Young QBs Impressing in Pitt Spring Camp

Pitt Panthers head coach Pat Narduzzi was particularly enthusiastic about his offense during Tuesday's press conference.

After he rattled off standout plays by various skill position players in his opening remarks, a significant score came up later in his time at the podium.

"Julian (Dugger) had a 69-yard zone-read keep for a touchdown too. I forgot that. That was Saturday," Narduzzi said before answering an unrelated question (in a presser available on YouTube). "It was a heck of a play by Julian."

"He actually wasn't really wide open," Narduzzi clarified regarding Dugger's rushing path. "He made a couple guys miss, and he just can run. It doesn't look like he's running that fast at times, but he's got those long strides, and he glides. He glides. He can go."

In light of the head coach applauding his rising sophomore quarterback's rushing ability, Coach Narduzzi was asked whether this year's collection of passers are among the most athletic he's had during his time in Pittsburgh.

"There's no doubt about it that our quarterbacks can run," Narduzzi said. "Obviously, you guys know Eli can run. So, those are three athletic guys that can win with their feet in the pocket and also create in the run game."

As for Mason Heintschel who enrolled in January as a member of the 2025 recruiting class, the Ohio product continues to impress, proving maturity beyond his years.

"Mason has been really good," Narduzzi said. "(He's) getting mostly reps against the threes, but he got some (second string) snaps Saturday as well, just to rotate those guys in and get them looks with different receivers, different offensive linemen. But Mason's done as good a job as you can as a freshman quarterback right now."

Eli Holstein returns as Pitt's starting quarterback with a year of Kade Bell's offense under his belt.

All the while, it seems Dugger is prepared to lead the offense when called upon, and Heintschel may not be as far behind him as most would have expected heading into spring camp.