Pitt All 105: QB Eli Holstein Remains in the Mix for Starting Job

All 105 is a Pittsburgh Sports Now series profiling each of the 105 members of the Pitt 2024 training camp roster. 

Eli Hostein, a redshirt freshman quarterback from Zachary in Zachary, Lou.

2023 season: Holstein redshirted and didn’t play in any games during his freshman season at Alabama

Stats: Holstein hasn’t recorded any stats during his collegiate career, but he’s not far removed from throwing for 2,153 yards with 22 touchdowns and three interceptions — adding 64 carries for 505 yards (7.9 yards per attempt) and nine touchdowns — as a senior at Zachary

Camp outlook: Holstein does have an opportunity to play his way on the field throughout the summer. He’s entered the summer as the No. 2 behind Nate Yarnell, but he’s still in the mix

Projected role: Holstein likely isn’t going to dethrone Yarnell this summer, but he’s going to push his fellow quarterback all the way. And he’s available if called upon

Eli Holstein (6-foot-4, 225 pounds) was one of the top quarterbacks in the class of 2023, flipping from Texas A&M to Alabama in the summer of 2022. As a consensus four-star recruit, he was rated as the 88th-ranked recruit in the class by 247Sports (eighth-overall quarterback) and 147th-ranked recruit in the class by Rivals (ninth-overall pro-style quarterback).

He held offers from the likes of Arkansas, Auburn, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, LSU, Louisville, Miami, Michigan State, Mississippi State, Ohio State, Oklahoma State, Oregon, Penn State, Purdue, South Carolina, Stanford, Texas A&M and Utah before signing with Alabama last January.

Holstein was ultra-efficient in 2022 as a senior at Zachary, completing 159-of-244 pass attempts (65%) for 2,153 yards with 22 touchdowns and three interceptions — adding 64 carries for 505 yards (7.9 yards per attempt) and nine touchdowns.

And he was even better as a junior, throwing for 3,264 yards, rushing for 515 more and scoring 43 total touchdowns on the way to a perfect 15-0 season — capped by a state title.

“Eli Holstein has really taken it to another level,” Kade Bell said in March. “He’s gotten better and better and better. Very calm, operates very well, understands what’s going on — a lot like Nate. And he gets the ball out of his hands. He knows where to go with it. He’s a guy who — he was a little bit behind because he had a hamstring in February, so he didn’t get a lot of reps when they were doing stuff. So for him, he’s just got to keep getting reps, just keep getting more opportunities experience-wise.”

Holstein will push Yarnell for the starting job throughout camp. It’s still unlikely that he’ll dethrone Yarnell, but he’s firmly in the mix.