Paul Chryst did the expected Wednesday and officially named Savage Pitt 's starting quarterback for the Panthers' season opener against Florida State, per the Associated Press. The game is set for Labor Day evening and will mark Pitt's ACC debut.
The action will be the much-traveled Savage's first since his sophomore season at Rutgers. After winning the starting job and earning freshman All-American honors in 2009, Savage was injured in 2010 and slipped down the Scarlet Knights' depth chart. He first transferred to Arizona and sat out 2011, only to see pass-friendly head coach Mike Stoops replaced by the spread-option looks of Rich Rodriguez.
Savage then transferred to Pitt, gambling that the Panthers would be able to complete their move to the ACC in time for the 2013 season. (An old-Big East-now-AAC rule stated that players may not play for two different teams in the league.) He sat out 2012 waiting for his chance, then took it in spring camp, edging past redshirt freshman Chad Voytik as the favorite despite a big performance from Voytik in the spring game.
Savage passed for 2,211 yards with 14 touchdowns as a freshman back in 2009. The Panthers will likely need Savage to rediscover that kind of form -- or something better -- if they plan on upsetting the Seminoles or making any serious noise in the ACC Coastal.
