Eli Holstein isn’t just one of the best freshman quarterbacks in the country this season, he’s one of the best quarterbacks of any class.
Holstein has earned ACC Rookie of the Week five times this season, every game he’s played, and Davey O’Brien Award Great 8 and Manning Award Stars of the Week honors for his standout play this season. And now he’s been named the Walter Camp Offensive Player of the Week for his performance against North Carolina.
The Walter Camp Award is given annually to the most outstanding player in college football. Three Pitt Panthers have brought the award home in program history: Tony Dorsett (1976), Hugh Green (1980) and Larry Fitzgerald (2003).
Holstein led the Panthers to a 34-24 win against UNC over the weekend, completing 25-of-42 pass attempts (60%) for 381 yards with four touchdowns and an interception, adding 76 yards and a touchdown on the ground.
“Eli, 381 yards, he’s outstanding,” Pat Narduzzi said Saturday after the game. “EJ (Borghetti), you got that one stat — first Pitt quarterback to win his opening five starts since one Dan Marino in 1979. And as you guys know, first time we’ve come down here and got a win in Chapel Hill, so that’s huge.”
Holstein has completed 113-of-172 pass attempts (65.7%) for 1,567 yards with 15 touchdowns and three interceptions, adding 265 yards (5.5 yards per carry) and three touchdowns on the ground. It’s been a strong start to the season for the redshirt freshman, who is just five games into his college career.
He’s third nationally in total offense (366.4 yards/game), fourth in points responsible for (21.6 points/game), fifth in passing touchdowns (15) and eighth in passing yards (313.4 yards/game).
Pitt is riding high, sitting at 5-0 for the first time since 1991 and ranked in the AP Poll for the first time since the end of the 2022 season, and Holstein is entering uncharted waters as a Pitt quarterback.
“I guess I’m in pretty good company,” Eli Holstein said Saturday after the game. “He’s a Hall of Famer, he’s an elite quarterback in college here at Pitt, hopefully, I can keep doing what he did and lead this team to great things.”
Pitt is back in action this weekend against Cal at Acrisure Stadium. Kickoff is scheduled for 3:30 p.m.