Pitt Gives New QB Eli Holstein Chance to Make His Family Proud

It was a true winter wonderland for the Holstein kids, but then again, even a few flurries would’ve mystified them. Eli and Mary Grace walked out onto the outdoor field at the UPMC Rooney Sports Complex during Eli’s official visit to Pittsburgh earlier this month, and it was the first time the kids from Louisiana had ever seen the snow.

So, they did what anyone would upon seeing snow for the first time: played in it. Eli is the quarterback in the family (or at least, one of them), standing at 6-foot-4, 240 pounds, but it was Mary Grace who was showing off the arm talent.

“Me and my little sister, we got to take a picture in the snow, and that was our first time playing in the snow,” Holstein said Wednesday at the UPMC Rooney Sports Complex. “She got to throw a lot of snowballs at me, got to throw it at my dad, hit his back a couple of times and had a lot of fun. That was our first ever in the snow.”

And he was able to experience it all — snow and all — with his family, which was a dream come true.

Time to get to work!!!! #H2P pic.twitter.com/aF0IRPabzK

— Eli Holstein (@eli_holstein10) January 7, 2024

The Holstein family made it out to Pittsburgh for an official visit just a day after Eli hit the transfer portal, and when they all flew home Sunday, Eli was a Pitt Panther. The former Alabama quarterback and top-ranked recruit in the class of 2023 was looking for a chance at a fresh start, even though it meant leaving his family back at home, and he found it in Pittsburgh.

“It’s been a great opportunity since I’ve gotten here,” Holstein said. “Definitely interesting things are happening back in Alabama right now with coach (Nick) Saban retiring, but coming up here to Pitt has been a great opportunity, meeting a bunch of great people, getting a new fresh start in a great offense with coach (Kade) Bell.”

He’s appreciative of his time at Alabama, and all that he learned working for Saban and offensive coordinator Tommy Rees, but he felt like he reached the end of the road at ‘Bama when it came to his own individual race. He wasn’t growing in the ways he wanted to, so he looked for a new opportunity.

Pittsburgh offered the perfect situation. It felt almost like the official visit was just a formality for Holstein to come check out his new home before officially committing.

“Just the great culture that Jake (Overman) was talking about, not only in the locker room or in the facility but in the city of Pittsburgh,” Holstein said. “I’ve had some family members that lived in Pittsburgh and all they’ve talked about is how great the people are in Pittsburgh. And how the culture is kinda similar to the south. Everyone is inviting, everyone wants to help each other and put others before themselves and that’s something that really interested me.

“And looking into the offense was something I wanted to do, what the quarterbacks have done in coach Bell’s offense, they’re throwing it 30-40 times per game, they’ve got 300 passing yards but they’re running the ball themselves and that’s something I wanted to do. They score and they score so that sounds pretty good as a quarterback.”

Of course, he still has to come in and compete with Nate Yarnell and Christian Veilleux when it comes to getting onto the football field. Holstein has been spending a lot of time throwing with the running backs, wide receivers and tight ends, getting work with just about every body, and he’s quickly working to learn Bell’s new offense.

Pat Narduzzi has tabbed Yarnell as the clear-cut No. 1 quarterback entering the spring, and it’s an assessment that Holstein agreed with. He’s the new guy. He just wants to come in and learn as much as possible.

“I just got here, so (Yarnell and Veilleux) are definitely going to be in front of me because they obviously have playing experience, so I’m just gonna come in here, grow as much as I can, learn as much as I can because there’s a lot of things I want to work on in my game,” Holstein said. “I feel like coach Bell, coach Narduzzi and everybody can help me in that aspect, so I’m just gonna learn as much as possible and work on perfecting my game.”

He obviously played a lot at Zachary High, which wasn’t all that long ago, and he served as the scout team quarterback at Alabama last season. Both offenses were balanced. He’s thrown maybe 30 passes in a football game before? He expects Pitt quarterback to make a lot of throws, maybe even 30-40 per game, so it’s a work in progress.

It doesn’t hurt that Holstein competed against the Alabama first-team defense in practice last season, his self-proclaimed best defense in college football, but he still needs reps. He can get them at Pitt this spring.

The work is already starting, throwing constantly with the pass catchers and running backs, and the whole offense is starting to go over the mini-packet of Bell’s new offense. The real learning, the installation of the offense, will come during the spring. He wants to speed up his footwork and work toward releasing the football more quickly before that.

Holstein likes to run the football, as he did a lot at Zachary, and fortunately for him, that’s what will be expected of him under Bell — encouraged even. If you don’t see what you like, Bell told him, you can take off and make a play with your legs. There will be zone reads, too, which Holstein also did a lot of in high school.

Proud Pitt Men giving back today‼️

Thanks for your hard work and service in participating at a local youth 🏈 clinic 👏@jake_frantl @nate_temple6 @NahkiJohnson @VeilleuxQB11 @peter_vardzel @eli_holstein10 @NateYarnell #H2P #WeNotMe pic.twitter.com/Gu8CRxUE8w

— Pat Narduzzi (@CoachDuzzPittFB) January 13, 2024

He was one of the top quarterbacks in the class of 2023, flipping from Texas A&M to Alabama in the summer of 2022. As a consensus four-star recruit, he was rated as the 88th-ranked recruit in the class by 247Sports (eighth-overall quarterback) and 147th-ranked recruit in the class by Rivals (ninth-overall pro-style quarterback).

He held offers from the likes of Arkansas, Auburn, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, LSU, Louisville, Miami, Michigan State, Mississippi State, Ohio State, Oklahoma State, Oregon, Penn State, Purdue, South Carolina, Stanford, Texas A&M and Utah before signing with Alabama last January.

LINK: Watch New Pitt Quarterback Eli Holstein in Action on the Football Field

Holstein was ultra-efficient in 2022 as a senior at Zachary, completing 159-of-244 pass attempts (65%) for 2,153 yards with 22 touchdowns and three interceptions — adding 64 carries for 505 yards (7.9 yards per attempt) and nine touchdowns.

And he was even better as a junior, throwing for 3,264 yards, rushing for 515 more and scoring 43 total touchdowns on the way to a perfect 15-0 season — capped by a state title.

Ever since those days at Zachary, and even before that, he’s tried to emulate his older brother Caleb on the field. He always looked to Caleb as he was growing up, learning how to throw a football by watching Caleb and being taught what it means to be a quarterback through careful instruction, and he strived to be as good, if not better, as Caleb. Since Caleb’s days at Louisiana Tech are done, after breaking records at St. Thomas More Catholic School, he’s found a new role model.

“I feel like I kinda familiarize myself with Josh Allen,” Holstein said. “Just a big quarterback, he’s not afraid to run the ball and he’s not afraid to run through somebody, which I kinda like. It makes me excited watching him play like that. He’s always able to make big plays not only with his arm but with his feet, get the ball out quick with a lot of velocity and a strong arm.”

Allen, the star quarterback for the Buffalo Bills who led the NFL in total touchdowns by 10, is the inspiration. But his family is, too. He wouldn’t be able to chase his NFL dreams without the love and support of his entire family.

“Family means everything to me,” Holstein said. “I’ve always looked up to grandparents, paw-paws, dads, uncles, brothers, just how much family is involved with each other. my entire family lives in Baton Rouge, so I was around them my entire life, just going to games with my uncle, tailgating with my family, going to each other’s house for pretty much everything.”

The goal now is to make his family proud and take the Holstein last name to the next level. And his opportunity to do so is coming at Pitt. It may not come right away, but eventually, Holstein will have a chance to shine in Pittsburgh.