Veilleux gaining comfort in Pitt's offense as training camp ramps up
Christian Veilleux entered the transfer portal in November after spending two seasons at Penn State. Veilleux had been a backup to Sean Clifford for two years and the writing was on the wall that the Nittany Lions would move forward with Drew Allar as the team’s next quarterback.
Veilleux was officially in the portal on November 29th and by December 22nd he was committed to Pitt. He made that decision well after it was known Phil Jurkoevec had also committed to Pitt to likely be the team's starting quarterback in 2023.
In essence, he left one program as a backup to join another in that same role. Veilleux saw the bigger picture, however. There is a path to him being the starter in 2024, and of course, he is one snap away from being the main guy this season.
“Pitt recruited me in high school, I obviously I had all the knowledge I needed about this place,” Veilleux told reporters after practice on Monday. “I think what sold me was Coach Frank Cignetti’s offense, Kenny Pickett being here two years before, and just where this offense could go. I saw what he did with Phil at BC and I saw the potential with what he could do with the guys that we have.”
The location did not hurt, either. Veilleux is originally from Ottawa and Pittsburgh’s urban setting certainly appealed to him as well.
“With Pitt being in Pittsburgh and coming from State College where there’s like nothing, it’s just a college town,” Veilleux said of his new home. “Now being in the city, like me and girlfriend just absolutely love the city. I’m super happy with my decision. I wouldn’t change it and wouldn't do anything different.”
Veilleux was around for spring ball and learned from that experience and, in his words, said he is ‘100 times’ better with knowing the offense. He also feels in the second week of fall camp that he has a much more deeper understanding and comfort level operating Pitt’s offensive scheme.
“In the spring I only had like two months to really learn the offense as much as I could, so there were definitely some gaps in what I knew,” Veilleux explained. “But after having the whole summer practicing with the team and just riding in the offense, I just feel so much more comfortable with getting the ball out early, making the right calls, I’m seeing it well. The coaches have just told me it looks more fluid when I’m out there.”
While some would look at it like a competition, Veilleux has embraced learning from an experienced player like Jurkoevec, and is using whatever he can take from the veteran quarterback who is entering his sixth year of college football.
“He’s a great teammate, everybody loves him, and everything has good things to say about him,” Veilleux said of the player he is slated to back up for this season. “From the quarterback room, we all look up to him because he’s an older guy. I like Phil as a teammate, a person, and as a player.”
Veilleux is an asset to the team, because he does have valuable in-game experience. He was pressed into action as a true freshman and led Penn State to a win over Rutgers in 2021 after throwing for 235 yards and three touchdowns.
Veilleux is certainly a safety valve should the Panthers need him this season. Nate Yarnell, who is competing with Veilleux for the No. 2 job, also has starting experience after he led Pitt to a win over Western Michigan in 2022. Those two, paired with Jurkovec, gives Pitt multiple options heading into this season.
“That quarterback room, and I think I may have started off Day 1 talking about how the quarterback room is in good shape right now, as good as its been since I got here,” Pitt head coach Pat Narduzzi said.