Ben Dinucci, after being benched in favor of freshman Kenny Pickett, opted to transfer from the University of Pittsburgh today. Photo Credit: Brett Carlsen/Getty Images
Ben DiNucci has decided to take his talents outside of Oakland.
He will be leaving the program and enrolling in a new school on January 2nd, per his Twitter account.
pic.twitter.com/JF8dayJ4nO
— Ben DiNucci (@B_DiNucci3) December 14, 2017
Everyone should have seen this coming. DiNucci didn’t have much of a future in a Pitt uniform, and no one wants to be the backup quarterback to a guy who is younger than you are, and frankly, more talented.
DiNucci had a bit of a roller coaster ride this year. He went from being the solid backup, to starter, to backup again. A lot of emotions there for a young kid.
With Thomas MacVittie’s departure yesterday, this leaves Pitt with one quarterback at the moment – not ideal.
However, out of Max Browne, Ben DiNucci, Thomas MacVittie, and Kenny Pickett, who would you pick?
Kenny Pickett.
So it could be worse for Pitt fans.
I’m sure Pickett is starting to feel a little more pressure now that he knows he is the only guy on the roster currently.
But he also beat the #2 team in the nation, so maybe he has ice in veins and isn’t feeling any sort of pressure at all.
Nick Patti is a recruit coming in next year, so that’ll leave Pitt with at least two quarterbacks.
But you cannot have two quarterbacks on your roster. That just doesn’t work.
I don’t know if that means recruiting another quarterback or what, but you need another guy, for obvious reasons.
I think this sets Pitt back a little bit, to be honest. Recruiting is getting down to the wire, and it’ll be tough to get a quarterback to either change his mind or at least convince to come to Pitt and compete for a starting spot against Pickett.
With some JUCO QBs expected to visit — or have visited — over the coming weeks, things will shape up.
All in all, I’m glad DiNucci is transferring. He deserves to play somewhere. He’s talented enough to play at a lower-level than D1. He’s not a power-5 quarterback, but he’s talented enough to play on a college roster.
No one wants to be the guy coming off the bench.
Good luck, Ben.
Hail to Pitt.
The post Kiebler: DiNucci’s transfer from Pitt shouldn’t blindside anyone appeared first on Pittsburgh Sports Castle.
