Eli Holstein learned leadership long before he became Pitt's starting quarterback

Eli Holstein knows the drill.

He is Pitt’s starting quarterback and, as such, he is expected to learn the playbook better than he knows his name, get the football out of his hand on time and fight for those extra, precious yards — even when confronted by a taller, heavier defensive lineman.

But that’s not all. He must be a leader of men, all of whom are teammates and friends.

Speaking to reporters Tuesday after the fourth of 15 spring practice sessions, Holstein talked about how he became a leader — it wasn’t a conventional route — and how his leadership manifests itself on the field.

“As a quarterback, you’re pushed into a leadership role, whether you like it or not,” he said. “I feel like my dad (Scott), my older brother (Caleb, who played quarterback at Louisiana Tech), the men in my family, have really helped me become the leader that I am today. My dad always put me in situations where I had to lead.”

Scott Holstein is a strength and conditioning coach, and his youngest son often tagged along to his workouts.

“He’d make me help him out so I had to lead groups,” Holstein said. “He’d have college kids out there and I’d be 10-, 11-, 12-years-old telling them what to do, coaching them. Being able to do that when I was that age against those guys just helped me be comfortable in that leadership role when it came time (as a starting quarterback at Pitt and previously) to do that.”

How are his teammates taking to his leadership style?

”Guys will tell you that I’m very honest with them,” he said. “I’ve had guys tell me, ‘Hey, I need you to be on me this year.’”

OK, but Holstein gave them a warning (which also could serve as a lesson to anyone learning to be a leader).

“I told them, ‘I’m going to be on you, but you’re not going to like me sometimes. I have to be honest with you. I have to tell you what you’re doing wrong. You might throw a punch at me. We might tussle. But if that’s what you want me to do, you’re going to hear what you don’t want to (hear) sometimes.

“The way you go about (criticizing) can impact a guy, certainly. If you’re being a (jerk) about it, they’re not going to respond to that very well. But if you take them to the side, talk to them, explain to them what you’re expecting them to do, what they need to see, what you’re seeing … if you do that a couple times and they don’t respond to that, you have to go to yelling at them, coaching them up, being hard on them.

“It just depends on the certain guy. Sometimes, a guy needs to get kicked in the butt a couple times. Also, a guy just needs to be taken off to the side and somebody just needs to sit down and explain it to him.”

Holstein said offensive coordinator Kade Bell did some “butt kicking … here and there” with him. But now that Holstein is approaching his second season in Bell’s offense “we’re ready to have those quiet football talks,” he said.

“That relationship I have with coach Bell, it’s really, really tight. I respect him a lot. He respects me a lot. It’s another guy I can talk to about other stuff than football.”

Now that Bell’s offense is no longer a novelty, coaches and players are expecting increased familiarity to pay off in games.

“Everybody is really comfortable with what we’re doing right now,” Holstein said. “I feel like this offense is going to do a lot of great things.”

He said transfer wide receivers Cataurus Hicks, Andy Jean and Deuce Spann will help.

“They are the right guys we needed,” he said. “This year, we have a lot of depth at receiver position, which is something I didn’t feel like we had last year. They’re pushing each other and they understand the next guy coming in, he can play as well. So, everybody’s going full speed and doing the little things right, which is huge.

“Everybody’s playing confident and nasty, which I like most of all.”

Holstein has reached such a comfort level with Pitt’s offense and his teammates that he is unafraid to let loose on the practice field and expose his personality.

During a drill Tuesday morning, Holstein ran up the middle — similar to his six runs that gained 67 yards last season during the fourth quarter really against West Virginia — ducking his 6-foot-4 frame inside a short, metal obstacle designed for running backs shorter than him.

He navigated the obstruction without a problem, sprinted across the goal line — and with a loud shout of triumph — threw the football against the fence at the back of the end zone.

Coach Pat Narduzzi prefers his starting quarterback not risk injury by trying to fit inside the obstacle, but he admitted, “Eli’s emotional. He’s intense. He’s got some swag to him. I think the guys feed off that, as well.”

Holstein said he performed similar stunts last season at practice. He also stepped into running back drills when other quarterbacks were getting their reps.

“We had so many quarterbacks last year. When we ran out of running backs, I was the next running back up,” he said, smiling. “I take pride in that. At the end of the day, it’s a game. You have to have fun while you’re doing it. I like to be a little athletic here and there. Doing drills like that helps me show off my athleticism.

“Everybody gets a laugh out of it. Everybody’s relaxed, a lot more comfortable, even coaches, players, young guys who aren’t really sure how they should handle practice yet. When they see me out there and relaxed, I feel like it kind of helps them relax as well.”

He welcomes the occasional light moment because he knows adversity is not far off.

”What I’ve learned throughout my career, there’s adversity around every corner and you have to be able to handle it,” he said. “There are always going to be problems, something going against you, good defense, referees —I guess you can say — being in adverse environments (road games).

”We’re going to West Virginia this year. I heard they’re going to be throwing batteries at me and everything. I’m looking forward to that.”

NOTE: The first full, live scrimmage of the spring is scheduled, weather permitting, for Saturday at Acrisure Stadium.