Christian Veilleux

Courtesy of Penn State Athletics

Today, as the early National Letter of Intent signing day period kicks off, most — if not all — of the newest members of the Penn State recruiting class will sign on the dotted line, accepting a scholarship to play football for the Nittany Lions. For every player who does sign, I’ll be here to provide an in-depth scouting report. Here is my report on the latest Canada-born standout to join the Nittany Lions’ ranks, quarterback Christian Veilleux.

Height: 6-4
Weight: 195
School: The Bullis School (Potomac, Md.)
Projected position: Quarterback

Rating: Four stars by ESPN; Three stars by Rivals.com and 247sports

Other Power 5 offers: Arizona State, Boston College, Clemson, Duke, Indiana, Kentucky, LSU, Michigan, Pittsburgh, Rutgers, South Carolina, Syracuse, Tennessee, UCLA, Virginia Tech, West Virginia

Projection: Veilleux is an interesting prospect, one who played only briefly in the states before COVID shutdowns in Maryland cost him his senior season. He was, at one point, one of the more intriguing and sought-after quarterbacks in the class, as you can tell by his offers list. But once he committed to Penn State, and once he lost his senior season, he started to plummet a little bit in the rankings. Which doesn’t matter, obviously, outside of the likelihood that he won’t be able to compete for a starting job next fall (which wasn’t exactly likely anyway). He gets dinged a bit for a perceived lack of arm strength, but on film in games, he doesn’t seem to have issues flinging the ball 60 yards downfield, on a dime. His arm strength, either way, should get better as he gets stronger, and Veilleux already is a slick, accurate thrower on the intermediate routes. Plus, he shows the ability to run the ball with authority. He’ll be a terrific college quarterback, one who should be ready to take the job once Sean Clifford’s career is over.