Christian Veilleux Impressing Pitt Staff in Training Camp
PITTSBURGH -- Pat Narduzzi opened 2023 training camp with a surprising evaluation of the Pitt Panthers' quarterback room, saying there is open competition at that position.
He's on the record multiple times naming Phil Jurkovec as the starter, but he's left the backup job an open question, with Penn State transfer Christian Veilleux and redshirt sophomore Nate Yarnell battling for the upper hand. So far, it seems like Veilleux has taken an early lead.
“The offense had a really good day yesterday," head coach Pat Narduzzi said. "Phil and Christian hit on some deep, deep throws yesterday and the receivers were definitely not as rusty yesterday for sure.”
Veilleux was the most impressive of all three quarterbacks in the Spring Game, completing six of his nine passes for 74 yards and a touchdown, and he's carried that momentum into the summer, where he's impressed coaches alongside Jurkovec as training camp progresses.
In team drills over the weekend, Veilleux connected with two of the Panthers' talented freshmen receivers for explosive plays, a sign that the new guys have started to get a grasp on offensive coordinator Frank Cignetti's system.
"Just typical coverage that our defense plays and I took advantage of it," Veilleux said. "Lamar [Seymore] made a nice deep ball catch. Kenny Johnson made a great diving catch on the football. It's starting to click with these guys."
Going back to the first day of training camp, Narduzzi has highlighted not just his passing skills, but the leadership capabilities he possesses and the progress he's made learning the offense as well.
But Narduzzi still has faith in all three of his quarterbacks. Yarnell has starting experience and earned praise from his head coach repeatedly last season. There are still three weeks of training camp left to complete but the Panthers are as confident in their signal callers as they've been since Narduzzi arrived.
"We’ve got three quarterbacks, I really believe," Narduzzi said. "I think I may have started off talking about on day one about how that quarterback room is in good shape, as good as it’s been since I got here. We’re happy with the guys we have in that room and Christian had a great day as well. Nate didn’t have as many reps but if he did, probably would have been just as good. They’re throwing it pretty good right now.”
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