Former Pitt QB Christian Veilleux Headed to Sun Belt

Veilleux has a ton of talent, his ceiling is high, but he just wasn’t ever able to actually put it together in Pittsburgh. And Pitt couldn’t wait for him.

It became clear somewhat early that Veilleux was falling out of favor with the new coaching staff this spring. Yarnell entered the spring as the starter after he finished the final two games last season, and it only took about a month for Alabama transfer Eli Holstein to rise up the depth chart. Veilleux was slated to enter summer camp as the No. 3 after he went 0-of-6 in the spring game.

Just look at what Kade Bell said when asked about how the quarterback room was shaping up this spring:

“Christian is developing when it comes to understanding what I want,” Bell said earlier this spring. “He has a lot of talent. That’s what is sometimes frustrating with Christian because you all watched it at Pro Day, he can absolutely spin it. But he has to understand, hey, it’s okay to check the ball down. It’s okay to take the flats. It’s okay to just find the completions because in this system, when the big plays are there, they’re going to be there. They’re going to be open. We get guys open, I think that’s the biggest thing we do.

“We don’t just throw the ball up and hope our guys make a play. We want to help them get open. He just has to understand the process of what I want as an offensive coordinator, and he’s trying to. He’s getting better. I truly think it’s hard when you’ve been through three or four different offenses. You’ve had to reprogram your reads, reprogram what an offensive coordinator wants because when it comes down to it, when I call a play, you want the guy who’s pulling the trigger to know exactly why I called that play. What does coach Bell want out of this play? What does he want to get accomplished? That’s the process we’re in with him right now.”

Veilleux started the spring in that QB2 spot, as Holstein worked back from a winter hamstring injury, but he wasn’t able to hold Holstein off for long. The spring game draft saw Yarnell as the first quarterback selected and Holstein as the second. I don’t want to put too much into the draft, but it was the players who picked the teams.

Veilleux played in seven games last season (making five starts) and completed 94-of-184 pass attempts for 1,179 yards with seven touchdowns and eight interceptions.

He put a lot into Pitt, seemingly earned the respect of his teammates and provided good depth in the room. But he wasn’t going to start at Pitt, and with the portal opening back up, it made sense for him to find a place where he’d be able to play.

Veilleux should be able to compete for the starting job at Georgia State and put together a strong conclusion to his college career, which has two seasons of eligibility remaining.