowns and six interceptions.
And his play has bottomed out against ACC competition, losing to Georgia Tech, Clemson and Virginia Tech. He’s completed just 40-of-72 pass attempts (55.6%) for 374 yards with one touchdown and three interceptions — hitting a low against the Hokies.
Marucci, of course, hasn’t attempted any passes this season — or in his collegiate career.
Wake Forest has been one of the poorer offenses in the ACC this season, as its cycled through Griffis and Kern, and it doesn’t likely that it will improve exponentially against Pitt.
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