Pitt gets verbal commitment from ex-Alabama quarterback Eli Holstein
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Pat Narduzzi hopes he altered the landscape and trajectory of Pitt’s football program with four coaching changes on offense, but he went a step further Sunday.
Narduzzi took another swing at a transfer quarterback and secured a verbal commitment from Eli Holstein, formerly of Alabama. He is the 12th player to announce plans to transfer to Pitt since the end of the season.
Time to get to work!!!! #H2P pic.twitter.com/aF0IRPabzK
— Eli Holstein (@eli_holstein10) January 7, 2024
Holstein (6-foot-4, 220 pounds) was a freshman for the Crimson Tide this season, but he did not appear in any games before deciding to transfer. Three other quarterbacks played briefly behind starter and redshirt sophomore Jalen Milroe, who led Alabama into the College Football Playoff.
With Holstein, Pitt is adding a four-star quarterback with four years of eligibility. He was one of the most highly regarded high school players in the nation at his position during the 2022 season, ranked by Rivals.com the No. 9 pro-style quarterback and the 147th overall prospect in the class of 2023. He had offers from several major power schools, including Georgia, Ohio State and Penn State. He was committed to Texas A&M for nine months before flipping to Alabama.
Starting for three seasons at Zachary (La.) High School, Holstein amassed impressive statistics, including 7,014 passing yards, 1,233 rushing yards, 62 touchdowns and 13 interceptions.
On a smaller scale, Zachary coach David Brewerton compared Holstein to the Buffalo Bills’ Josh Allen for his ability to escape the pocket and gain significant yards. Sports Illustrated’s John Garcia Jr. said, “Think Tim Tebow in college, at least in principle.”
Holstein isn’t the first quarterback from another school to catch Narduzzi’s eye. Actually, he’s the ninth to transfer to Pitt since Nathan Peterman left Tennessee to lead Narduzzi’s first team in 2015.
Those who followed include:
• Christian Veilleux (Penn State), who started five games last season and entered calendar year 2024 expecting to compete for the starting job with Nate Yarnell. Now, it’s a three-man derby.
• Kedon Slovis (USC), who played in 11 games in 2022, throwing for 2,397 yards and 10 touchdowns before deciding to transfer before the end of his only season.
• Phil Jurkovec (Boston College), who was recruited last year largely because of his connection with then-offensive coordinator Frank Cignetti Jr. With the Pitt offense struggling, Jurkovec lost his job five games into the 2023 season.
• Joey Yellen (Arizona State), who lasted only one season after throwing three interceptions against Notre Dame in 2020.
• Ricky Town (Ventura College) and Jeff George Jr. (Illinois/Michigan) enrolled in 2018 but were never considered serious threats to Kenny Pickett’s starting job.
• Max Browne (USC), who completed 71.1% of his passes for 997 yards and five touchdowns in six games in 2017. He suffered a shoulder injury that season, a development that elevated Pickett to No. 1 backup behind Ben DiNucci.
• Peterman (Tennessee), who started in 2015 and 2016 and engineered an upset of eventual national champion Clemson in 2016.
Slovis, Browne and Peterman are the only quarterbacks on the list to enjoy success in multiple games at Pitt.