As Pitt moves into the third week of training camp, there are a few storylines we've been watching, and one, in particular, seems it deserves some extra attention.
The quarterback competition.
From what I've been hearing lately, it really is a competition - and one that is not necessarily favoring the incumbent.
That's not to say Nate Yarnell has been playing poorly; it sounds like he's having a fine camp. But by all indications, Eli Holstein is pushing him. Really pushing him. Holstein was dealing with a lingering injury in spring camp and that probably held him back a little bit, but he's healthy now and seems to be turning up the intensity of the quarterback competition.
Prior to camp, we figured Yarnell was all but locked in as QB1. After a week of camp, it seemed like the competition was more open than I thought and Holstein might get some early-season playing time to keep the competition going into the season. Now I think there's a legitimate chance Holstein wins the job outright in camp.
There's still two weeks and (probably) one scrimmage left before they start the first official week of game prep ahead of the opener, so a lot can happen. But I think this week and Saturday's scrimmage (I assume they're scrimmaging again on Saturday) are going to be really, really interesting in terms of the quarterback situation.
The quarterback competition.
From what I've been hearing lately, it really is a competition - and one that is not necessarily favoring the incumbent.
That's not to say Nate Yarnell has been playing poorly; it sounds like he's having a fine camp. But by all indications, Eli Holstein is pushing him. Really pushing him. Holstein was dealing with a lingering injury in spring camp and that probably held him back a little bit, but he's healthy now and seems to be turning up the intensity of the quarterback competition.
Prior to camp, we figured Yarnell was all but locked in as QB1. After a week of camp, it seemed like the competition was more open than I thought and Holstein might get some early-season playing time to keep the competition going into the season. Now I think there's a legitimate chance Holstein wins the job outright in camp.
There's still two weeks and (probably) one scrimmage left before they start the first official week of game prep ahead of the opener, so a lot can happen. But I think this week and Saturday's scrimmage (I assume they're scrimmaging again on Saturday) are going to be really, really interesting in terms of the quarterback situation.
