Pitt Has Found a New QB1 in Freshman Mason Heintschel

Heintschel Gets the Start

Head coach Pat Narduzzi was never going to start the season with a true freshman over Holstein. However, Heintschel turned heads in the spring and summer. Holstein has struggled this season, throwing interceptions in the red zone in three of the four games he started. Holstein really struggled at West Virginia (2-4, 0-3 Big 12) and at home against Louisville (4-1, 1-1), which led to the change at QB.

Heintschel, a 6-foot-2, 215-pounder from Oregon, Ohio, became the first Pitt true freshman to start at QB since Kenny Pickett in 2019. The freshman executed offensive coordinator Kade Bell’s offense tremendously. Heintschel finished by completing 73.2 percent of his passes for 323 yards with 4 TDs and no INTs in a 48-7 win against Boston College (1-4, 0-3) on Oct. 4. The freshman also rushed 10 times for 28 yards.

When you have a true freshman playing QB, there is always some apprehension from the coaching staff about how much of the offense to use. It seems like Bell didn’t have any restrictions, and Heintschel showed the coaches that he has command of this offense.

Narduzzi’s New QB1

In his postgame press conference, Narduzzi was asked about what he saw from Heintschel throughout the summer and the start of the season to choose Heintschel. Narduzzi mentioned that each week, Heintschel got better and more confident in what was needed to run the offense.

“Mason, again, week by week, you saw improvement with limited reps,” Narduzzi said. “You saw him getting the ball out of his hand and knowing where to go with it. He prepared his tail off. I think he was in the office at 8:00 Monday and was there until 6:30. I don’t know if he went to any classes but he knew what when he was doing out there, and he was prepared. I appreciate that.”

One of Heintschel’s best throws of the game ended up being negated by a holding penalty. Late in the first quarter, Pitt had the ball on the Boston College 37-yard line. Heintschel took the snap, bounced twice and threw a perfect rainbow of a pass to WR Blue Hicks, who caught the ball just inside the end zone for the apparent touchdown. That was a throw not expected by a true freshman.

The confidence Heintschel played with showed throughout the game, but was most evident in one of his stat lines. Heintschel had not one but two stretches in the game where he completed 10 straight passes without an incompletion. In both stretches, Heintschel’s completions ranged from 2 yards to 21 yards and accounted for three of his four TDs.

Next for Heintschel: at Florida State

Getting the start was difficult, having the performance he did against Boston College was even more difficult. Now comes the grind for Heintschel and Bell. Can the true freshman handle the pressure of being the starting QB of a Power Four program? Pitt’s next game: at Florida State (3-2, 0-2), who is coming off a loss to rival No. Miami (5-0, 1-0).

There is film for Florida State defensive coordinator Tony White to see what Heintschel’s tendencies are and put together a game plan to confuse the freshman. This will also be the loudest environment Heintschel has ever played in. It’s Bell and Narduzzi’s job to make sure they prepare Heintschel as best they can for what he’ll face in Tallahassee, Fla. If the Boston College game is any indication, Heintschel is as ready as anybody ever could be to lead Pitt to a road win at Florida State.