Penn State 2021 Recruiting Spotlight: Quarterback Christian Veilleux
Christian Veilleux is the quarterback of Penn State's 2021 class, a 6-3 prospect from Orleans, Ontario, Canada, who participated at this year's Elite 11 finals.
Veilleux is graduating from Maryland's The Bullis School, which unfortunately did not play football this fall. Though that prevented Veilleux from having a senior season to prepare for college, the quarterback brings plenty of potential to Penn State.
Here's SI All-American's scouting report on Veilleux.
Christian Veilleux
Position: Quarterback
Vitals: 6-3, 200 pounds
Hometown: Orleans, Ontario, Canada
High School: The Bullis School, Potomac, Md.
Frame: Long-limbed athlete with a high-cut frame. Narrow torso with fair-sized thighs and tight calves. Frame will easily add on even more mass in a college strength program.
Athleticism: Operates with good flexibility and knee bend in pocket. Keeps ball chest-high when processing. Above average in-pocket athleticism and has decent capability of performing off-platform throws in reactionary phase. Natural thrower of the football. Consistent whip-like release and ball comes out with good spin. Fair open-field cutting ability as a runner and subtle acceleration with good stride.
Instincts: Excellent timing and rhythm as a passer with solid anticipation and mental processing. Throws with very good touch. Capable of pitching a runner’s ball to allow his targets to gain yards in RAC phase. Good ball placement consistency. Solid accuracy on downfield throws with ability to place ball over receiver’s outside shoulder. Flashes ability to be decisive as a runner when reading initial blocks and will attempt to make a defender miss in space.
Polish: Currently plays in a shotgun and pistol-based offense. Makes solid pre-snap reads and consistently pushes ball from a clean pocket. Will need to increase his physical mass and strength to hold up at the collegiate level. Must continue to speed up his internal clock and lower-half mechanics.
Bottom Line: Originally from Ontario, Canada, Veilleux is a natural passer who is best from the pocket. He has good, though not elite, arm strength, excelling with very good timing, a consistent stroke and good ball-placement skills. He will need to continue progressing at being as dynamic with rushers in his face and at his feet as he is in a clean pocket, but he has the potential to be a starting college signal-caller. Veilleux fits best as a ball distributor in an offense with an intermediate passing game that demands timing, rhythm and decisiveness from its quarterback.
Get the latest Penn State news by joining the community. Click "Follow" at the top right of our AllPennState page. Mobile users click the notification bell. And please follow AllPennState on Twitter @MarkWogenrich.
