Pitt Quarterback Competition Will Continue Into the Season

PITTSBURGH — Pitt released its Week 1 two-deep depth chart just a couple of minutes before Pat Narduzzi walked up to the podium. So, he knew what the topic of conversation would be.

The bold “OR” between Nate Yarnell and Eli Holstein on the depth chart.

Narduzzi has been exceptionally tight-lipped when discussing the Pitt quarterback competition this summer. He’s admitted, as he did again Monday, that Yarnell was the starter after spring ball but Holstein caught up during the summer. The battle between the “two very good quarterbacks,” as Narduzzi has called them, is too close to call still.

“Obviously that quarterback position is one that you guys probably take great interest in, probably more than I do,” Narduzzi said Monday. “I didn’t know who it is, but we feel like Nate and Eli both are guys that we consider starters. So, those two have competed their tails off all camp and we’ll go out there and go. I think the starter will be determined how we practice this week. Got a practice in yesterday, so we’ll see how they practice and pick up the game plan. But the plan right now is to play both those guys on Saturday and let the competition begin on the field.”

Narduzzi confirmed that both Yarnell and Holstein will play against Kent State in the season opener on Saturday. The order remains uncertain.

“It’s one of those that I think is too close to just say, ‘Hey, this is what it is, let’s take a chance at it,’” Narduzzi said. “I think both of them are very capable, I think they both are guys that could win football games for us and I’m excited to watch both of them play.”

The last time that Pitt rotated quarterbacks early in the season was in 2015 when Chad Voytik and Nathan Peterman both played in the buildup to conference play against Virginia Tech in Week 4.

Narduzzi, when reflecting upon the decision to play both quarterbacks as long as he did, wished he decided upon Peterman as the starter more quickly. So, that could point toward a potential decision this time around. Pitt doesn’t have the good fortune of playing an FCS and Group of Five team in back-to-back weeks this time either.

Eli Holstein (10) of the Pittsburgh Panthers attempts a pass during the Pitt spring game.

Yarnell, who started the final two games of the 2023 season (and performed well), entered the summer as the starter.

Holstein, who arrived as a high-profile transfer from Alabama in January, started the spring slowly after picking up an injury early but finished strong and hasn’t looked back since. I don’t think it’s Yarnell doing anything to lose the starting job so much as it’s Holstein impressing the coaching staff.

Yarnell may have entered the summer with the “upper hand,” attending the ACC Kickoff in Charlotte, N.C. last month and serving as the QB1 throughout the spring and summer, but Narduzzi approached this summer with a new perspective.

“You can say upper hand, like what’s the percentage? I think any time there’s a period of time where something has finished, you finish spring ball — hey, this is the guy,” Narduzzi said last week. “But then you go into another period, and you come out fall camp and you’re going to do the same thing. And that’s at every position. You could be a starter at the end of spring ball; that doesn’t mean you’re a starter.

“But there’s a battle going on, and I think they’re both pressing, working at it, working their tails off, coming in late, spending more time just to be the best. Sometimes that can pay off, sometimes that can backfire on you. But we’re seeing them compete every day; I love the competition. You gotta love what you see out there in two really good quarterbacks battling.”

Yarnell and Holstein will continue to battle this week during practice, with a Pitt starter unlikely to be announced until warmups on Saturday. They will both have an opportunity against the Golden Flashes in an offensive scheme that will look the same.

“The offense is not going to change that much based on who they are,” Narduzzi said. “But they’re very similar in what they can do. Like I said, they can operate and manage it offensively. That’s the first thing. It’s not like one is going to be slower than the other. They can both operate at a fast tempo, and we’ll find out what skills come out there on game day and who’s got those intangibles on game day and who’s going to bring us the best package.”

Yarnell has the edge in terms of experience (completing 36-of-54 pass attempts (66.7%) for 472 yards with four touchdowns and one interception in two starts last season), but while Holstein doesn’t have any experience at the college level, he’s not far removed from being one of the top quarterback recruits in the class of 2023.

There’s no real timeline for when a season-long starter will be named. But Narduzzi, as he said when reflecting upon the 2015 quarterback competition, would like to name a true starter sooner than later.

“I like to do what comes — whatever happens,” Narduzzi said. “I think we maybe could all be sitting in that press conference room after the game going, ‘Okay, looks like that guy.’ We can all have our opinions. I want to know as soon as possible. I don’t want to drag it on. I want to do it as soon as I possibly can.”