Report: Eli Holstein Never Considered Leaving Pitt

When Eli Holstein broke out early in the 2024 season, even earning Heisman Trophy hype, it left some wondering whether the rising star would return to Pitt for a second season.

According to Holstein himself, it was never even a consideration to enter the transfer portal for the second time.

“I never really told him I was coming back,” Holstein told Jerry DiPaola of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. “I made an announcement on social media for everybody else because you have to do that nowadays.

“Everybody on the team knew I was coming back. There was never a question. I never wanted it to be a question.”

College football has entered an era in which student-athletes have to announce a return to their respective schools (as Holstein and more than a few Pitt players did this offseason), but it appears Holstein only made the announcement to soothe any concerns. And now he’s set to return for his second season as the Pitt starter.

Eli Holstein completed 180-of-291 pass attempts (61.9%) for 2,228 yards with 17 touchdowns and seven interceptions, adding 328 yards (4.0 yards per carry) and three touchdowns on the ground, in 10 games this season. 10 incomplete games.

He showed flashes of brilliance in leading double-digit fourth quarter comebacks against Cincinnati and West Virginia and racking 450 total yards and four touchdowns in the first win in Chapel Hill, N.C. in program history.

There’s a lot to work on this offseason when it comes to offensive coordinator Kade Bell and Holstein, but there’s also a lot of potential to unlock together. Holstein has the tools to be a very talented quarterback at the college level, as he showed during his first season as a starting quarterback, and he has NFL potential down the line.

“I think everybody forgets (he’s a freshman quarterback),” Pat Narduzzi said in November. “… When you win, Eli is going to be the Rookie of the Week. When you lose, which obviously it’s our first, it’s not on Eli. We didn’t protect him well enough, run the ball well enough. We played a really good defense.”

Injuries derailed the end of the season for Holstein, but he still put together one of the best seasons from a freshman quarterback in the country. He ranked third nationally in passing yards per game (222.8 yards) and total offense per game (255.6 yards) and fifth in passing touchdowns (17). And he was No. 1 in passing yards and No. 3 in passing touchdowns among Power Four freshmen.

Pitt won seven games with Holstein this season, tying the legendary Dan Marino with seven straight starts to start a career with the Panthers, and his 17 touchdown passes tied Alex Van Pelt for the most by a Pitt freshman.

Holstein has all the tools necessary for a star quarterback in college football, which was evidenced by his early season performances this season, and he has the dual-threat ability that teams need to win. Pitt will be successful in 2025 if Holstein is — and that’s not a bad bet to make.

He missed the GameAbove Sports Bowl due to a lower-body injury, after dealing with an apparent head injury a couple of times during the second half of the season, but he will be healthy when the spring rolls around.

It seems likely that Holstein will be 100% ready to roll when spring football rolls around next month.