Pitt QB Ben DiNucci announces he's transferring
If you're wondering what Pat Narduzzi plans to do about Pitt's disappearing depth chart at quarterback, he knew about the situation long before you did.
Shortly after the Miami game Nov. 24, the coach met with Ben DiNucci and Thomas MacVittie, both of whom announced plans to transfer within two days of each other this week. DiNucci made his plans public Thursday.
Narduzzi routinely conducts exit interviews, so these were not emergency or unexpected sessions. But they were important and life-changing.
The door was closed to Narduzzi's office and no one has revealed details of those conversations, but it's not difficult to assume what was said.
Kenny Pickett, a freshman who is Pitt's only scholarship quarterback, will be atop the depth chart during the spring, summer and fall of 2018. Only an injury or unanticipated poor play by Pickett would change that.
DiNucci and MacVittie came to Pitt with the intent of being patient freshmen but not to be inactive upperclassmen. They want to play, even if it means transferring to an FCS school.
Narduzzi never seemed comfortable or satisfied with DiNucci, who was a last-minute addition to the 2015 recruiting class when Alex Hornibrook, who had previously committed to Pitt, followed Paul Chryst to Wisconsin. If Chryst had stayed, Hornibrook, who started for No. 6 Wisconsin (12-1) this season, might be at Pitt and DiNucci would be at his original destination, Penn of the Ivy League.
After the 2016 season, Narduzzi recruited graduate transfer Max Browne because he didn't think DiNucci or Pickett were ready. Browne opened the season as the starter, but DiNucci replaced him in the starting lineup for the fourth game, at Georgia Tech. That was a significant move by Narduzzi because it sent Browne to the bench after he had traveled cross-country from USC to be Pitt's starting quarterback.
DiNucci, a Pine-Richland graduate, was yanked from the Georgia Tech game, a loss in which he was sacked twice, threw a touchdown pass and was not intercepted.
Browne played well the following week in a decisive victory against Rice. But when he was lost to a season-ending shoulder injury the next week at Syracuse, DiNucci got the call again. He started the next five games but was benched for the second time in the midst of the Virginia Tech game. Then, Miami and Pickett happened and everybody's destiny was set.
DiNucci finished the season as a backup, completing 88 of 158 attempts for 1,091 yards, five touchdowns and five interceptions.
" Ben DiNucci (@B_DiNucci6) December 14, 2017
Meanwhile, quarterback Nick Patti, a three-star prospect from Montvale, N.J., is expected to sign a letter of intent next week. Will he be entrusted as the No. 1 backup to Pickett?
If history is any guide — think Nathan Peterman and Browne — Narduzzi already is looking for a veteran transfer willing to sit behind a sophomore.
