LOUISVILLE — Pitt quarterback Eli Holstein was cleared earlier this week and will return to the starting lineup against Louisville this afternoon.
Pat Narduzzi declined to name a starting quarterback earlier this week, but it’s Holstein who is getting the nod over backup Nate Yarnell. Holstein missed the Clemson due to an apparent head injury.
Narduzzi kept the starting quarterback job close to his chest this week all the way up until game day.
“I don’t know, it’s a great question, we’ll see … we’ll see,” Narduzzi said Thursday at his weekly presser. “And again, it’s still a work in progress.
“He’s cleared to play right now, so we’ll see game time.”
Holstein burst onto the scene as a second-year freshman this season, starting his collegiate career with a whole lot of yards and touchdowns (and back-to-back comeback wins against Cincinnati and West Virginia), but he’s struggled in his last four games and been knocked out of two of his last three games with apparent head injuries.
Holstein took a late, high hit from Virginia linebacker Trey McDonald as he slid on a second-and-4 play midway through the third quarter. Holstein was helped off the field, went to the medical tent and left for the the locker room.
He’s completed 177-of-286 pass attempts for 2,176 yards with 17 touchdowns and six interceptions, adding 323 yards and three touchdowns on the ground, this season.
With two games left in the season, and Eli Holstein cleared by the medical staff, he has the chance to bounce back from the poor midseason stretch and build some momentum heading into next season.
Yarnell, who completed 34-of-54 pass attempts for 350 yards with a touchdown and an interception against Clemson, is a little banged up himself. But he’s the backup ahead of Ty Dieffenbach and walk-on David Lynch.
The leash better be 2 qtrs. max.
Eli might be a better TE….
Way over- hyped as a QB….
Easy B, he’s a redshift freshman that isn’t picking up how to read disguised coverages fast enough. Once the switch flips, and he trusts what he’s seeing, he will be ok. I just don’t think it is mutually beneficial to leave him in there if he struggles again in the first half, meaning he and the this years team will be better off with him observing for now.
I think the gang has forgotten that Eli is a Red -Shirt Freshman!!
H2P.
True. The question is do you allow him to learn on the job, or , learn from the sideline? He hasn’t played well for several games and Nate just threw for 350 on Clemson.