Pitt FB Recruiting
Passing It Down: Pitt QB Commit Connects with Eli Holstein During Recent Workout
Before Angelo Renda arrived in Pittsburgh for the first time, he was already learning from current Pitt starting quarterback Eli Holstein.
While on spring break in early March, Holstein spent time in Texas working out with Renda at his high school, Southlake Carroll, as the two share the same quarterback development coach.
“I worked out with him at my school in Southlake,” Renda told Pittsburgh Sports Now. “We have the same quarterback coach — Jeff Christensen. He came down over his spring break and we got some work in. It was pretty cool to see because at the time, we never met. That first time meeting was at the football field working out, so we built a pretty good relationship on the field. I’m pretty grateful for that.”
Renda has been working with Christensen — a former NFL quarterback and owner of the training academy Throw It Deep — for a over two-and-a-half years, whereas Holstein recently started joining the trainer in the past couple of months.
The 2026 Pitt quarterback commit got wind that Holstein would be in town and made it a priority to attend the session.
“I knew Eli was coming in town to throw with Jeff, so I wanted to make sure I got in there to train with him,” Renda said. “He knew I was committed to Pitt, so I was asking him questions about Pitt.”
Although Renda won’t be on Pitt’s campus until January of 2026, he was all ears when it came to learning about the offense.
“He was giving me a little piece of Coach Bell’s offense. Little sneak peak into it. When I got up here, some of the verbiage he was saying was the same as what Coach Bell was telling me today.”
Pitt quarterback Eli Holstein during spring camp on March 11, 2025 / Ed Thompson. PSN.
As a redshirt freshman, Holstein won the Pitt starting job and put together an impressive start in 2024 where he set several freshman records. By his side for a day, Renda was trying to soak in as much as possible when learning from Holstein.
“I think it’s pretty cool. We’re both competing at the end of the day. Eli’s a great dude. I can learn a lot from him and a lot of those guys in the quarterback room. Eli coming from Alabama, he knows what it takes to be great. Having a guy like that in the quarterback room is really awesome, especially if you want to win a championship coming from a school like Alabama where they’re used to it. Coming to a school like Pitt, you got to bring that mentality with you every single day. He carries that chip on his shoulder and you can learn a lot from that,” Renda said.
During the training session, Renda and Holstein were working together on specific areas of their game.
“We worked on a bunch of different things, but we were mainly working on our feet and staying in rhythm,” Renda said.
When Renda — a 2026 three-star prospect that committed to Pitt in January — took his first visit to the city over the weekend, he had the chance to meet with the Pitt quarterbacks and watch them during the spring scrimmage.
Thank you @Pitt_FB for having me out! Can’t wait to get back up in June! #H2P #H2G @CoachDuzzPittFB @Kb1Raw @coachjbronowski @CoachKlineAlex @SamKuk20 @coachrdodge @SLC_Recruiting @QBHitList @ThrowItDeep pic.twitter.com/v6ulfI9M6T
— Angelo Renda (@AngeloRenda2026) March 29, 2025
“I got a chance to talk to all the quarterbacks. They’re all nice dudes. They all worked hard. I liked watching them compete today. It was pretty good to see all of them and chat it up. Can’t wait to get up in January and compete with them,” Renda said.
Renda will return to Pittsburgh for his official visit from June 5-7.
