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.
Donnie Collins has been a member of The Times-Tribune sports staff for nearly 20 years and has been the Penn State football beat writer for Times-Shamrock Newspapers since 2004. The Penn State Football Blog covers Nittany Lions, Big Ten and big-time college football news from Beaver Stadium to the practice field, the bowl game to National Letter of Intent Signing Day. Contact: dcollins@timesshamrock.com; 570-348-9100 x5368; @DonnieCollinsTT