Christian Veilleux Impresses in First Start
PITTSBURGH -- In his first start, Christian Veilleux led the Pitt Panthers past the No. 14 Louisville Cardinals for the team's first win since Week One and their first against an ACC opponent this season.
Whatever the expectations were for Veilleux heading into Saturday's game, he exceeded them and then some. He threw for 200 yards and two touchdowns in addition to 20 yards on the ground, all while commanding a unit that scored 31 points against one of the best defenses in the conference.
"He made plays when he needed to,” Narduzzi said. “That last fourth-down touchdown pass was right on the money to Konata."
Veilleux spoke about how the win can uplift the locker room and get them back on the right track during the last half of the season.
"Our team needed this. We needed this to pick us up and get us back to playing the ball that we know we can play," Veilleux stated. "It feels amazing, and I wouldn’t sacrifice anything else to celebrate this with my teammates.”
Bub Means, whom Veilleux threw his first touchdown of the night to, discussed the quarterback's preparation leading up to the game as well as his intensity.
"He was just laser-focused,” Means said. “He came out here and performed. We’ve been doing that, we’ve been executing in practice, and we came out here and executed on the field.”
Means also mentioned his personal relationship with Veilleux and the qualities he possesses that make him successful.
"That’s my dog. He’s got swag," Means said. “I like his swag, I like his game, I like his preparation, I like his work ethic. He’s a baller.”
Shayne Simon heaped a lot of praise on Veilleux following the game as well, focusing on his intangibles and serenity in the face of pressure.
"He stepped up, man,” Simon said. “Seeing how he stepped into the limelight and stepped into this game with the poise and presence that he has, you can’t coach that. You can’t teach that. That’s something that’s just inside of him. He kind of took over the game for us. He weathered the storm. With good and bad, we’re riding with him. It was great to see play and great to see him perform and have fun with it.”
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