Pitt reportedly replacing Phil Jurkovec with Christian Veilleux as starting quarterback
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- When Pitt takes the field against Louisville next weekend, the team is expected to have a new quarterback under center.
Several reports, including one from our news partner at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette say that the team is replacing Phil Jurkovec as the team's starting quarterback with Christian Veilleux.
Veilleux, a redshirt sophomore transfer from Penn State took over for Jurkovec during the team's game against North Carolina when the Pine-Richland graduate left the game with an injury.
In that game against North Carolina last month, Veilleux completed 7 of 18 passes and threw two interceptions.
Jurkovec returned to his starting role in last week's game on the road against Virginia Tech, but the team still came up short, losing 38-21 to the Hokies in Blacksburg.
Through the first five games of the season, Jurkovec completed just half of his 112 pass attempts, throwing for six touchdowns and three interceptions.
Jurkovec, a redshirt senior, transferred to Pitt last year after three years at Boston College and two years at Notre Dame. His transfer to the Panthers brought him back to a familiar place -- home.
Heading into the season, Jurkovec called the opportunity to finish his career 20 miles from where he starred at Pine-Richland High School "a big percentage" of the reason he joined the Panthers.
While playing in the WPIAL at Pine-Richland, Jurkovec threw for more than 8,000 yards and over 70 touchdown passes, leading his Rams team to an undefeated 16-0 record, winning the WPIAL 6A and PIAA 6A championships and was named a U.S. Army All-American.
The Panthers are off this week and will return to action next Saturday when Louisville comes to town. Kickoff is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. at Acrisure Stadium.
