Throughout spring practices and fall camp, it seemed as though Nate Yarnell was in position to start at quarterback for Pitt at the beginning of the 2024 season.
He was named the starter in the spring and again heading into fall camp. As recently as Aug. 15, Pat Narduzzi said that Yarnell was still the front-runner for the position. However, Eli Holstein has slowly but surely chipped away at the position battle and his work fully came to fruition Thursday when Narduzzi said that while both quarterbacks would play on Saturday and the quarterback competition is still ongoing, Holstein would start the season opener against Kent State.
"Probably the most important thing to give you today is that we are going to start off with Eli Holstein at quarterback and then we'll play it from there," Narduzzi said. "As I said before, both quarterbacks will play and we have a lot of faith in both of them. But a lot of hard work by Eli with preparation and everything. It's kinda where we felt as a staff that we'd go. So I'm excited for both those guys and we'll continue to move on from there."
After watching this quarterback competition play out over the last month or so, Pitt's decision to go with Holstein as the starter Saturday makes a ton of sense when you dig into the nitty gritty of what's been said and what's taken place over the last few months. It's simply Kade Bell going with his guy.
When Yarnell started in the final two games of the year, he played well. He didn't do anything that would've raised any concerns and he also had a strong spring, keeping a stranglehold on the position. But, during that entire time, Holstein was dealing with a hamstring injury that limited his mobility and forced him to improve his game elsewhere. Earlier this week, Bell said Holstein understood that if he wanted to compete for the starting position, he knew he was going to have to attack each day like a coach or a pro. He needed to spend more time in the film room and in the facility putting in the work and he did just that.
I also talked with Holstein back on media day and spoke to him about his injury because while it allowed him to participate in practice and play in drills and team sessions, he wasn't at full capacity. He wasn't able to use his legs to escape situations like he was comfortable doing. So, he had to improve in other ways.
"I had to really focus on making right decisions, throwing the ball, anticipating everything, because if something breaks down I wasn't able to get out and run," Holstein said. "I had to be really intent with protections, find my checkdowns and everything like that. So I feel like it's really helped me with where I am now. Even though I can run, I know where to go with the ball and everything like that. So it definitely helped me."
And that was noticed by his coaches throughout training camp. Narduzzi said Monday that it seemed like Holstein made "some major, major improvements. It's like he's caught up." He also added that Holstein has protected the ball: "You just watch him continue to get better every day and make good decisions with the ball. It’s all about the ball, guys. The ball is the ball game, protecting the football and making smart decisions is critical and now you have to go out and do that in the game as well."
On top of all this, Bell went out of his way to recruit Holstein and bring him to Pitt.
Holstein has said that Bell's offense drew him to Pitt because of how he would fit into it. When I asked him back on media day how Bell thought he fit into the offense, Holstein said: "Just being able to anticipate throws, getting the ball out quick and being able to run is something that he really enjoyed that I can do."
These are all things Bell has highlighted about Holstein since the beginning of camp and finally being at full capacity has allowed Holstein to gain ground on Yarnell and earn the trust of the coaching staff and his teammates.
Ultimately though, when someone is hired within a new organization or program, they want their guy. When a general manager is hired, they want to pick their coach or manager and when an offensive coordinator is hired, they want to choose their quarterback, and this decision, to a degree, is up to Bell.
"Kade has to be the No. 1, he sits in that meeting room, like I said, always. We’ll have conversations a lot. We talk about it at least every two days in my office. We’ll sit down and say, ‘OK, how’s it going?’ There’s good communication, but it can’t be one guy," Narduzzi said about who ultimately is going to make the starting quarterback decision. "I trust Kade to make the right decision but if I feel like it’s the wrong decision, I’m going to step up and veto."
None of this takes away from Yarnell's abilities. He's still respected within the program. He was good at the end of last season and is a solid quarterback with a strong and accurate arm. But, I think in this case, Holstein seems to be Bell's guy and now that he's fully healthy, he's being given the chance to prove what he's capable of in Bell's first official game at Pitt.
Whether he'll get another opportunity remains to be seen. The competition is still underway and while Holstein is making the first in-game impression, Yarnell could have just as strong of a showing. Only time will tell what way Bell and Narduzzi are going to go.
"It’s going to come down to game day," Narduzzi said. "What do you do when the lights come on and 12:07 p.m. comes?"
