Eli Holstein has a chance this week to do something he’s never done before: bounce back from a bad game. It can be easy to forget he’s a half-season into his college career sometimes, considering he immediately hit the ground running this season.
Holstein struggled at times this season before the 17-15 win against Cal, but his play against the Golden Bears was different.
It was the first time he looked truly overwhelmed this season.
“I played like a freshman today,” Holstein said Saturday night. “(I was) trying to force things, not taking what the defense gave me, trying to do too much, trying to make plays. There were situations where I just needed to trust my guys, trust coach Bell, trust the offense and just get the ball to those guys and let them make plays.”
Holstein completed just 14-of-28 pass attempts for 133 yards and two interceptions against Cal. And he wasn’t able to use his legs, as he’s grown accustomed to, at all. He played poorly. That’s all there is to it. He zeroed in on his first read, took unnecessary risks all game and looked like a young quarterback against probably the best defense he’s faced this season. But, as he’s done all season, he owned up to his mistakes.
“Eli is a man,” Pat Narduzzi said Saturday night. “He gets it. He’s going to get credit when things are going great, and he’s going to get bashed when they don’t. But we knew that coming in. We knew that coming in.
“He had stuff wide open and he needs to throw it and not try to be the hero all the time. They did throw a lot of different stuff at him. Especially with the tempo they did a nice job. He will learn from it. That’s the great thing.”
Pittsburgh Panthers quarterback Eli Holstein (10) September 21. 2024 Photo by David Hague/PSN
Holstein is only 19, 20 in a few weeks, but he’s approached his position on the team and his role as a quarterback with a mature approach since he arrived in January.
He’s pointed the finger at himself when things haven’t gone well and promised improvement. But he was plagued by the same shortcomings against Cal that have been there all season. He’s a gunslinger, but he’s tried to be the hero a time or two too many this season.
The bye week — and the poor performance in a narrow win, more importantly — is pivotal. It may be unfair, but Pitt has postseason aspirations this season that will only be reached if Holstein can grow throughout the remainder of the season. He’s talented and coachable, but there are steps to take.
There’s a possibility that Holstein will spend just about every second of the bye week watching film and breaking down what he needs to do.
“Definitely gonna watch a lot of film, learn from my mistakes, learn what I need to do differently,” Holstein said. “How do I attack a game week? How do I attack every drive, going out there and doing little things right.”
PFF credited Holstein with three turnover-worthy plays against Cal, and even that feels generous. He wasn’t seeing the field well, and that’s a testament to Bears head coach Justin Wilcox and his complex defensive scheme, but even the “easy” throws felt impossible. Holstein missed his throws.
He didn’t lose his cool though, even when he experienced the first prolonged struggle of his career.
“He was calm the whole game,” Desmond Reid said Saturday night. “I mean, he messed up a couple of times, but he was calm the whole game. That’s one thing you like as a quarterback. Even though you not doing what you wanna do, he was calm, he wasn’t angry or nothing. We just gotta do better as an offense. I wouldn’t blame it on him, we just gotta do better.”
Pittsburgh Panthers quarterback Eli Holstein (10) September 14, 2024. Michael Longo/PSN
Pitt is averaging 40.8 points and 481.8 yards per game this season, tied for 13th and 11th in the country, respectively, which includes the poor showing against Cal. And offensive coordinator Kade Bell and Holstein have been at the forefront.
The stats — 127-of-200 pass attempts (63.5%) for 1,700 yards with 15 touchdowns and five interceptions, adding 266 yards (4.8 yards per carry) and three touchdowns on the ground — pop off the page. He’s third nationally in total offense, 13th in points responsible for, tied for 10th in passing touchdowns and tied for 10th in passing yards.
He pushes the ball downfield (average depth of target of 10.4 yards) and he gets the ball out relatively quickly (2.96 seconds), according to PFF.
Holstein has been pressured on 34.2% of his dropbacks this season, and while he hasn’t been the most effective passer with a defender in his face, he’s made up for it with his legs. He moves well in the pocket, but he hasn’t hesitated to take off when he doesn’t like a read.
The traits are there. There aren’t many quarterbacks, freshman or otherwise, capable of leading back-to-back double-digit fourth quarter comebacks. Pitt has something special in Holstein, and the team believes in him wholeheartedly.
“Eli’s a leader,” Reid said. “He’s been doing that since he got here.”
He’s only a RS freshman, a bit over-hyped at this early stage of his career but could become a great one as he matures. When he struggles give Yarnell the call. He could start for a lot of teams. Keep the ball rolling.
Are we watching the same player? For a teenager he scans the field, reads, delivers. Good arm motion and strength. Ball placement better than Justin Fields, for example. His back shoulder throws, leading his receiver into open space and his command at huddling his team look like an older player to me. First round, very early pick. We’re just scratching the surface here. Watching Milroe lately I bet Bama wishes Eli stayed. He’s checking most boxes for me bro. H2P!🏈🔵 Respectfully speaking.
Any new QB that starts off well, will by mid season have his tendencies known. From this point on we will find out if he is good/great or limited. I must admit that giving the exact same excuse kinda bothers me. This kid has a ton of potential, I bet he figures it out
Get him running the ball more!
H2P!!!