Penn State is finally moving on from four year starter [autotag]Sean Clifford[/autotag] as he looks to embark on an NFL career, or a professional career in another league, and there are some repercussions from the log jam he created. One can be seen as the passing game became stale and never got a taste of anything flashy. Another is more quarterbacks come in and grow impatient.
For [autotag]Christian Veilleux[/autotag], he perhaps grew impatient, and for good reason. He made appearances in just five games, including three this past season, but never received meaningful reps. Because of that, he decided to enter the transfer portal and pursue greener pastures and in no time at all, it appears he found a fresh start.
Veilleux committed to Pittsburgh out of the transfer portal this week to compete with fellow transfer Phil Jurkovec. Jurkovec will have the unofficial home-field advantage being a Pittsburgh native but for Veilleiux to earn his spot is nothing new.
PITT IS IT #H2P #WEnotME @CoachDuzzPittFB @FrankCignetti @Coach_JDiBiaso pic.twitter.com/8EMDZtwpAR
— Chr1st1an Vei11eux (@VeilleuxQB11) December 18, 2022
Veilleux entered the 2022 offseason as the presumed No. 2 behind Clifford and the thought was James Franklin would continue to favor the elder players. The problem is five-star freshman [autotag]Drew Allar[/autotag] won the backup gig during training camp, forcing Veilleux further down the quarterback assembly line.
Veilleux’s playing time this fall was limited to three appearances, completing 7 of 9 passes for 44 yards against Ohio, Auburn, and Maryland. Coach Franklin and the staff seemingly loved him but at the end of the day when you are a quarterback who was heavily recruited out of high school, especially out of Canada, you know those options should still exist.
The worst case in all of this, Veilleux will have to be patient one more year. He will have his best and most realistic chance to be the guy for the Panthers in 2024. Jurkovec runs out of eligibility and will be forced to move on while Veilleux would have at least one more year left.
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