Welcome to the Pitt mailbag, where Post-Gazette reporters Noah Hiles and Christopher Carter answer all of your questions about the Panthers. If you have a question, tweet them at @_NoahHiles and @CarterCritiques or email them at nhiles@post-gazette.com and ccarter@post-gazette.com. Noah and Chris will answer your questions in full length each Tuesday on YouTube. You can read the condensed version of the discussion below.
93.7theFanintern: Is Eli Holstein the favorite to start at quarterback this season?
Hiles: I wouldn’t call him a favorite, but I certainly wouldn’t call him an underdog. Nate Yarnell and Christian Veilleux have more experience, but they will be learning the offense at the same time as Holstein, along with Ty Dieffenbach and Julian Dugger. They have more chemistry with the skill players, but that can be made up for if Holstein comes in and adapts to Kade Bell’s system faster. Holstein has a ton of talent and is someone Pitt clearly wanted. He is the only quarterback on this roster that Bell recruited, which means something but not everything. I don’t think it’s his job just yet, but it could be. Spring ball will be fun, as will fall camp. I think it’s going to be an intense battle for that starting job.
Carter: This is a whole new offense, so you kinda have to put what we saw last year to the side. The starting quarterback in Week 1 will be the guy who looks best in this new system, which, as Noah pointed out, is something all five scholarship quarterbacks will be learning at the same time. This system will require the quarterback to be athletic and process things at a quick pace. If he can run the offense well, then the job might be his. But this guy is a freshman — he doesn’t need to play immediately. If he does, it will be because he won the job in camp.
Brian: Why should Pitt fans be excited about Holstein after Pitt’s recent history with quarterbacks in the transfer portal?
Hiles: Two reasons stand out for me: time and health. This kid has four years of eligibility. Unlike Kedon Slovis and Phil Jurkovec, you have time to sit him and let him develop within the system. If he doesn’t start this year, you still have him for another three seasons. He is also arriving in Pittsburgh with a clean bill of health. Both Slovis and Jurkovec had prior injuries that played a factor in their respective declines. Holstein spent the past year adding no wear and tear to his body while practicing and learning at one of the country’s top football programs. This is a long-term investment. It might not work out, but it’s much different than pretty much every other quarterback Pitt has brought in as a transfer under Narduzzi.
Carter: The guy has four years of eligibility. He is young. This is basically the equivalent of Pitt landing a highly rated high school talent that will enroll early this semester. He’s obviously ahead of a high school prospect because he has a year of college ball under his belt, but this guy is not a finished product like Jurkovec and Slovis. He is what Bell and the offensive staff can develop him to be. This is a guy who could be a multiyear starter, a long-term answer to the quarterback room, something the program has been looking for for years.
Drake: Thoughts on the three assistant coaches who were let go last weekend? Any surprises?
Hiles: I think the one surprise was tight ends coach Tim Salem. Pitt had six players drafted last year, and four of them received their offer to Pitt from Salem. He was a great recruiter, having discovered plenty of talent, including Kenny Pickett. He was also a member of Narduzzi’s original staff at Pitt in 2015. His exit was a big move, but I see why it happened. The program needed to clean house. It was time for fresh blood. That offensive staff all contributed to past success, but after the mess in 2023, Narduzzi hired Bell for a new look, which should include new assistants.
Carter: Salem was the only shock, but I agree — something major had to change. This was a big response from Narduzzi, and it couldn’t have been easy to let those three guys go. However, if you’re going to let Bell come in and change things up, he deserves to do so with people who understand his scheme. Tiquan Underwood is viewed as an ideal fit, which is why he was retained.
Ghost of script Pitt: What position groups do you expect to see departures from after spring ball?
Hiles: I’d expect at least one quarterback to transfer after spring ball. Other areas I look at are wide receiver, the defensive line and linebacker. Those three spots all saw additions through the portal. The defensive line and linebacker positions also have solid talent coming in through the freshman class.
Carter: One of the quarterbacks will go. With this being a three-quarterback competition, I think the bottom man might leave once spring ball ends because none of those guys wants to be third on the depth chart. They will probably head to a place where they feel they could start. Linebacker and defensive line are two spots where there could be a logjam of young and old talent. If the young guys play well in the spring, maybe a few juniors or seniors leave.
James: Is it weird that Holstein committed to Pitt less than a week after entering the portal?
Hiles: I don’t think so. Look, very few players enter the transfer portal on a whim. Holstein has said in other interviews that he began to research other programs this past fall while he was still at Alabama. Pitt caught his attention, and as I’ve reported, he was on Pitt’s radar, as well. Part of recruiting in today’s game is developing a list of guys midseason you think might be available, and Holstein was likely on that list for Pitt. We saw the basketball program do something similar in recent years. That doesn’t mean Narduzzi and his staff tampered. I’ve been told from multiple sources that the program didn’t contact Holstein until he entered the portal last week. Once he became available, Pitt pounced and got him before another program could. It saw a player that it was worth being aggressive for and acted.
Carter: Simply put, Pitt did its homework. It’s common sense. There are certain quarterback rooms throughout the country that are crowded. You look around and see which rooms have talent that could be on the move. Alabama was clearly one of those rooms, simply because Alabama is loaded at pretty much every position. Pitt identified the odd man out, and Holstein identified Pitt. I’m willing to bet there were more than a few other quarterbacks Pitt also had their eye on. Holstein was high on Pitt’s list, and when he became available, the program went all out and landed him.
Thank you all for following along! Be sure to send questions on Twitter to @_NoahHiles and @CarterCritiques or email them at nhiles@post-gazette.com and ccarter@post-gazette.com. And subscribe to our FREE daily all-sports newsletter, PG Sports Feed.
First Published: January 9, 2024, 10:30 a.m.