Pat Narduzzi On Who Will Start At Quarterback: 'You'll Probably Find Out On Gameday'
PITTSBURGH (93-7 The FAN) - As he gets ready for their upcoming game at Iowa, Pitt head coach Pat Narduzzi joined Starkey and Mueller to discuss which quarterback will be under center during their first possession.
Narduzzi said that whoever has the better week of practice leading up to the Iowa game will be the starter and was asked straight away, who has had the better week.
"They've both looked so good," Narduzzi said. "They've really had two good days today and I guess were going to need Thursday to figure it out. You'll probably find out on gameday, how about that?"
Narduzzi has said in the past that regardless of who starts, he'll look to get the other quarterback in the game at some point and was asked if he'll still do that if the starter comes out hot.
"Ya, I think we're gonna still do that," Narduzzi told us. "That's the plan because the second guy might come in and be hotter. How do you know? We want to give both those guys opportunities because I think they both bring something to the game."
Outside of the quarterback situation, Narduzzi also talked bout the news that came out last week that Penn State has no interest in extending their rivalry with Pitt beyond their current four-year deal.
"It's disappointing," Narduzzi said. "But you know what, we've got four years of them and maybe they'll change their mind after that, who knows? I never say it's out of the ballpark and it will never happen again because I think it will. I think it's inevitable that we'll keep that rivalry going."
Pitt and Penn State renew their rivalry starting in 2016 and one player that will likely be a part of that is running back James Conner.
Narduzzi talked about Conner's knee injury that will likely keep him out for the entire season and says he thinks it's in Conner's best interest to sit the year out and come back 100% healthy in 2016, but admits Conner may have other ideas.
"We talked long with the family and everybody else just to see first of all why you want to do this, and if he's got a good reason why, then we got to listen to our kids."
Narduzzi says his goal for Conner is to get him to be a first-round draft choice in the NFL and has a plan for Conner to make that happen.
"I really want James to be a first rounder whether it's this year or next year. I think he's going to need 11 games to be a first rounder. And that's our goal for all our players. He's got the ability to be a first round draft choice and what's best for him to be a first round draft choice? What can we do to make him a millionaire? And that's what I look at. It's not about those wins. For me, I'd love to have him back in five games. I'm not going to tell him he can't. If he comes back and says he wants to go, I'm gonna let him go, but I just don't think it's the best thing for him."
Click the audio link below to hear the entire interview.
