Inside The Panthers

Pitt's Eli Holstein Growing Through Ups and Downs of Last Season

Eli Holstein reflected on last season at Pitt, and how adversity has strengthened him as a quarterback

Kevin Sinclair

Nov 9, 2024; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Pittsburgh Panthers quarterback Eli Holstein (10) scrambles with the ball as Virginia Cavaliers linebacker Kam Robinson (5) chases during the second quarter at Acrisure Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images
Nov 9, 2024; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Pittsburgh Panthers quarterback Eli Holstein (10) scrambles with the ball as Virginia Cavaliers linebacker Kam Robinson (5) chases during the second quarter at Acrisure Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images / Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images
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Through the first six games of the season, before Eli Holstein began to suffer injuries, the Pitt Panthers averaged 286 passing yards, 481 yards of total offense, and 40.8 points per game. 

From the seventh game of the season versus Syracuse, when Holstein suffered his first injury, through the end of the year, those per-game averages dropped to 233.6 passing yards, 346.4 total yards, and 26.1 points. 

Through adversity comes strength, according to Holstein who is preparing to enter his second season as the Pitt Panthers starting quarterback. 

The experience of dealing with last year’s adversity fuels his ability as a quarterback, as stated in Tuesday’s post-practice press conference.  

“Ups and downs, highs and lows, definitely,” Holstein said when asked to reflect on last season. “It was a great moment when I found out that I was the starting quarterback. Going through those games, those highs and lows in those games as well. 

“Starting off slow against Cincinnati, and then coming back at the end, winning that game. The ups and downs of the West Virginia game, coming back and winning those games. Having a great game against UNC, breaking some records. It's a lot of fun. 

“Some adversity hit, and I started getting into injury trouble, stuff like that. Just not being able to be out there with those guys, being able to play with them, nothing that I could really do out there on the field with them really hurt." 

“But that's part of the game, something that I've got to be able to handle and just push through and look forward to next year.”

How exactly will his experience in managing those ups and downs improve his performance throughout the upcoming season? 

“It's just going to be able to help me handle adversity next year,” Holstein said. “Football is a game of adversity. There's always going to be problems, something going against you. Good defense. Referees, I guess you could say. Being in adverse environments, playing away, games like that." 

“We're going to West Virginia this year. We're going to have to be able to handle adversity when you're playing in a game like that. I heard they're going to be throwing batteries at me and everything. So, (laughs) I'm looking forward to that," he continued.  

“As a quarterback, that's one of the biggest things a quarterback has to be able to do is handle adversity. What I've learned from last year, what I've learned throughout my career, even in high school, middle school, when I first started playing football, there's adversity around every corner in the game of football, and you've got to be able to handle it.”

In concert with his experiences last year in Pittsburgh, Holstein is encouraged by the cohesion with offensive coordinator Kade Bell as both enter Year Two. 

“We are light years ahead of where we were, I would say, midway through the season with this offense,” Holstein said. “These guys are a lot more comfortable. Coach Bell made tweaks and things that's going to benefit us a lot. 

“It makes me more comfortable in the offense, makes these receivers more comfortable with the tempo. We're changing up some tempos. We're doing stuff like that. These guys are able to line up faster because of the way Coach Bell has changed it.

“Everything that we've done recently is just making this offense better and better.”

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Kevin Sinclair
KEVIN SINCLAIR

Kevin Sinclair writes coverage of the Pitt Panthers along with the Baltimore Ravens, the New England Patriots, the Pittsburgh Steelers, and the Tennessee Titans for On SI. Previously, he was a recruiting reporter and managing editor at Irish Illustrated, the privately-owned Notre Dame site within the 247Sports Network, for over seven-and-a-half years. Kevin studied multimedia journalism and has been a sports writer for nearly a decade.

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