Former Auburn quarterback Holden Geriner is now Pitt's full-time starting quarterback until further notice.
Per ESPN's Pete Thamel, "Pitt QB Mason Heintschel has torn his ACL and will miss the remainder of the season. He got injured in the win over Virginia Tech on Friday."
Mason Heintshel went down in the Panthers' 35-33 win over Virginia Tech on Friday night during the third quarter. Geriner completed eight of 12 pass attempts for 78 yards, including a touchdown pass in the fourth quarter to go up 35-24 and ultimately seal the deal in a heroic relief effort.
In a dark twist, Pitt receivers coach JJ Laster actually described what the offense calls for, which happened to be the very thing that got Heintschel injured: not giving up on plays and trying to fight for extra yardage while scrambling.
“We always tell our guys, ‘Scramble, get around, get your eyes around and don’t give up on plays, because you just never know when it’s gonna be that one play that can help change the game for us.’ And that’s what we’re trying to do. We’re trying to be game-changers, going out there to change the game," Laster said.
Panthers head coach Pat Narduzzi brought the mood up after the shocking win, which came as a result of a missed Hokies kick as time expired. Narduzzi demanded respect from the AP voters following his team's 5-0 start.
“Wow. We’ve got a helluva football team,” Narduzzi said. “Now any of those voters out there, if they wake their asses up, they might figure that out. And I’ll tell you what, we beat a damn good football team in Virginia Tech.”
Holden Geriner now in a role he never expected at Pitt
Geriner said that playing with Pitt's quarterback room, most notably Heintschel, was the inspiration for choosing to finish his career in the Steel City.
Now, he has a totally different mission. He could still mentor others, but Geriner has to actively lead the team after Heintschel's ACL tear.
Geriner was the one who kept the offense on schedule and kept his teammates engaged.
Now he just needs to follow that up every week.
The schedule is fairly light the rest of the way, and North Carolina and Boston College are light challenges over the next two weekends. Still, Miami and Louisville are substantial challenges. Losing both of those games might take the Panthers out of the CFP race.
Geriner is likely happy he's in the CFP race as a starter at all, though.
Holden Geriner's SEC experience could be an asset to Pitt
Geriner competed against TJ Finley and Robby Ashford in Bryan Harsin's quarterback room in 2022, then played with Payton Thorne in 2023 and 2024 under Hugh Freeze.
Every day in practice on the Plains, Geriner battled SEC-caliber depth. The Tigers' defense was vaunted in 2024, in particular.
That experience is more valuable than his year at Texas State. That goes without saying.
Narduzzi is likely happy he has a three-year SEC quarterback right now as Pitt's CFP hopes remain alive, even if the Panthers took a major hit with Heintschel's injury.
Add us as a preferred source on Google