It’s Time to Put Your Trust in Pitt QB Eli Holstein

PITTSBURGH — If you look up the definition of grit in the Merriam-Webster dictionary, for some reason, it doesn’t mention Pitt quarterback Eli Holstein.

Instead, the definition reads, “firmness of mind or spirit; unyielding courage in the face of hardship or danger.” Wait. Wait a minute. Is that not Eli Holstein? Holstein is gritty. He’s poised and composed. He certainly doesn’t look like a second-year freshman who arrived at Pitt just eight months ago.

How much confidence, on a scale from 1 to 10, did linebacker Kyle Louis have in Holstein and the Pitt offense to go out and win the Backyard Brawl with a final drive touchdown? 15.

“Eli is a dog, bro,” Louis said Saturday. And that’s been a pretty popular way to describe Holstein over the last couple of weeks. 

For those who are unfamiliar, it’s good to be a dog. Dawg. Whatever. You want to be a dog. If a quarterback isn’t tough, gritty and willing his team to victory, you don’t want him. Holstein is a football player, as Pat Narduzzi likes to say. He came to Pitt just to get a chance to play some football, and his teammates saw that immediately.

“Sometimes you just know,” linebacker Brandon George said Saturday. The Panthers have rallied around their quarterback.  

Pittsburgh Panthers quarterback Eli Holstein (10) September 14, 2024. Michael Longo/PSN

Holstein has played in three games during his brief collegiate career, all this season. He transferred into the program from Alabama over the winter, a former top-ranked quarterback who was somewhat lost. In more ways than one, Holstein found himself in Pittsburgh.

Holstein saw the opportunity at Pitt, helped along by former Pitt offensive lineman Mike McGlynn. He arrived in January, and while the process was hampered a bit by a nagging hamstring, he got to work. He spent late nights at the facility with Kenny Johnson, Poppi Williams and Censere Lee. And he was prepared. He brought notebooks and play sheets and schemed up exactly what he wanted to run. He took the opportunity seriously.

“I got a lot of people that have trusted me and believed in me since I got here,” Holstein said Saturday. “They talked about how much trust and belief that they have in me, that I’m going to be able to go out there and make the plays I need to make. They put me in a position to make those plays, and I just gotta trust myself that I’m going to make those plays.”

It may be early, but Holstein is rewarding that faith in key moments. Wins. He hasn’t been perfect — far from it, actually — but he’s played with a level of poise and composure that isn’t often seen from a player with his inexperience. His grit has already endeared him not just to his coaches and teammates but to an entire city. If Holstein was old enough to drink, he wouldn’t have to pay for a beer anywhere in town.

His winning performance in the 107th Backyard Brawl will be remembered for a very long time. A 17-yard run late in the fourth quarter should be remembered for even longer.

Pitt faced a 1st-and-10 from the WVU 30-yard line with 1:10 left in the fourth quarter, trailing by three. The clock stopped for a few moments as the chains moved for a 23-yard first down strike to Konata Mumpfield, and the Panthers were well within Ben Sauls’ field goal range, if Pitt wanted to play for a tie. But Holstein wanted to win it. Holstein took the snap, pulled a potential handoff out of Derrick Davis’ arms and moved up in the pocket. WVU defensive end T.J. Jackson got a hand on Holstein but wasn’t able to haul him down. Not enough grit, perhaps?.Holstein raced 17 yards to the West Virginia 13-yard line.

“That’s a pretty big quarterback, so I’d say, yeah, it was kinda hard to get him down,” Jackson said Saturday. “We really wasn’t expecting him to (scramble). The first time I saw him run that kind of surprised me because we really ain’t seen him run like that watching film.”

WHAT A COMEBACK 🔥

Pitt's game-winning drive to defeat West Virginia in the Backyard Brawl 😤 pic.twitter.com/4dDp4KwNQC

— ESPN College Football (@ESPNCFB) September 14, 2024

WVU should’ve watched a bit more film. Holstein has produced at the highest level when offensive coordinator Kade Bell has gotten him on the move, picking up tough yards on the ground while he’s maneuvered through crowded pockets like a fifth-year senior. There hasn’t been a defensive lineman to hinder Holstein yet — certainly not Jackson.

“He’s not scared; he’s not hesitant,” Louis said. “Even when plays weren’t working, Eli was breaking 300-pounders off his neck, running for 15 yards. You don’t see that out of other quarterbacks. He’s got that dog mentality.”

It’s kind of hard to overstate just how good Holstein has been this season. He hasn’t just made his first three starts, he’s made his first three collegiate appearances. A 5-yard completion five seconds into the Kent State game was the first pass of Holstein’s college career. He threw 39 more passes against the Golden Flashes — the first of three 300-yard, 3-touchdown performances.

“He’s a freshman? Nah,” George asked Saturday. “He shows a great amount of leadership; that’s something you don’t often see from a freshman, especially a freshman quarterback. He transferred in, he fit in well. He’s one of our brothers through thick and thin; I’ll ride through hell for that man.”

That man will remain a teenager for just over a month. He may look like a man, standing at 6-foot-4, 225 pounds, but he’s just 19. He may have served as the scout team quarterback at Alabama last season, but the last time he was a starting quarterback was less than two years ago at Zachary High School in Louisiana. He’s come a long way in a short period of time.

He’s had to. He entered the program as the No. 2 behind Nate Yarnell, the incumbent starter who only lost his job because Holstein was that impressive throughout the summer and fall. Holstein earned the trust and respect of his teammates and coaches pretty quickly.

“The dude’s so poised,” Johnson said Saturday. “There’s never a point in time where I’m worried. He gives us confidence, our quarterback is the most poised guy in the room, so it’s really helpful in those situations.”

Holstein and Johnson have been a dynamic connection so far this season, connecting on 12-of-16 targets for 184 yards and a touchdown — including a pair of 40-yard connections through the air. That trust isn’t just a key factor for Holstein and Johnson but the offense as a whole. The new scheme is rhythm-based, with a whole lot of tempo, and if the quarterback can’t trust his wide receivers to be where they’re supposed to be when they’re supposed to be there, it isn’t going to work.

Pittsburgh Panthers wide receiver Kenny Johnson (2) August 31, 2024 Photo by David Hague/PSN

Pitt got off to a fast start against WVU in the Brawl, hitting its total yardage from the 2023 Brawl in less than a half, but the third quarter — and much of the fourth quarter — was a struggle. Pitt managed just four yards before the first of its two fourth quarter touchdown drives. Holstein turned it around.

“We just locked in on doing our job, especially myself,” Holstein said. “I wasn’t playing the best football I can play, especially in those first three quarters, I was trying to force things, do too much and not just trust my receivers, trust my O-line and that fourth quarter, five minutes left, those leaders, those seniors, they got all of us together and we just told everybody do your job, trust each other and we’re gonna be alright.”

Pitt is averaging 40.3 points per game, 482.3 yards per game and 26.3 first downs per game. That’s 20.1 more points, 164.4 yards and 10 more first downs per game than last season. It’s a far, far cry from what most of the players on the roster have seen since arriving at Pitt. Louis, who arrived just before the 2022 season has seen a decent offense and a poor offense. Holstein has shown him that there are greater possibilities out there.

“A lot of quarterbacks, they’re gonna make a lot of crazy stuff during practice, every game is going to be a new testimony,” Louis said. “Last year, quarterback, they won one game, next game it’s like a whole ‘nother quarterback. And we just kept going through that whole cycle the rest of the year. I keep telling Eli, you’re being different now, 3-0. You know how long it’s been since 3-0? Don’t get satisfied with what the fans gonna be saying to you after all these crazy plays you’re making and all of that. Just keep doing what you’re doing, keep being you. You’re making a real difference.”

Pitt is 3-0 for the first time since 2020. With a win against Youngstown State, the Panthers will conclude a full sate of non-conference game unbeaten for the first time ever. Ever. It very likely wouldn’t be possible without Holstein at quarterback. He’s brought a team together.

“I don’t know if our team can get closer together,” Holstein said. “We’re all brothers, we’re all hanging out with each other, we’re as close a team as I’ve ever been a part of. We’re always helping each other, we’re up there watching film late at night, just making sure everybody is on the same page.”

Pitt is a close-knit team. But the best may still be yet to come — especially for Holstein.