UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH FOOTBALL MEDIA CONFERENCE

September 5, 2026

Mason Heintschel

Press Conference

Pitt 59, Miami (OH) 14

Q. An ACC record seven touchdown passes. What's going through your mind after a game like that?

MASON HEINTSCHEL: Just proud of our guys. I think everybody did a really great job with their preparation, and yeah, we came out and executed. There were times where we were a little slow, had a couple drives that kind of stalled in the second quarter. But shout-out to the guys for bouncing back and kind of pushing through it. We got in a couple 3rd-and-longs and we didn't waver, and proud of those guys. They did a great job. Excited about that one. Ready for next week.

Q. How big is it that you spread it out? Seven different guys caught touchdowns. How big is it for their confidence?

MASON HEINTSCHEL: That's huge. That's never really by design, but I'm glad that we were able to kind of share the wealth throughout the day. I think we had at least eight different guys score touchdowns today. Can't complain with that. Proud of those guys, and like you said, big confidence booster for them, and that'll help us going into next week.

Q. I think throughout training camp we heard that you were playing at a really high level, connecting with the receivers well. How much did today look like what you guys were doing in training camp and how you were playing then?

MASON HEINTSCHEL: Yeah, there was a lot of things we were able to clean up throughout training camp. There were some things that we were a little rusty with. But I don't think that really showed today. Every once in a while made a little mistake, but we were able to correct those pretty well and just stay in good down and distance.

That was kind of the thing we harped on the most during fall camp was just being efficient offensively, not getting behind the sticks, not having self-inflicted wounds. One of the drives that we kind of stalled, we got a holding penalty and kind of got pushed back.

That's just the stuff that we kind of hurt ourselves. It's not that we let other people beat us. It's the self-inflicted wounds, so we've got to stay away from that. But we did a pretty good job of that today, so proud of those guys for sure.

Q. When you're up several scores in the second half and you guys are feeling it, it didn't seem like you were hunting for home runs; you're still working your progressions, hitting guys, taking what's there. How do you practice that mentally to stay in that moment and not let everything kind of go past you?

MASON HEINTSCHEL: Yeah, 100 percent. I think Coach Bell and I talk about that a lot, of just taking what the defense is giving us and just kind of being boring sometimes.

With what they were doing defensively, kind of playing that single high and playing really deep coverage, we were able to run the ball pretty well at times, and then having to check the ball down every once -- not every once in a while, but having to check the ball down a decent bit, just like we said, kind of taking what the defense is giving us and moving on to the next play, shots are going to be there, and we were fortunate enough to hit some of those.

Like I said, just trying to be efficient, trying to stay in down and distance. That's the mindset going into that. I thought we did a pretty good job of that today.

Q. What does a game like this really show in terms of depth from running back and wide receiver and even tight end?

MASON HEINTSCHEL: Yeah, I thought our guys were a little slept on coming into this year, and I think that'll help for sure. But I think those guys, it's big for them. It's big for them to -- we've got a lot of guys who aren't very proven yet, and I think we kind of just showed that today, and excited to do that the rest of the year.

Like I said, that's a big confidence booster for them, and we're going to take that into next week, and we're excited for that for sure.

Q. (No microphone.)

MASON HEINTSCHEL: Yeah, it was great. He works so hard and he's had such a good spring ball, great throughout summer workouts and through fall camp he was balling. Just to see him go up and make a play -- I didn't throw the greatest ball, but kind of just go get him a chance and let him win. We knew we were getting man coverage, so he did a great job of winning at the line, and put it up and let him go make a play, and that's exactly what he did. He's a special player for sure.

Q. Did you want to go for eight?

MASON HEINTSCHEL: No, there was a point in time where I didn't really know how many I had. But I'm excited for the other guys to really get some time. Holden is a really great player, so to allow him to go out and throw a couple balls, he did a great job operating out there, so very proud of him.

Obviously getting the young guys some reps too, that's crucial for us because you never know what's going to happen. You're always one play away. Anytime we can get them meaningful minutes, that's big time for us for sure.

Q. When you dropped that one right before the half, do you talk to him after that? Obviously he goes out and atones for that with the catch that he had. Can you take us through that?

MASON HEINTSCHEL: Yeah, I think it was just a tough play. Maybe could have thrown a better ball. But he's a player that he knows he can make that play, and yeah, he came up to me and apologized. I said, Dude, don't do that; just go make the next one. And that's exactly what he did. That was a phenomenal catch down the sideline catching that ball, but then also staying inbounds and going in and scoring, that's a freakish play.

The mental aspect of him being able to bounce back and go out and do it -- that was something that I told him, too. I went up to him on the sideline right before we went out and say, hey, I'm coming back to you; just because you dropped one ball does not mean I'm not going to throw it to you anymore. You're a great player; go out and make plays. And that's exactly what he did.

Q. You built up a lot of pressure in this game, but it seemed like you were able to keep managing it, keep your eyes down the field and keep working your progressions. What do you practice to make sure it's that clean in a game when the action is live and there's big guys coming at you?

MASON HEINTSCHEL: Yeah, I think that's just something we've been able to adapt to as an offense for sure. I thought the offensive line did a good job today, and there were just times where I held on to it a little bit too long and not taking what the defense was giving me and trying to extend it. I'll take the blame for that.

I think offensive line played really well. Very pleased with those guys. But I think our receivers do a great job of not giving up either. They know there are times where I'm going to get out of the pocket, and they just try and find me and find some space. Blue did a really good job of that today, and there were other guys, very proud of what they did.

I think offensive line played well. I don't think, at least from what I remember, I don't think there was as much pressure as I remember, but they did a great job, and very pleased with those guys for sure.

Q. You want touchdowns, but what's it do for your mindset to know you have a kicker that can hit from 58?

MASON HEINTSCHEL: I love Chadha. He's a great player, and I honestly didn't know that he had that in him. We'll watch them kick field goals sometimes during practice, and he's got a boot, but he's a special kid. I love Chadha. He's a little crazy too. After he hit it, he was kind of smacking his head and he was wigging out a little bit.

But that's exciting. He's a special player, and he's also a great guy too. He was always coming up to me on the sideline, coming up to us and just congratulating us, and that's a big feat for him. Excited for what he's doing to do this year.

Q. That connection with Malik over this off-season showed off right away in that first quarter.

MASON HEINTSCHEL: Yeah, Malik is a special player. He's a really special player, and I'm excited for him to be able to show that. I'm proud of him and the work that he's put in. I've known how good he was since he stepped on campus, us throwing in January and just the work and throughout spring ball and fall camp, all that kind of stuff. He's a special player. He can fly now.

I'm just glad that I was able to get him the ball in space and let him do the rest. That's kind of the epitome of our offense is letting our guys outside go to work, and he did a great job, so very proud of him for sure.