Pitt QB Heintschel out for season with torn ACL — SkimNews
Get the Sports newsletter
Daily sports — scores, transfers, the storylines from the leagues you actually follow. Free.
- Mason Heintschel tore his ACL and is out for the season, the team announced Saturday, after taking a hit from Virginia Tech cornerback Cam Chadwick on the sideline during the third quarter of Friday night's 35-33 win.
- Heintschel entered the game tied for the ACC lead with 14 touchdown passes and finishes his Pitt career with 3,658 yards, 30 TDs, and a 64.4% completion rate across 15 games (11-3 as a starter).
- Holden Geriner relieved Heintschel and engineered Pitt's comeback from a 24-21 deficit, going 8-for-12 for 78 yards with one touchdown and no interceptions in the second half.
- Geriner, a fifth-year player who came to Pitt from Auburn via Texas State, will make his first college start next week against North Carolina.
- Pitt improved to 5-0 and sits on the cusp of being ranked, with coach Narduzzi publicly calling on pollsters to recognize the Panthers after the Virginia Tech win.
- Pat Narduzzi said the program is 'heartbroken for Mason' but praised Heintschel's resilience and said his leadership and ability to help coach up quarterbacks will remain important.
Why it matters: Pitt loses a 14-TD sophomore who had vaulted them into a 5-0 start — and possibly a ranking — just as the schedule gets serious. The Panthers' ACC hopes now rest on Geriner, a fifth-year journeyman making his first college start, against a North Carolina team next week.
Ask SkimNews
