There’s nothing like a good, juicy quarterback controversy to add spice to a drab 1-3 start to the season.

Except, none exists at Pitt, only a question about the health of Phil Jurkovec, who missed the second half of the loss to North Carolina on Saturday night with an unspecified injury after taking a high hit from Tar Heels cornerback Tayon Holloway.

“Phil is our starting quarterback. Let’s start there,” coach Pat Narduzzi said. “Then, we’ll see where we are.”

Injuries are becoming an issue, and not just at quarterback. Offensive left tackle Matt Goncalves had surgery Monday on an unspecified injury and is lost for the season, Narduzzi said. This will be the second time in two seasons Pitt’s starting left tackle will miss most of the season. Carter Warren played in only four games last year.

Looking at the injury list, center Jake Kradel and outside linebacker Bangally Kamara did not play against North Carolina. Running back Rodney Hammond was injured in the fourth quarter and did not return.

Jurkovec was replaced Saturday by redshirt sophomore Christian Veilleux, who threw two interceptions, lost a fumble and couldn’t get the offense across the goal line during the second half of Pitt’s 41-24 loss.

Narduzzi said he has “no idea” if Veilleux will start Saturday night against Virginia Tech (1-3, 0-0 ACC).

Asked if the quarterbacks will share first-team reps at practice this week, he replied, “I don’t know.”

Attempting to translate those remarks can lead in different directions, but it’s likely Narduzzi wants to see how well Jurkovec practices — if at all — before deciding if it’s safe or prudent to put him in the face of a pass rush.

No need to make a commitment five days before the game.

Narduzzi said he isn’t trying to be secretive about the identity of his starting quarterback. In the end, he said it doesn’t matter if Virginia Tech coach Brent Pry knows or not.

“All three of our quarterbacks (including Nate Yarnell) are capable of zone-read keeps and doing all that stuff we’re going to do as far as running the ball,” he said. “It would be different if they were three different animals.

“Sometimes, you just don’t know,” Narduzzi said. “It’s only Monday. Maybe Thursday I’ll have a better idea for you. Still might not tell you,” he said, smiling, “but I’ll know more by Thursday, for sure.”

Narduzzi said Veilleux, a transfer from Penn State, “absolutely” was prepared to play Saturday.

“And Nate Yarnell is, too.”

Veilleux completed 7 of 18 passes against North Carolina, but Narduzzi said there is plenty of blame for all 11 players on offense.

A big point of consideration is the state of the “makeshift” — Narduzzi’s word— offensive line.

“It’s not all on (Veilleux),” Narduzzi said.

He said the first interception could have been avoided if freshman wide receiver Kenny Johnson had kept running toward the goal line.

“As fast as Kenny ran that (100-yard) kickoff return, he wasn’t running (that way on) that route,” Narduzzi said. “He slowed down, didn’t see the ball, didn’t think he was going to get it. The (defensive back) is right with him. If Kenny, with his speed, bursts up and gets it, that’s a touchdown for us.

“Christian is getting hit in the mouth. He did a heckuva job getting it off. The protection on that play was not good at all.”

If Jurkovec can’t play, Narduzzi said the first opportunity will go to Veilleux.

“Christian will be the guy, if that’s the case, and Nate will be ready to roll,” the coach said. “There’s a lot of faith in Nate Yarnell. I can tell you that. He’s a competitor, and he’s a leader.

“You have to give Christian his chance to go get it done. I have a lot of faith in him, too.”

Yarnell, who led Pitt to a victory against Western Michigan last year by completing 9 of 12 passes for 179 yards and a touchdown, is eager to get back on the field in any capacity, Narduzzi said.

“I love this kid. He said, ‘Coach, I want to go down on the scout field and help out the defense (in practice).’ You’re talking about a team guy. But like I said to him, ‘We need you down here.’ He said, ‘Coach, I know what I’m doing. I’m ready to go.’

“And, again, he is. He’s proved that. He sits in there and soaks information up in meetings. He knows what’s going on. So I feel really good.

“Now, I feel better about him than anybody knowing what to do because he’s done it before. You’ve got that evidence when we pulled him up last year at Western Michigan. He wasn’t sitting there going, ‘I ain’t going to play. I ain’t going to pay attention and not take notes.’ Nate Yarnell was taking notes and he was ready, and that’s impressive.

“Would he have been prepared to go in there (Saturday)? No. He’ll be more prepared this week.”

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