Pitt’s Eli Holstein could build legacy, boost NFL Draft stock vs. West Virginia originally appeared on The Sporting News

The West Virginia Mountaineers aren’t the toughest team on the Pittsburgh Panthers’ schedule. They won’t play the biggest role in defining Pitt’s conference championship hopes, and beating them won’t thrust the Panthers into the AP Top 25.

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Even so, you’ll be hard-pressed to find someone on campus who doesn’t consider Saturday a must-win game. West Virginia is a rival, a rather fierce one at that, and the implications of this Week 3 clash could define the current class of Panthers.

Saturday’s Backyard Brawl will be the final one until 2029 after scheduling conflicts threatened to end an underrated rivalry. For Pitt quarterback Eli Holstein, the Brawl is his last chance to earn Panthers fans local bragging rights.

Holstein’s 2025 is critical for his development

The Mountaineers will be Pitt’s first test of the season. The Panthers are touchdown favorites on the road after two blowout wins against Duquesne and Central Michigan. Holstein has looked the part in the early going, but showing out against Power Four competition will be integral to accelerating his NFL ETA to 2026 instead of 2027.

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He found success in 2024, although turnover woes and consistency issues have somewhat dampened his trajectory. That’s par for the course of an inexperienced passer in the first year of a new system. With a strong enough season, he could put himself in the Day 2 conversation or raise his standing for next year’s class. There’s plenty to like in his profile, including a handful of traits that serve him well as a potential NFL starter.

Chief among them is Holstein’s comfort over the middle of the field.

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Holstein is aggressive between the hashmarks and has a quick trigger. He works well within structure and sets his receivers up for success after the catch.

He lacks elite arm strength but is willing to unholster deeper throws and has adequate velocity for tight-window throws to the short and intermediate parts of the field. Subsequently, winning where other passers struggle gives him an edge. He isn’t schematically limited because of his height or middle-of-field maturity. Holstein is also a plus athlete who is an effective scrambler and makes the occasional play out of structure.

MORE: Ranking the best quarterbacks in the 2026 NFL Draft

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Holstein’s measured aggressiveness also provides promise in the red zone. When windows shrink and throws demand conviction and precision, he might be at his best.

Even so, his inexperience plagues the current state of his game. A reckless interception in Week 1 was a brief reminder that there’s work left to be done within structure. He can be a little too happy to get to the checkdown, and things can get erratic under pressure. His playmaking is limited because of his arm strength, and that hindrance means he has to excel on the easy stuff. Being late on quick throws to the boundary can be as good as a turnover, and if it’s showing up in ACC play, it’ll look worse on Sundays.

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As such, Holstein has some boxes to check in the biggest game of his college career. Sure, that might get superseded by a date with Florida State, Notre Dame, or Miami, but before he makes an impact in the NFL, he’ll hope to leave one on his second collegiate home.

Taking care of business against West Virginia would deliver the school the type of win that means more than a boost in the ACC standings. Flashing NFL traits in the process and taking the next step as a passer would better set the stage for a potential late-cycle rise before April.

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