You may have heard a few different ways to pronounce Christian Veilleux’s last name at this point, but the new starting quarterback wants it pronounced a certain way.
“The way I want it pronounced is Christian Vay-air,” he said Wednesday at a weekly media session — his first as the Pitt starting quarterback.
His last name will be said a lot Saturday night as the Panthers host No. 14 Louisville, coming off the bye week in the hopes of quelling a four-game losing skid and figuring out whether Veilleux is capable of being the quarterback of the future in Pittsburgh.
He came in cold late in the first half against North Carolina a few weeks ago, completing a 15-yard pass to Daejon Reynolds to set up a (missed) 58-yard field goal. But he struggled in the second half, completing 6-of-17 pass attempts for 70 yards and two interceptions — with a fumble. But Narduzzi, as has been the case with Jurkovec, said it wasn’t all on the quarterback.
“Did he do a good job? I think he was good,” Narduzzi said earlier this month. “Like I said, it’s the guys around you. Again, we got three turnovers, and anytime you see that, you’re going to say no. We had two the week before, and it’s not good. Whatever the reason is, we’ve got to get it fixed.
“Again, like I said, those two drives, your quarterback gets hurt, you’ve got to look at our second-team quarterback in Christian right now, and after further review, you look at the quarterback play, the three turnovers there, it’s not all on him.”
“Had three turnovers that game, I take full responsibility for those turnovers and it was a good learning experience — getting that game action out of the way and now being able to prepare as a starter,” Veilleux said.
Veilleux came in off the bench, hadn’t repped with the No. 1 offense and clearly was unprepared to deal with the North Carolina defense — as was the Pitt offensive line. But with nearly a full week to prepare as the Panthers’ starting quarterback, taking reps with the 1s in practice and spending additional time after the wide receivers after practice, he’s ready to go out and execute.
“Football is a game of execution, coach Cignetti says it all the time, our plan is good, our players are good, coaching is good, we just gotta execute,” Veilleux said. “At the end of the day, if we’re not executing, no matter what team you’re playing for, you’re not gonna win football games. We just gotta go execute, believe in our plan, believe in our own ability and I think that’s gonna make a huge difference this weekend.”
The coaching staff informed Veilleux of the decision to bench Phil Jurkovec for Veilleux during the bye week, which Veilleux said was a lowkey, professional process, and it’s simply been business as usual since.
Jurkovec has continued to serve as a resource for Veilleux — as he has all season — and the bye week was a good time for the transition from the sixth-year senior to the third-year sophomore.
“I will say having the bye week to prepare another week definitely helps, definitely thankful I get that extra week to prepare,” Veilleux said. “I think it was good having the bye week helping me get comfortable and situated with everything.”
Veilleux doesn’t have a wealth of experience, just one pseudo-start under his belt — taking over for a sick Sean Clifford against Rutgers. Clifford started the game 2-of-8, giving way to Veilleux just before the end of the first quarter, and he responded by leading the Nittany Lions to a 28-0 win.
In just over three quarters, he completed 14-of-25 pass attempts for 235 yards and three touchdowns — throwing touchdown passes to three different receivers, including his first collegiate touchdown to now-NFL star Jahan Dotson.
He’s completed 12-of-27 pass attempts (44.4%) this season, for 145 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions, but the bulk of that work came in a tough situation against UNC last month. Narduzzi — and many around the Pitt facility — are excited to see what he can do in a better situation.
And Veilleux, who said that his best attribute is being able to get the ball out of his hand quickly, has worked diligently in the film room to be able to understand the Pitt offense and its opponents.
“I take notes on my iPad, so right now I have a big folder of about 24 pages just listing coverage percentages, every coverage look, every statistical coverage based off formation, third down and distances, red zone, yardage so I have screenshots of formations and coverages and I tie that into watching film,” Veilleux said. “And I take our ready kist and I just read that off and I just match it based on my notes.”
“Christian has got a great release,” Pat Narduzzi said Monday at his weekly news conference. “You’ve seen a little bit of him play this year so far. He’s got a great quick release. He throws a great ball. He can sling it around. He’s athletic, and he’s fired up. So I think he wants to have his opportunity, and we’re going to find out what he looks like Saturday night.”
It’s — potentially — a new era of Pitt football with Veilleux under center, and he doesn’t want do anything but be himself in leading the Panthers forward this season.
“I don’t want to answer that question by making it sound like I can do things better than what Phil was doing, I think I just bring my own personality and my own leadership style to the offense, whether that’s beneficial or not, we’ll find out, but I definitely think I can help this team as being the starting quarterback,” Veilleux said.
Leadership, in his eyes, is building personal relationships with his teammates on the offense and understanding how the best function as a leader in their eyes. It’s understanding personalities and the Pitt offense equally.
It’s easier said than done, but Veilleux — who transferred from Penn State in January, of course — has grown to love the city, the team and where he is in Pittsburgh.
“I love this place, I love this team, I love these coaches,” Veilleux said. “So super happy.”
Okay, well It’s hard to argue any quarterback has been worse than Jerkovec this season in D1, D2, and D3. He was painful to watch!
Super article – Happy to see a new QB!