Nate Yarnell, Bub Means hope to grow their unspoken bond when Pitt concludes season at Duke
Share this post:
Nate Yarnell and Bub Means grew up 815 miles apart.
Yarnell is a piano-playing sophomore from Austin, Texas, who has patiently, quietly waited his turn as Pitt’s quarterback carousel kept spinning.
Means, a senior wide receiver, is a 100-mph talker from Lovejoy, Ga., whose legs move fast too, and who likes to call Yarnell “my dog, my quarterback.”
Even though they have played together as starters in only two games in separate seasons.
Somehow, Means said, they have created this unspoken bond between each other in which it only takes a quick glance from Yarnell to alert Means that the football is coming his way.
“We have a little chemistry,” Means said, “so when we go out there and we see somebody we feel like we can take advantage of or make a play on, we most definitely will give each other a look.
“We go over it in practice all the time. Whenever he gives me a look, `Hey, it’s you. I’m coming to you.’ I’m going to try and win my one-on-one regardless, but that’s really when I’m in my bag. `OK, I know he’s coming to me. I have to win.’
”No words. He looks. It’s time to go to work.”
It worked last Thursday night when they connected on three passes for 78 yards, including a 61-yard touchdown, a play that started with Yarnell faking a throw in one direction and delivering it in another.
“I can’t do nothing but thank him,” Means said. “I try to make sure that my dog, my quarterback, he knows I have his back and if he throws it this way, I’m going to make the play.”
Means caught passes from three quarterbacks this season, seven for 146 yards and a touchdown from Phil Jurkovec and 25 for 412 yards and three scores from Christian Veilleux.
Now, it’s Yarnell’s turn, and the Duke game on Saturday — Pitt’s season finale — will be his second start of the season, third of his career.
“It’s been an adventure, for sure,” Means said. “All of them bring a different skill set to the table. I feel like we could have made plays with all of them. I don’t care who’s out there.”
Is the Duke game another audition for Yarnell?
Is it an opportunity to tell coach Pat Narduzzi that Pitt’s quarterback room will be so well-stocked with capable players next year, including Veilleux and freshman Ty Dieffenbach, that he doesn’t need to look into the transfer portal?
Those are questions only Narduzzi can answer, and he’s waiting to see if Yarnell handles himself as well in Durham, N.C., as he did last week at Acrisure Stadium.
Meanwhile, Yarnell is enjoying the opportunity.
“We have fun playing football,” he said. “I think that’s important. It’s the culture Pitt has. We’re a football school and we love it. Even when we’re losing, we still have an opportunity to come out next week and play.”
Yarnell said one of his strengths is his abiility to “feel the game.”
“Throughout the game, I can see what’s working well, what’s not and kind of adapt,” he said.
Yarnell started at Western Michigan last season when Kedon Slovis and Nick Patti were injured and led Pitt to a 34-13 victory while throwing only 12 passes (nine complete for 179 yards and a touchdown to Konata Mumpfield).
Offensive coordinator Frank Cignetti Jr. expanded Yarnell’s use of the playbook last Thursday, and he completed 11 of 19 for 207 yards. “I know Cignetti trusts me with the full game plan,” he said.
Yarnell also has been the quarterback when Pitt’s ground game was working at full efficiency. Izzy Abanikanda ran for 133 yards on 31 carries at Western Michigan. Rodney Hammond gained 145 on 15 Thursday.
He also found tight ends Karter Johnson and Malcolm Epps for three catches for 60 yards, a bonanza for guys at that position. With Gavin Bartholomew out with an injury, Johnson and Epps might continue to be a part of the game plan at Duke. Epps was the third read on his 24-yard reception, and Yarnell patiently waited for the play to develop.
“Everybody was chasing Bub. I saw the whole defense flowing right,” he said. “I knew if I got back, there would be no one there to cover Malcolm.”
How is he able to think clearly at such a young age (21) with defensive linemen climbing over offensive linemen to get to him?
“You just have to rely on your training,” he said. “When you’re playing, you don’t even think about it, you just do it.”
Maybe there’s something to be said for how Yarnell clears his mind before games. Prior to both of his starts, he’s found a piano in the team hotel, sat down and played. He said he’s been playing since seventh grade “just for fun.”
”I’m not super good, but I enjoy playing,” he said. “I think it’s just something I do a lot in my free time. It’s something easy to take my mind off the game.”