University of Pittsburgh Athletics
Pitt Football Position Preview: QBs, RBs and WRs
8/5/2026 10:00:00 AM | Football, General
With fall camp underway, it's time to get reacquainted with the players who'll be taking the field for Pitt this season.
Over the next several weeks, we'll break down each position group — who's back, who's new, and who fans should know heading into the season.
Quarterbacks
Mason Heintschel enters his sophomore season no longer a surprise — he's the guy.
After taking over as starter five games into his true freshman year, Heintschel finished 2025 having completed 201-of-316 passes for 2,354 yards and 16 touchdowns, adding two more scores on the ground.
This time around, the offense is being built with him in mind. Head coach Pat Narduzzi has talked about tailoring the scheme to Heintschel's strengths now that he's the unquestioned starter, and his teammates have pointed to his leadership as much as his arm heading into year two.
Behind him, redshirt senior Holden Geriner brings veteran depth to a QB room that's fairly young. Geriner spent 2025 at Texas State after three seasons at Auburn, appearing in eight games for the Tigers from 2022-24.
The QB room also welcomes two freshmen with big high school résumés.
Corey Dailey, a four-year starter at Seguin High School (Texas), left as the program's all-time leader in passing touchdowns, total touchdowns, completions, passing yards, and total yards; as a senior, the four-star prospect and No. 13 national QB threw for 2,921 yards and 22 scores.
Angelo Renda arrives after leading Southlake Carroll to back-to-back district titles and a 28-1 record as a starter, throwing for 8,197 yards and 86 touchdowns over his career.
Running Backs
Ja'Kyrian "Boosie" Turner enters the season as the unquestioned RB1, and his path there says a lot about him.
He started earning more carries as a true freshman once Desmond Reid began battling injuries, and by the end of the year he was Pitt's leading rusher. The signature moment came against Georgia Tech, where he rushed for 201 yards and a touchdown, becoming Pitt's first 200-yard rusher since Israel Abanikanda in 2022 and sweeping ACC Rookie and Running Back of the Week honors in the process.
Behind him, La'Vell Wright brings a veteran presence the room didn't have — a sixth-year back making his third college stop after Kentucky and Austin Peay. He arrives off a strong 2025 at Western Kentucky, where he led the Hilltoppers with 471 rushing yards and ten touchdowns on 85 carries, adding 10 catches for 88 yards out of the backfield.
Synkwan Smith adds a different kind of value as a versatile weapon who can line up as a receiver as well as a runner. At Roswell High School, he rushed for 551 yards and four touchdowns on just 85 carries while also hauling in 23 catches for 142 yards and four more scores — production that helped make him a top-100 prospect in Georgia.
Rounding out the room, freshmen Damon Ferguson and Jaylin Brown arrive as high-upside prospects — Ferguson a two-way high school standout from Baltimore, Brown a 1,000-yard rusher out of Florida — while Justin Cook, a transfer from East Stroudsburg, adds return experience to the mix.
Wide Receivers
Cataurus "Blue" Hicks is the only returning starter in the room, and he gave fans a taste of what's possible last season. He debuted against Duquesne and had a one-handed touchdown grab good enough for the No. 2 spot on SportsCenter's Top Plays. His 84-yard score from Mason Heintschel against NC State that still stands as the longest touchdown pass since Pitt moved into Acrisure Stadium.
He finished the year with 24 catches, 422 yards, and four touchdowns. With him and Heintschel both back, that connection is one of the more intriguing holdovers on offense.
Behind him, it's largely a sophomore class looking to establish itself alongside Heintschel — a group that's grown up together on the roster. Bryce Yates flashed big-play ability as a true freshman, highlighted by a 60-yard touchdown in his Pitt debut, the longest by a Pitt freshman since Jordan Addison. He played more snaps than any returning receiver besides Hicks. Tony Kinsler didn't see much offensive action beyond a special-teams role, but he turned heads in the spring, working with the first team and drawing praise throughout camp.
Redshirt senior Censere Lee is a name to watch if he can stay healthy. He showed real promise in 2025 with 19 catches for 254 yards and three touchdowns before a season-ending injury against Clemson. That injury carried into 2026 limiting him to just five catches across four games.
Malik Knight joins the room as a proven veteran, arriving from Western Carolina where he racked up over 1,100 career receiving yards; he turned in one of the most explosive spring performances on the team, hauling in two long touchdowns from Holden Geriner.
Depth-wise, redshirt freshman Cam Sapp earned praise this spring after redshirting last season, and freshman Dylan Wester is another name Narduzzi highlighted throughout the spring as someone who could push for early playing time.
