Game log · Week-by-week
2026 season · 2 games
| Wk | Opp | CMP/ATT | YDS | TD | INT | YPA | QBR | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | W 59-14vs Miami (OH) | 31/41 | 453 | 7 | 0 | 11.0 | — | Season-high 453 yds |
| Wk 2 | W 12-7vs UCF | 18/29 | 212 | 0 | 0 | 7.3 | 44.1 | |
| Total | 49/70 | 665 | 7 | 0 | 9.2 | 44.1 |
#6
Mason Heintschel
665 team passing yards leader — the number Mason Heintschel has built a role at Pittsburgh on.
6′2″ · 215 lb · Oregon, OH · Clay
CFB Index 47 · #76 of 146 QBsHigh confidenceWatch-list name (model)Returning to Pittsburgh for 2026
CFB Index
A single number blending on-field production (an EPA-based value lane) with box-score output for this player's position.
0-100, scaled within each position's own cohort — not directly comparable across positions.
The numbers
665
passing yards · 2026
7 TD · 0 INT · 9.5 per attempt
2 games into 2026 so far -- Backed by 453 yds · 7 TD -- top 0.1% passing TDs game.
The play that turned itSwung Pittsburgh from 16% to 66% to win.UCF at Pittsburgh · 12-7
His career numbers, season by seasonThe story
2 quarterback for Pittsburgh. 2026: 2 games with a box-score line.
- Signed as a 3-star recruit to Pittsburgh in 2025.
Aura™ · Him Watch
Underrated
-26aura tax
Fans rank this player in the 33rd percentile of QBs; the tape says
60th pctl our passing-value metric (wEPA) QBs · 160 qualified, n=30
— the tape outruns the hype.Aura — fan perception33rd pctl
Production — on-field60th pctl
n=30 mentions · cohort: QBs · 160 qualified · perception = conversation volume, production = our passing-value metric (wEPA)
Buzz vs Tape
Country hotter than the fans
The wider college football conversation reads him warmer than his own fans do — a gap of 54 points in belief.
16own fans
70national conversation
Mason Heintschel is the single greatest quarterback in the history of college football and nobody will convince me otherwise.
Also worth knowing:
In Their Words
297 windows · 2026 fan posts
mason×157.2pitt×93.2heintschel×284.6narduzzi×1120.6holstein×282.5closed×960.5tried×147.8pittsburgh×110.8
“Pitt’s Pat Narduzzi says Miami tried to lure QB Mason Heintschel into transfer portal”
reddit/CFB · fan post, verbatim
Mason Heintschel
Filling the Shoesas of 2026-09-15
Mason Heintschel is a cornerstone for Pittsburgh — measured against the line he joined.
665PASS YDS7PASS TD36RUSH YDS
TEAM PASSING YARDS LEADER
665
Team leader in passing yards (665).
Read the story so far
AI-generated narrative · may contain errors · not journalism · updated 2026-09-15
His career
He was winning awards before he was old enough to be a story.
202510 games
- Signed with Pittsburgh3-star out of Clay
- All-ACC
Career arc
HS
Recruit
★★★
CFB
College
Pittsburgh
NFL
NFL Draft
—
Badges
- Program Benchmark
2026 snapshot
Season context · Team result + system
2 seasons under Pat Narduzzi, all balanced offenses — 10-5 over that span.
2025Pittsburgh8-5HC: Pat Narduzzi · Balanced
2026Pittsburgh2-0HC: Pat Narduzzi · Balanced
Where this profile ranks vs the QB cohort
Box-score percentiles
High confidence
Elite: yards / att (92nd percentile). Strength: interceptions (92nd percentile). Concern: rush tds (19th percentile).
Box-score rates (7)
Percentiles versus same-position peers with enough snaps this season, based on box-score rates.
Passing profile
Pass Profile · True throw depth (charted plays)
Adjusted ANY/A, sack rate, and where the yards came from
71 of 70 attempts matched to play-by-play
68 of 71 attempts charted for true throw depth
Adjusted ANY/A
11.046 of 75 QBsSack rate
2.8%24 of 75 QBsRarely sacked (24 of 75 QBs) and still 6 of 75 in Adjusted ANY/A.
Adjusted ANY/A uses full-season box-score totals (attempts, yards, TDs, INTs); sack rate is play-by-play-derived.
Behind LOS · Negative air yds
3% of attempts (2)
100%comp
Air -3.0 · YAC 9.5 avg
Short · 0–9 air yds
57% of attempts (39)
72%comp
Air 4.2 · YAC 3.8 avg
Middle · 10–19 air yds
25% of attempts (17)
59%comp
Air 13.6 · YAC 2.3 avg
Deep · 20+ air yds
15% of attempts (10)
70%comp
Air 27.1 · YAC 5.1 avg
Overall 70.4% completion on 71 attempts · 70% completion on 10 deep attempts (20+ air yds).
Splits & context
Splits
Per-game splits
Through 2 games: 332 YDS/g, 3.5 TD/g, 9.2 YPA, 0.0 INT/g — splits start at 3 games.
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Pat Narduzzi
Scheme reads (pass share, tempo, sack rate) need at least 3 team games — 2 games in so far.
Awards
Player standing · 2026
Watch-list name (model)
Our Heisman model has him inside the top 25; he is not on a published award watch list yet.
Recognition
Roster2-deepStarterRecognizedEliteApex
2026 outlook
Outside shot for All-ACC
Based on 2025: #11 of 17 ACC QBs
How the All-ACC estimate is computed
22% estimated, 95% confidence interval 19–25%. Base rate measured from players who finished at a comparable rank in their conference and came back the next season. It is an estimate from a small sample, not a forecast of this player.
Career stats
| Season | Team | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Pittsburgh | 49 | 70 | 70.0% | 665 | 9.5 | 7 | 0 | 182.8 | 67 | -- | -- |
| 2025 | Pittsburgh | 201 | 316 | 63.6% | 2,357 | 7.5 | 16 | 8 | 137.9 | 40 | -- | -- |
| Career | 250 | 386 | 64.8% | 3,022 | 7.8 | 23 | 8 | 146.0 | 45 | -- | -- |
| Season | Team | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Pittsburgh | 12 | 36 | 3.0 | 0 | -- |
| 2025 | Pittsburgh | 86 | 88 | 1.0 | 2 | -- |
| Career | 98 | 124 | 1.3 | 2 | -- |
Signature game
SIGNATURE GAME · Week 2 · 2026
W 12–7
vs UCF
Signature plays
Signature plays · top plays by |EPA|
The plays that mattered most
- Week 1 · Miami (OH) · 1&10 · Q3 · EPA +4.10(13:33) No Huddle-Shotgun #6 M.Heintschel pass complete deep right to #3 C.Hicks caught at Miami25, for 53 yards to the Miami00 TOUCHDOWN, clock 13:26, 1ST DOWN #48 A.Chadha kick attempt good (H: #92 K.Tijerina, LS: #59 J.Schmidt)
- Week 1 · Miami (OH) · 3&4 · Q3 · EPA +3.84(07:46) Shotgun #6 M.Heintschel pass complete deep left to #10 C.Lee caught at Miami04, for 35 yards to the Miami00 TOUCHDOWN, clock 07:43, 1ST DOWN #48 A.Chadha kick attempt good (H: #92 K.Tijerina, LS: #59 J.Schmidt)
- Week 1 · Miami (OH) · 3&11 · Q1 · EPA +3.79(11:11) Shotgun #6 M.Heintschel pass complete deep left to #10 C.Lee caught at Miami25, for 31 yards to the Miami25 (#17 B.Minich), 1ST DOWN
- Week 1 · Miami (OH) · 1&10 · Q2 · EPA +3.48M. Heintschel pass to J. Turner for 45 yds, for a TD (A. Chadha KICK)
- Week 2 · UCF · 2&11 · Q1 · EPA +3.20(14:27) Shotgun #6 M.Heintschel pass complete deep right to #3 C.Hicks caught at Pitt30, for 41 yards to the Pitt48 (#4 B.Marshall), 1ST DOWN, PENALTY UCF Offside declined
- Week 1 · Miami (OH) · 2&8 · Q3 · EPA +3.07(05:28) Shotgun #6 M.Heintschel pass complete deep right to #4 B.Yates caught at Miami00, for 27 yards to the Miami00 TOUCHDOWN, clock 05:24, 1ST DOWN #48 A.Chadha kick attempt good (H: #92 K.Tijerina, LS: #59 J.Schmidt)
- Week 2 · UCF · 3&7 · Q4 · EPA +2.71(14:22) Shotgun #6 M.Heintschel pass complete short left to #10 C.Lee caught at UCF48, for 12 yards to the UCF48 (#18 C.Flagg), 1ST DOWN
- Week 2 · UCF · 3&7 · Q1 · EPA +2.67(03:27) Shotgun #6 M.Heintschel pass complete short middle to #4 B.Yates caught at UCF32, for 17 yards to the UCF32 (#1 J.Bellamy), 1ST DOWN
- Week 2 · UCF · 1&15 · Q3 · EPA +2.33(07:04) No Huddle-Shotgun #6 M.Heintschel pass complete short middle to #11 L.Wright caught at Pitt35, for 18 yards to the Pitt50 (#21 T.Bartrum), 1ST DOWN
- Week 1 · Miami (OH) · 2&2 · Q1 · EPA +2.22(10:06) Shotgun #6 M.Heintschel pass complete short middle to #7 M.Knight caught at Miami14, for 17 yards to the Miami00 TOUCHDOWN, clock 10:06, 1ST DOWN #48 A.Chadha kick attempt good (H: #92 K.Tijerina, LS: #59 J.Schmidt)
Game log
How he plays
Play style
Operates within the system without forcing anything.
CFB Index positional classification
2026 Outlook
Pittsburgh
2026 Depth chart
Projected starter
Quarterback · Pittsburgh
Returning around him
- 40% of 2024 offensive production back (Moderate turnover)
- 1 Pittsburgh player drafted to NFL
- Transfer portal: -5 net (16 in / 21 out)
2026 Award watch
No preseason watch lists yet (most drop June 15 – July 15)
Pittsburgh · Last season: 8-5 (AP #24) · Talent rank #64 · 2026 recruiting class #44
DNA match
Player DNA
Pocket Passer
Balanced passer who operates within the system, without one standout number carrying the profile.
QB
His 2025 production profile sits closest to Rocco Becht’s 2025 season.
Matches Rocco on
Total pass EPA (college ability)
Weight
Completion %
Differs from Rocco on
Class year (lower)
Through 2 college seasons, his career arc tracks closest to Alessio Milivojevic’s path through Michigan State.
Matches Alessio on
Height
Yards per attempt
Recruiting rating
As a freshman, his production profile tracks closest to Bear Bachmeier's freshman season at BYU (2025).
64%match
Matches Bear on
Yards / attempt
INT rate
Differs from Bear on
Rush yards / carry (lower)
Total pass EPA (college ability) (lower)
TD rate (higher)
Player DNA
Players who play like Mason Heintschel
Heisman trajectory
Heisman Trajectory · 2026
Peak #15
Peaked at #15 this season.
Background
2025: Enrolled at the University of Pittsburgh in January 2025 following his early graduation from Clay...Shaun Alexander Freshman of the Year Semifinalist, ACC Quarterback of the Week (Week 7) and two-time ACC Rookie of the Week in his eight starts as a true freshman...has completed 201-of-316 p...
Stats from CFBD · ESPN · fan discourse. Every figure computed from source tables — not invented. Methodology