(Credit for Photo and Caption for Photo: ATLANTA, GA – NOVEMBER 22: Pittsburgh quarterback Mason Heintschel (6) throws a pass during the college football game between the Pittsburgh Panthers and the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets on November 22nd, 2025 at Bobby Dodd Stadium in Atlanta, GA. (Photo by Rich von Biberstein/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) SOURCE: Rich von Biberstein/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News

(Pittsburgh, PA) Pitt quarterback Mason Heintschel announced on social media yesterday that he will return to Pitt for his sophomore season of college football. During the 2025 season, Heintschel passed for 2,354 yards and sixteen touchdowns with eight interceptions in ten games. Heintschel became a freshman phenomenon ever since head coach Pat Narduzzi benched quarterback Eli Holstein on October 4th, 2025 in their game that afternoon against Boston College and Heintschel led Pitt to a 48-7 victory. Holstein also announced recently that he will be transferring to the University of Virginia, one of Pitt’s rivals in the Atlantic Coast Conference. However, Pitt will not be playing Virginia in the 2026 college football season.