If necessary, 'mild-mannered' Pitt quarterback Nate Yarnell can show an angry side

You would never guess what burns inside Nate Yarnell by watching the video of Pitt’s quarterback calmly sitting at the piano, playing Beethoven’s “Moonlight Sonata.”

There’s another side of the 6-foot-6, 20-year-old Texan that, if triggered, could serve him well — as a football player, not a concert pianist.

Great composure, great composer. @NateYarnell orchestrated a great team win. Calm and cool earlier this morning too! 1-0 #WEnotME #H2P pic.twitter.com/YuXAc4vtD1

— Pat Narduzzi (@CoachDuzzPittFB) September 18, 2022

“He looks nice, mild-mannered,” coach Pat Narduzzi said. “I guess he’s angry inside. I don’t know.”

During a chat with reporters Monday, Narduzzi explained why Yarnell missed most of his 2020 senior season at Lake Travis High School in Austin, Texas, with a thumb injury.

“Got in a fight with a linebacker, broke his thumb,” Narduzzi said. “He’s tough, got leadership qualities. Let’s put it that way.”

Narduzzi didn’t reveal the rest of the story, but Lake Travis coach Hank Carter filled in the blanks Tuesday by phone from Austin.

Carter said the incident occurred during a 7-on-7 drill when Lake Travis was practicing in shells (smaller pads) on the third day of summer camp in 2020.

“A linebacker kind of (took) somewhat of a cheap shot on a receiver in a non-full contact drill,” Carter said. “Kind of caught him under his chin. The receiver was OK, but it was kind of a bad hit, certainly more physical than we should have been going then.

“Nate came to the aid of his receiver, and (he and the linebacker) ended up getting into a scuffle. After the fight was over, Nate’s finger was broken, fingernail ripped out of there.

“Poor Nate didn’t get to play until the very last game of the year. He wasn’t healthy then, but we wanted to get him in there.”

The incident didn’t do Yarnell or Lake Travis any favors, but it revealed something about the future Pitt quarterback.

“He’s not afraid at all,” Carter said. “He’s a very tough guy, and he will fight for his teammates.”

That’s only one reason Pitt recruited Yarnell. Narduzzi already had seen the strong arm and lean, athletic build while Yarnell was making six starts as a junior — all victories — throwing for 1,501 yards and 17 touchdowns and completing 68% of his passes. He shared the position that season with high school All-American Hudson Card (now at Texas).

College recruiters were paying attention, and some had offered him when he was a junior varsity quarterback. In the end, he had offers from eight schools, including Pitt, Houston and Utah, according to Rivals.com.

Yarnell missed most of his freshman season last year with an injury, and he hadn’t taken any snaps with Pitt’s first team until he stepped under center Saturday night in the victory against Western Michigan.

He threw only 12 passes, but completed nine, including a 19-yard strike to Konata Mumpfield on third-and-18 in the first quarter. It was his first pass as a collegian.

“I wasn’t surprised a bit,” said Carter, who has coached Lake Travis since 2008 and been part of five state championships, three as head coach.

“I thought if he got an opportunity to get in there, he was going to play well, to be honest with you. I hate to sound like a know-it-all, but I know he’s a heckuva player and I know he has a great (Pitt) coaching staff, too, that got him ready to play.

“It kind of went like we thought it would go. I’m incredibly proud of him. Not shocked. We’ve seen that type of thing before out of him. That boy can play.”

The second of four brothers, Yarnell wanted at an early age to hang out with the older kids, including his eldest brother, a fighter pilot in the U.S. Air Force. Perhaps that’s because there’s a standard set at Lake Travis, which has produced 11 Division I quarterbacks in a row, Heisman Trophy winner Baker Mayfield among them.

“I remember him coming in as a middle schooler and jumping into our film sessions,” Carter said. “(He said), ‘Hey, you mind if I sit in and listen?’ A lot of really good memories about that guy.”

Carter said what he remembers most is Yarnell’s “leadership, arm strength, decision-making … the way he commands the offense and gets the ball to his playmakers.”

“He’s a pocket passer. He’s not a run-around guy. But he’s athletic, and he’s fast and big.”

Despite a tall frame, Yarnell didn’t play basketball in high school, opting for football and lacrosse. He gave up the latter after his sophomore year.

“He was just a football gym rat after that,” Carter said.

Carter said he saw the video of Yarnell playing Beethoven the morning of the Western Michigan game, but even that didn’t surprise him.

“I would imagine playing music and sitting down there and doing that is pretty relaxing,” he said. “He’s talented in a lot of ways, super intelligent, thoughtful, just a really, really good dude.”