The Pitt starting quarterback situation has been finalized. On Thursday, head coach Pat Narduzzi confirmed to the media during his regular press briefing that redshirt freshman Eli Holstein will starting Saturday’s opener against Kent State, set for a noon kickoff at Acrisure Stadium.
“We’re going to start off with Eli Holstein to start the season at quarterback and then we’ll play it from there," Narduzzi said at his Thursday press briefing. "As I said earlier, both quarterbacks will play. We’ve got a lot of faith in both of them.”
Holstein, listed at 6-foot-4 and 225-pounds, is a native of Zachary, LA. He was a highly-regraded quarterback prospect, achieving four-star status in the class of 2023 according to Rivals. Holstein had a distinguished list of offers, but chose to play at Alabama over schools like Auburn, Florida, Georgia, LSU, Miami, Michigan State, Ohio State, Oregon, Penn State, Stanford, and many more.
In the 2023 season, Holstein did not see any action for the Crimson Tide and put his name in the transfer portal following the season. He was quickly linked to Pitt, made a visit, and committed to the Panthers on January 7th.
The former four-star recruit went through spring practice with the team and quickly entered a quarterback competition with Nate Yarnell and Christian Veilleux, a pair of juniors who started games for Pitt in the previous season.
Before, during, and even after spring ball, it felt like Yarnell had a grasp on the starting job. The 6-foot-6 play caller from Texas threw for 595 yards and four touchdowns in the 2023 season, and started the final two games of the year, and sort of carried that starter's label, despite Pitt switching to a new offensive coordinator in Kade Bell.
Following spring ball, Veilleux entered the transfer portal, thus leaving only Yarnell and Holstein for the job. It appeared Yarnell had the inside track. He represented the team at the ACC Kickoff in Charlotte and entered camp at the No. 1 spot, but Pitt head coach Pat Narduzzi made it clear from the first day of fall training camp back on July 31st, that there would be a competition between Yarnell and Holstein, and that held true.
This marked the third straight training camp Pitt has technically had a quarterback 'competition' though, it was clear Kedon Slovis would take the job in 2022, and Phil Jurkovec would do the same last year. In this case, it was more open, as Pitt will turn to a redshirt freshman over the incumbent who started the final two games of the season.
Throughout the process, the program played things close to the vest. Though over time, it did sound like Holstein was practicing at full health, which was not the case in spring, and it was making a noticeable difference, as his speed and athleticim was brought up several times during camp.
On Monday, Pitt released a depth chart with an ‘OR’ between the two quarterbacks names, suggesting that the team was not ready to divulge a starter. Narduzzi said it was the plan for both quarterbacks to play on Monday, and stated that again on Thursday, but for now the race at least looks like it is Holstein's to maintain.
