Pitt football: Is Nate Yarnell still the starting QB? Or is Eli Holstein closing in?

Intro hello and welcome to the pit mailbag show from the Pittsburgh Post cazette where your hosts Chris Carter and Stephen Thompson you're pit beat Riders here for the Pittsburgh Post cazette you can find all of our written work at postgazette.com you can find us here on the post gazette's YouTube page as well as on all your favorite podcasting apps by searching for the Post cazette sports uh to get all of our Tuesday episodes of the pit mailbag show stepen it is the final week of training camp for pit football which now means we are less than two weeks away from the season opener where pit takes on Kent Ste state for thank the heavens a noon kickoff we have noon kickoffs thank you God I I so appreciate that because I was driven nuts by how we didn't have any last year but anyway Stephen how you doing I'm doing well you know the only thing is so we get a new kickoff for the Ken State game but that's the same time as Georgia Clemson and uh Penn State West Virginia is kicking off so we are G to miss some of the Marquee matchups but I think I'd definitely rather be at Pit Kent State than uh I guess at home watching those games you know who who could possibly want to miss uh that third Marquee match up the golden flashes and the Panthers at actra Stadium absolutely but big question that everyone has and we'll kick up kick that offense what's going to be look what's the offense going to be looking like and specifically at quarterback James sent in a question for QB race us by the way you can always DM us or email us if you uh either on Twitter or hit us up on our post cazette emails if you'd like to get a question in on the show but James asked is Nate Yarnell still the definite starting quarterback or has Eli Holstein made the race tight uh Stephen this is a good question because uh there's been some speculation especially when pit puts out certain highlights when they're showing the scrimmages and everything like that and people see Eli Holstein throwing to certain receivers what do you make of this QB race and is this is this a whole bunch of hoop for nothing at the end of the day no I don't I don't think it's a whole lot of hoop for nothing um I I think uh James is on to something here The the wind has definitely shifted a little bit um I think at the beginning of Camp when we talked about the quarterback race I think Nate Yarnell kind of had a strangle hold on that starting quarterback job it doesn't really seem like that's the case anymore it seems like the race is a little bit more wide open the last time we heard from Pat ardi he did say that Nate was still St was still currently in I I guess what we've uh what we've heard from Mike Tomlin all offseason about a pole position um he is kind of still leading that race but it's not a guarantee that he's going to be the qb1 come week one against Kent State um it's a little more up in the air I think Eli Holstein who uh had a little bit of a hamstring injury if I remember correctly from uh the Spring ball has gotten a little bit healthier and with that has shown a lot more um he's been able to use his athleticism his speed um and he's been able to kind of command this offense a little bit more efficiently as he's learned it a little bit more so the race is certainly tighter um the scrimmage that the Panthers had yesterday their final scrimmage of training camp before they uh you know round out camp and head into game week I think we'll go uh or definitely did go a long way in determining who's going to be that guy uh come week one uh in stadium opportunities as they call them that that scrimmage wases at AER Stadium uh those experiences those opportunities go a longer way than say if you're uh than your average 11 on 11 period in the middle of of practice um so we're going to get some interesting answers from Pat ardi tomorrow um I don't know if he's going to make he has made a decision or if he's going to make a decision anytime soon um but I think that he will be a lot closer to decision than he was before that scrimmage uh say on Saturday or the last time we talked to him so I think things are nearing a conclusion um but this race is decidedly tighter than it was when Camp began Eli holin has come on pretty strong by the by the sound of it uh and jarnell is going to have to do some real work to to solidify his spot as it started I I do think this might be the case is that pit saw what happened last year when they overly committed to a quarterback that they thought was their qb1 and then it turned out it wasn't that he wasn't the best quarterback nor was the second guy who they thought was the best quarterback so maybe there's some open-mindedness here and it's also a new offensive coordinator Like Pat patard dozi is the head coach of this team and and what he says goes the end of the day but I you know they just had the worst offense in all of in all of the ACC and Cade Bell was brought in to help fix that and I can't imagine that Cade Bell wouldn't want to try to fix that by putting the person that he thinks is is best out there now again maybe it is Nate Yarnell thing is we don't get to see all of practice we get to see certain portions of practice so our our our view is much more limited than say like if we were covering the Steelers where they let you watch all of all of practice especially all the training camp heck we can report what's going on all the training camp uh but so it's it's a limited perspective there but I do think that there's there's smoke going to the IDE AA that Eli Holstein could be pushing Nate Nate jarnell it's why they they brought him in as a transfer and I think Eli Holstein was looking for an opportunity to play when he came to pit and it seems like maybe he's he's getting a chance to at least prove himself in this QB battle so that'll be something that we keep in mind keep our mind out for here let's talk more about other positions on RB race offense KGI ask asks us who's standing out at running back now Stephen you know the running back position kind of is a complicated one because you got one Rodney Hammond who didn't have a great year last year but is you know clearly the top running back from the from the previous team but then you have Desmond Reed who's brought in who knows the Western Carolina offense who's been we we've talked to him and he's talked about how he's been you know helping players learn the Playbook and understand what their roles are but then you also have a guy like Derek Davis who transferred to the team you know a year ago and you know switched positions and has been figuring things out um and then you have young guys you also have an older guy like Daniel Carter who's who's the stand out guy right now for you at running back yeah I think it's pretty clearly Desmond Reed um it's a guy that the the coaching staff hasn't been able to stop talking about really since he arrived since string uh since spring camp began I think his knowledge of the offense really helps but I think his speed does too he has home run hitting ability in a way that very few guys on this roster do have um I think when when I was going into Camp Rodney Hammond seemed like the top guy as well it seemed like he and Reed were going to split carries but now that I think Rodney's maybe fading a little bit and I think the fact that Derrick Davis Has Come On A Little Bit Stronger I think finding his footing a little bit more as a running back contributed to that as well it seems like there is I guess more separation between Reed and the rest of the pack and then it's kind of everyone else fighting for snaps beyond that that said there's probably going to be a lot of snaps to go around um you know I I haven't done the math out specifically but I think it's pretty obvious that this pit team is going to move a lot faster than its previous iterations um they you know if they got 60 snaps per game last year they might get something closer to 80 um or 75 so there'll be a lot more playing time just on its own to go around so it's not like even if Rodney Hammond or Derrick Davis is relegated to an rb2 uh job that they won't see the field at all there will be plenty of chances for them to prove what they can do in this offense and maybe even move up the depth chart who knows but I think the fact that we have heard nothing but good things about Desmond Reed throughout training camp in Spring ball tells us pretty clearly who the top guy is in that running back room and it's Esmond Reed last time pit was a had a serious threat at running back it was a guy that was a home run hitter and Name is Izzy ab banaka and Desmond Reed might be a lot closer to that than a Rodney Hammond I think Rodney Hammond's still a guy that can grind out games can play that but Cade bel's offense isn't your old school Pat Nardi Big 10 type of offense it's meant to be fast flying quick you know and use the running backs in the passing game and it has been Reed I think very much fits that and so I think there's going to be I think it's I think even if Rodney Hammond is per se the starter you know for pits offense I don't think it will be a hefty split between the carries or the the overall snaps that are used by between between the teams because to me uh start in today's college football World especially and this also for the NFL but especially in college football whether or not you are officially the quote unquote starter doesn't matter as much as who gets the most snaps on the field because some teams want to start with a certain running back out there but there's another player who they wheel out and gets just as me just as many snaps and maybe gets more touches in in a game that's where I think this could come down to Rodney Hammond might be the guy who comes out on first down they hand the ball off to he pounds away and he wears down some wears down an opposing defense but then Des re comes in and is the really fast back that once they're worn down maybe they're a little bit slower than they're thinking he takes off and hits a big play but either way I do agree that Desmond Reed is going to be a major part of this offense or at least attempt to be a major part of this offense I also think Derrik Davis is the is the is the closest other veteran that fits that kind of play style he's really fast he's big he can he can make those types of plays I think that that's where both of them might have an edge on on a rod Rodney Hammond and there's also young guys like Mont trivus Lloyd and Jules gof you know those are two guys who you know have the speed as well and at least looked like they did in the blue gold game so I'll be interested to see what they prioritize at running back uh as when we actually get to see them play real football yeah I I think it's going to be really interesting to see in that first game how the snaps get divided up against Ken State um I do kind of expect Reed to be the first guy that they Trot out there but I also think there are some different skill sets some different body types on this roster in the running back's room that that Kell will be able to play around with um you know short you know third and short situations you might see more Rodney Hammond or even Daniel Carter um but you know on on you know obvious passing downs and teams like Desmond Reed is maybe the better pass catcher and he'll be better suited for that situation as well so um lot to be determined still um it's really like a lot of things we're not going to know how it's going to shake out for the rest of the season until we actually see this offense on the field against a different opponent uh on game day on August 31st absolutely we'll get to our next question here that comes from Irwin how True freshman many true freshman actually see the field this year talking about true freshman on pit football we presume there because H there's what Brandon Cummings on the on the basketball team and does also say field so does not say Court yeah that's a good point good observation look look at look at you using your detective Powers there but um let's let's let's go over this so there's there's quite a few true freshman on this team by the way like it's this is not a a small class uh to be to to be dealing with here but I feel like Stephen there are some obvious names that stick out especially some fourstar Prospect names that stick out uh that should be in the front of this line but maybe some others too yeah I I think the defensive line especially there's a combination of guys who are we former fourstar recruits Blue Chip guys and then also occupy a position of need um thinking primarily about Francis brew and CER Edwards a couple guys that we've talked a ton about uh this training camp and and even before uh back going back to Spring ball um but Brew um is just this kind of freak of nature um super strong guy unnaturally strong for a true freshman um and I think it's it's pretty clear that he's going to see the field and seal see the field quite a bit uh playing defensive tackle at a spot that that has a lot of snaps up for grab and I think the same thing is true for sincere Edwards who pner doy said has been a little banged up uh during training camp but they're getting him healthy uh slowly but but surely he plays defensive end where there's really only one guy that you could pencil in uh or or set in stone as a starter and that's Nate matl The Graduate transfer from Kansas State uh there there are a ton of other snaps up for grabs on a defense that's going to be rotating a defensive line excuse me that's gonna be rotating through guys a lot so brew and Edwards I'd say are your leading candidates to a lesser extent I think you know juster Winnington may also be in the mix as well but defensive line I think is where it's going to be most heavily those true freshmen uh playing the most yeah I think it's also interesting to talk about this from the perspective of things are different with college football you know because for years we've covered it we've also just watched it and teams would hide their true freshman they'd like no they need to get ready ready for it but especially talented players guys that are high rank prospects teams are getting them on the field faster and why because the transfer portal is a thing and if a player isn't playing they feel like they're not they have a question of playing the next year they might dip they might be like you know what I'm gonna go somewhere that values me that that puts me on the field that sees that I'm a talented guy players want to see the field faster and I think that that's absolutely part of the equation right now but to get specifically into some of these players uh that that that you were that you were me mentioning here I definitely look at the defensive lineman it's tough to ignore the potential of you know Francis breu who just looks like a tank when he walks around pits football field and I mean he it is freakish how jacked that that kid looks um but you can't ignore josier Whittington he was like the first major fourstar guy to to commit to pit of this group and there's four of these guys right like this isn't a small this isn't just one or two guys Francis is one uh uh Jos is one sin siner is one and then then you have Cam Lindsay and and frankly I think all four might be in position to see decent time this year now here's the one thing about cam Lindsay the linebacker room as you wrote this weekend in your feature story go read that if you guys haven't by the way postgazette.com but this linebacker room is maybe the deepest it's been in a very long time maybe ever under Pat Nardi and it's not just you know some 60-year seniors and some holdovers that have been hanging around like you know Johnny Patrician and Phil Campbell who were really good but were 6ye guys who were kind of holding over in the covid Years these are now red shirt sophomores and and true sophomores that have been waiting their turn that are young explosive fast and very much fit the profile of what pit recruits to be their their their linebacker positions there's at least six guys that I think are ready to go and then there's cam Lindsay and if Cam Lindsay if he's flying around we've seen him get some props from coaches uh for what he's done in some of these training camp practices maybe they find a way to get him on there too because he's another guy that I think could be really really good for for pit football so if I'm looking at at at the upper tier of guys that I think definitely get a shot I think Francis Brew is too strong to deny I think he gets put in there I think we've heard enough about sincere Edward Wards being a factor and how Edge doesn't have as many definitive spots there uh or players there yet I think that he fits in there I wonder about josier Whittington because he's not as he doesn't look as fully jacked as seah Francis does and to me that might play into the idea that well pit also went and got a guy like Nick James a guy like Anthony Johnson you know they they still have nikai they still have they still have Shawn they have defensive tackles who I think who I think they expect to kind of be there so maybe josier falls to the back of that rotation and they try to like play him a little bit but not enough to make him burn a red red shirt but again it might come down to you just Pat ardi feel like they need to get these guys out there so they don't lose them to the transfer portal yeah it's a really interesting time in college football I think you make a good point um it's it's it's not even I think it's about not losing guys and making sure they feel valued and that they get enough playing time to feel like they are they are a part of something here but also you know there's no sense in in if you think a guy might might transfer if there's any possibility of that there's no sense in Saving one of their years of Eligibility if you think eventually they're just going to use that at a different school um so uh you know even if a guy might not be there for very long you might as well play him as many games as you can make room for uh because you know he can't take that you can't take that when he leaves and speaking about cam Lindsay too I think the most telling thing I think I agree with you he he's going to see the field in some capacity whether that's you know more on special teams versus defense I we've seen freshman linebackers like Rasheen bil make impacts on special teams before um especially last year and big ones uh big impacts at that um but I think the most telling thing that we heard from Pat ardui this training camp was that uh Camin is athletically and and physically ready to play division one college football um which is not always the case for guys who come in uh and are spending their first year uh at the division one level I think um it's pretty rare to find true freshmen who are are physically and athletically ready to handle the rigors of college football straight out of high school so um I think cam Lindsay is also a pretty smart kid so he'll be able to pick up the Playbook fast enough to eventually maybe it's not right away but I think deep into ACC play he'll have a real chance to to see some snaps and see them pretty quickly um you know that's that's without assuming that's assuming that there aren't even uh any injuries that pop up uh at Key spots that would open up opportunities for him I think by his own Merit cam Lindsay is a guy who will will see the field on his own i' I'd even throw Davin brutin in there too he's another one that we heard will see the field in some capacity whether that's special teams uh or defense there are probably at least half a dozen true freshman from this class who you will see on the field pretty regularly for the Panthers this season I certainly think that there's Pitt basketball there's a good chance that you're going to see a lot of younger guys playing playing uh and and let's face it also another Factor here the co years are gone well not gone they're still technically a lot of them are a lot of them are yeah but but the generation of covid is almost out of college I think that technically I think next year might be the last year that Co that people who were during played during the covid season of 2020 are eligible to have that season wiped out that could still be in college football um but like you know on this team alone I think Brandon George key Thompson I think those might be the only guys that that fit that um uh that that narrative as far or or you know have been around or I guess like you know there's Jason Coler there's other Nate Temple guys like that as well um but by you know by the by that that generation is going out which means younger players are going to get more chances on college football across the board but let's switch to college basketball real quick before we get out of here because we have you people have been wondering about the pit Panthers on the hoop court and that's Marvin who asked this question who says if Jeff cable doesn't land Thomas next year who are the big targets for pit basketball now if you are familiar with all of our coverage at postgazette.com Steven's been running the recruitment report for the past month and a half two months it's it's month and a half right because you started we go yeah look look look at us there now you know when I when I was doing the recruitment report uh before before that Stephen I remember Malik Thomas was the big story but there were certainly other names that pit was locking in who were really good Prospect you know not top five in the country overall like Malik Thomas but they were targeting um you know big players and especially at the guards positions yeah I think you look at kind of just generally the scholarship calendar the roster right now guard should be a priority um you know ishma leot and jayen low those are two guys who seem like they this might be their last year in college basketball for different reasons um same thing for Damen Dunn um the Panthers have brought in a couple freshman guards osal deik and uh uh Brandon Cummings excuse me um but they'll still need to kind of restock that position a little bit um so Malik Thomas is obviously the white whale that's the one everyone's thinking about he's the biggest name um but there's a lot of competition for him you know least among them Yukon the reigning National Championships or Champions excuse me Arkansas who has uh not only a connection to Thomas with uh John K Perry who recruited him when he was at Kentucky but also some massive nil backing um that you got to consider as well um and a bunch of other really strong programs Too Blue Bloods um you know teams with a lot of history and and some let's face it better recent success than pits so um you kind of got to face the reality that they yeah might not land Malik Thomas as strong as his connection to pit might be um but like you said there there's still plenty of really talented and and sought-after Prospects that are considering the Panthers and considering them really strongly I think the top guys on that list are Amari excuse me Amari Evans and Dereck Dixon um you wrote about Mari Evans a while back but four-star guy uh from Pittsburgh and then Derrick Dixon another fourstar from the DC area plays at Powerhouse Gonzaga High School down there um both of those guys have taken a couple of visits out to pit um they've seen the Panthers in person um and pit has been recruiting them for for years so I think those are kind of the top two guys on their list right now um the Panthers are I wouldn't say taking a step back from recruiting those guys but I think they are kind of exploring other options after kind of saying we've seen the Panthers we know what we need to know about them let's see what my other options are Dixon I think uh has added Arizona and North Carolina to his list I think he has a couple visits scheduled for them uh this fall Amari Evans will be playing with Malik Thomas at overtime Elite down in Atlanta this year and has a few other bluebud schools but both these guys named pit to top schools lists uh they've taken visits so I'd consider pit really strong contenders for those two guys and then kind of further down the list are two others Isaiah Dennis and Amari Witherspoon Dennis is a four-star guy put pit in his top schools list uh I believe last week or earlier this month uh and then uh he also has a visit scheduled for our Labor Day weekend out to Pittsburgh so we see them in person real soon uh Witherspoon's a three star Guard from the DC area um he just got offered very recently I believe it was the end of July when he got offered uh but he also kept the Panthers in a top schools list that he released this month so those guys I would say not as strong a contenders with pit Evans and Dixon are the names that you really want to watch right now um I think the only question is how many of these guys G be able to take um are they gonna want to take um like I said they've they've got delich they've got Cummings but they will also have two extra scholarships going into the 2025 season with the NCAA house settlement um that expanded scholarship limits for men's basketball teams they will have 15 instead of 13 Panthers don't really know how they're going to use those yet or at least they're not sharing with us how they're going to use those scholarships so um that's another thing to watch as well is just how how much bigger these recruiting classes may or may not get um they have some options for how they can use those scholarship limits uh that extra scholarship that extra room on the scholarship limit whether it's an extra high school guard or another transfer portal guy or you know maybe given an extra scholarship to a walk-on who's been around the program and kind of are in that spot uh remains to be seen But there at least four guys that I would consider relatively strong leans or at least uh contenders for the Panthers with Evans and Dixon at the top of that list I hear you on that I think Pitt basketball recruiting that yeah because I I I have written about Evans and you know Dixon has been in play for a bit I think the really good thing of pit here is that they have real shots or it would appear to be real shots at top tier guys if they don't hit their big shot of Malik Thomas I used to cover I covered them for a different Outlet back when they were in the big Fon Reed Chase and Fon Reed was that guy that Center that was they were were down to the wire looked like they were just about to get him and then suddenly at the last second the the announcements change times and then he goes to Florida and that and that leads to him this pit missing out and they didn't have an I think an adequate backup plan so if you don't get this super festar guy maybe you can get some four-star guys and it seems like with this plan that even if they don't land a Malik Thomas they can if they still land a Dixon or uh or an Evans or even or even Isaiah Dennis they have they have options espe at the guard position because I I think one thing and I've written about this before as well pit is in a position where I I think that they have a lot of forwards they can count on for the near future you got you brought in cam Corin this year from the transfer portal you got you know am's back you got po Papa con you got forwards lined up that I think can give you depth for a while but you just saw bub Carrington go to the NBA in in in one season um you know ishmail leg's gone after this season if Jaylen low has a bub Carrington like year I wouldn't be shocked if he was gone after after this season granted his La he doesn't have the length of Carrington so that might be be a different thing for the NBA draft but you have to account for those type of things you do have Brandon Cummings in in in in the in in the pipeline but if you get a superstar scoring guard to pair long-term with either low for the next couple years or Cummings for the next couple years that could really continue the train that I think Jeff capable could have started and Heck if you somehow do land Malik Thomas and he's gone for another he's he's definitely going to be gone in one year with the way that he's expected to play even Landing another guys on another one of these guys on top of Thomas could go a long way for showing hey pit is one of those schools like you said where people like Malik Thomas uh look for this place produces NBA talent and guys that that do well in the NBA I think that's the thing that Jeff Cable's trying to put together absolutely um I I think he's you know I would say it's underrated um the kind of work he's done able being able to develop professional guys um whether it's the NBA or also you know sending guys overseas like some of Pit's best players from the past two years have ended up playing overseas not necessarily gone to the NBA so don't underrate what kind of value those guys can have especially if they spend multiple years in the program but um you know I think Jeff cable finally has some evidence to back up uh his belief that he can develop guys and that's going to play you know like bub carington getting drafted he's on you know National Television a hug and Jeff cable after he gets taken in the NBA lottery like that is going to go a long way with some more Elite prospects um the the the world and the depth of uh of recruits that Jeff Cable's able to pursue now is decidedly different uh than the pool that he was able to pull from when he first arrived at pit and that's that's huge um you know it raises the ceiling of this program significantly and like we said it doesn't have to be Malik Thomas it doesn't have to be an obvious oneandone guy uh if you look if you look back uh bub Carrington and Jaylen low were not particularly highly rated I mean they were both four-star players but um in the world of college basketball those those aren't as Elite as necessarily A four-star football product so um those guys were not heavily recruited dudes but they ended up being some massively impactful players for the Panthers so so don't underrate what uh you know what kind of consolation prizes an Evans or a Dixon could be for the Panthers if they miss out on Malik Thomas absolutely he's Stephen Thomson I'm Chris Carter follow both of our works at postgazette.com to get all of our pit basketball and pit football coverage as well as Abby Schnabel with all her pit coverage as well as pit volleyball's been getting underway we got a full team full lated team here covering pit Athletics as we are down to the final week of pit football training camp and then next week it's the first week of college football we'll have it all covered for you here and we'll have our mailbag next Tuesday here just like you found this one on your favorite podcasting apps and on YouTube like 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