Analysis: What Does Cole Gonzales Bring to Pitt QB Room?

Over the weekend, there was a big shakeup to the Pitt quarterback room. The portal giveth and the portal taketh away, as they say.

Former Western Carolina quarterback Cole Gonzales, who had a brief stint at Oklahoma this spring, announced he was joining Pitt Saturday afternoon in the midst of Day 3 of the NFL Draft. Just as the draft came to a close a few hours later, redshirt freshman Julian Dugger made it known that he was entering his name into the portal.

Dugger, a Penn Hills product, received quite some praise during spring camp from head coach Pat Narduzzi, Kade Bell and a handful of Pitt players. It sounded as if Dugger had a role carved out for himself in the near future even though he was behind Eli Holstein on the depth chart.

Talk mounted that he could be used in special packages to utilize his versatility as a dual-threat quarterback, which was shown in his collegiate debut a few months prior in the GameAbove Bowl against Toledo.

However, things changed dramatically in the final days of spring camp and in the following weeks that left Dugger wanting a change.

You can only beat a dead horse so much and talk about what potential Dugger has, but that opportunity at Pitt is now six feet deep.

So, let’s move on to what Pitt added from the portal. What does Gonzales bring to the Pitt quarterback room?

There are two key points off the top: He’s entering his fourth season of college football with 23 career starts under his belt, and way more importantly, he has already thrived in Bell’s system before.

Bell coached him for two seasons at Western Carolina, including his sophomore season in which he threw for 2,803 yards and a school-record 28 touchdowns to eight interceptions. He also added 203 yards on the ground as he took home the Southern Conference Offensive Player of the Year award and was a finalist for the Walter Payton Award.

While Bell left for Pitt, his father and WCU head coach Kerwin Bell, had Gonzales for one more season in 2024 as he completed 61.7% of his passes for 2,543 yards, 12 touchdowns and seven interceptions, along with 212 rushing yards and a pair of scores. He was named to the All-SoCon First-Team.

Gonzales learned and developed in a system for three years that Bell has now built at Pitt and the familiarity and experience will be significant for the Panthers.

Let’s Run It Back @fastboidez pic.twitter.com/q7548OiD9I

— Cole Gonzales (@ColeGonzales8) April 26, 2025

The Pitt staff really likes the way Gonzales anticipates throws and also pointed to his overall arm talent with strength and a quick release.

This past fall, Gonzales set a single-game SoCon record against Furman with 620 passing yards to go along with five passing touchdowns.

He has proven that he can make plays on the FCS level, but what about against Power Four opponents?

Western Carolina faced Georgia Tech, Arkansas and N.C. State, respectively, across Gonzales’ first three seasons.

As a freshman against Georgia Tech, he completed 6-of-8 passes for 38 yards with no touchdowns and one interception.

A year later, it was Arkansas in a game that he came in and out against a stifling Razorbacks defense. He went 9-of-14 for 118 yards with no touchdowns and one interception.

However, he did set up a Catamounts 2-yard Desmond Reid rushing touchdown with a nice 40-yard completion downfield to wide receiver Censere Lee in a tight window.

Those names ring a bell? That’s another positive of bringing in Gonzales. He has those former connections with Reid, Lee and Raphael Williams, who hauled in 47 receptions for 658 yards when Gonzales was a freshman.

While those first two Power Four performances were not all that good, it was his outing against N.C. State last fall that stood out the most.

The 6-foot, 198-pound signal caller went 22-of-35 (62.8%) with 211 passing yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions in 1 38-21 loss. He also ran for 75 yards on six attempts (12.5 yards per carry).

When watching the film against the Wolfpack, Gonzales managed the offense well. He released the ball quickly, allowing his receivers to make plays — a key point of emphasis for Bell — and spread the ball all over the field.

On his first touchdown of the contest, Gonzales showed his ability to extend plays and go through his progressions before rolling right and delivering an eight-yard pass in the end zone. His second touchdown toss was a designed roll out and another good throw on the run.

Fought hard until the end! See you next Saturday in Whitmire Stadium Catamount Nation💜🐾#LOTE #OurTime #CatamountCountry pic.twitter.com/MGcPQj0ycc

— Western Carolina Football (@CatamountsFB) August 30, 2024

Throughout the game, Gonzales displayed his precision and throws into tight windows. He also is very deceptive in the play-action game and does a respectable job picking up pressure and stepping up in the pocket.

Another key characteristic is that he can take off and run, which is exactly what Bell wants in his offense, giving Pitt another layer for opposing defenses to take into consideration. Against the Wolfpack, he scrambled for a big 50-yard gain and fended off contact a few times, which also highlighted his toughness.

He reminds me a lot of what we have seen from Holstein. There are a lot of similar traits, which is an important thing to note, especially if the two quarterbacks swap out within a game. The offensive line and overall offense won’t miss a beat.

On the flip side, Gonzales is not all that big, so it will be interesting to see how well his game can translate over to the Power Four level against those bigger and tougher defenses. He already had some experience going up against an SEC defense at Oklahoma in spring ball.

The Gainesville, Fla. native has two years of eligibility remaining. Holstein of course will start, but with his injury troubles late last season, there is always a possibility of that arising again, which would give way to Gonzales.

Still, it would not be all that surprising if Gonzales is featured in the offense in some capacity from time-to-time much like the staff wanted to do with Dugger.