'It's tough to get overlooked': Pitt and Mason Heintschel are ready to play spoiler - ESPN

PITTSBURGH — Pitt coach Pat Narduzzi walks across the field to get a closer look at his quarterbacks. On this open date practice the week before the Notre Dame game, the Panthers are not in full pads, but they are playing tempo offense like always.

He points out Mason Heintschel.

«Look at the urgency he has when he drops back,» Narduzzi said.

Every pass is delivered on time and on target, thrown with the authority of a veteran.

But Heintschel is far from a veteran. He is an 18-year-old true freshman with five career college starts. Heintschel also happens to be 5-0 and perhaps the player who will have the most influence on where Pitt's season goes.

No. 22 Pitt is 7-2 and has a chance to put a hammer to the College Football Playoff chances of their final three regular-season opponents while elevating their own, starting Saturday against No. 9 Notre Dame, with «College GameDay» in attendance. The Panthers will then face No. 16 Georgia Tech and No. 15 Miami with ACC championship hopes for all three teams on the line.

When Narduzzi made the decision to bench Eli Holstein after a 2-2 start and play Heintschel, he had no idea how things would go. He knew his team needed a jump start after two close losses to West Virginia and Louisville — both games in which Pitt blew double-digit leads.

«Who knows? We could be 0-5. We see a lot of guys practice good and not show up when the lights go on. He shows up when the lights go on,» Narduzzi said.

Pitt is one of the hottest teams in the country, thanks to an unlikely star from an unlikely place.

MASON HEINTSCHEL HAS an affinity for the now-famous Michael Jordan meme.

«I took that personally?» he asked with a smile. «I think about that all the time. That portrays me.»

For the bulk of