Penn State QB Christian Veilleux showed promise in his 2021 debut: Can he take another step forward in the fall?

STATE COLLEGE — Christian Veilleux was more than a little rusty when he relieved ailing starting quarterback Sean Clifford early in Penn State’s Big Ten East game with Rutgers last November at Beaver Stadium.

Veilleux, a freshman, made his debut for the Nittany Lions vs. the Scarlet Knights when Clifford could not continue because of flu-like symptoms.

Veilleux was taking his first meaningful snaps since his 2019 junior season at the Bullis School in Potomac, Md. The program did not play football in 2020 because of the covid-19 pandemic.

The rust was there for sure.

So was Veilleux’s confidence.

“I’m always a confident guy, whether it’s on the field or off the field, so I think it translated over, for sure,” Veilleux said during a Penn State media availability Wednesday afternoon on the Lions’ practice fields.

After a bit of a slow start, Veilleux finished with 235 passing yards and three touchdowns in a 28-0 win. One of the TD passes was a 67-yarder to young PSU wideout Malick Meiga, like Veilleux a Canadian. Christian, from Ottawa, began playing in the states during his sophomore season, getting his start at Canisius High School in Buffalo.

“It was a little crazy. I was nervous at first,” Veilleux said, referring to the Rutgers game.

“And then once the nerves left, I remember just being back there and being like, back to high school days, I’m just playing high school ball, I’m back to what I love to do. So, it took about a drive to get the shock out and then after that, I felt like I was back.”

Veilleux added 39 rushing yards on 12 carries against the Knights and his confidence surfaced again on one scramble that ended up with the quarterback flashing the peace sign to an oncoming Rutgers defender while airborne.

“If I remember correctly, it was third and medium, or third and short, and I avoided a tackle in the backfield and then I ran out and got the first down,” Veilleux said, starting to smile.

“The peace sign was for the defender because I was going to run out of bounds and throw him the peace sign because he couldn’t touch me.

“And then the jumping part, I didn’t even try to do that. I almost hyperextended my knee and that sent me flying up in the air. But then the picture came out sweet, so I’m not even going to complain about that one.”

Veilleux appeared in just one other game last season — Penn State’s Outback Bowl loss to Arkansas — but he emerged from spring drills as the Lions’ No. 2 option behind Clifford. He still must ward off talented true freshmen Drew Allar and Beau Pribula in August, and don’t rule out Veilleux making a run at the starting job at some point in the fall.

The Lions’ offense remains a work in progress after some well-documented struggles last year. PSU averaged just 3.2 yards per rush and scored only 25 points per game.

But it’s a new year and it’s a deeper quarterback room. Veilleux, for one, is not lacking in talent or confidence.

“We’ve gotta keep working on it,” Veilleux said. “When we throw with the receivers, when we throw with the running backs, the tight ends, it’s really working on being perfect. So, putting the ball in the best spot, doing it every single time, really pushing yourself, too.

“The summer is really about experimenting, finding what works and then ‘repping’ it, so that once you get to camp, you don’t have to rep it, you can do it.”

And that confidence?

“You can’t go in there with no confidence,” Veilleux said. “Because then, what are you going to do? You’re going to doubt yourself, you’re going to question everything, you’re not going to be able to play well.

“The whole quarterback position is about being back there, relaxed and knowing what you have to do. And that comes with confidence.”