Veilleux Opens Up About Kirk Ciarrocca, Recruiting Other Players & More
Penn State football added its highest-ranked quarterback prospect in four years Wednesday when Christian Veilleux announced he was committing to the Nittany Lions. A native of Ottawa, Ontario, Veilleux came across the border in 2018 and he has since emerged as one of the top 10 quarterback prospects in America, first playing at Canisius in Buffalo, N.Y. He then transferred to the Bullis School in Potomac, Md., last summer to play against better competition.
It proved to be a wise decision, as Veilleux earned just shy of two dozen scholarship offers. Arizona State, Kentucky, LSU, Michigan, South Carolina, Virginia Tech and West Virginia were all enticing opportunities, but in the end, he narrowed his list of schools to Penn State, Clemson, Duke and Tennessee.
So, what put the Nittany Lions ahead of all the other schools? Learn more on that, his thoughts on Kirk Ciarrocca and much more in our latest commitment Q&A!
Snyder: To start, have you always lived in Ottawa?
Veilleux: Yeah, I grew up in Ottawa, Ontario. I actually grew up speaking French. That was my first language. Both of my parents are French-speaking. French is their first language, so I grew up speaking French before transitioning to English slowly throughout high school.
Snyder: When did you start playing sports? Did you play any other sports growing up? Also, what attracted you to football?
Veilleux: I pretty much grew up in a hockey family. My dad, my mom and my brother all play hockey, so I'm the first person in my family to ever play football. My dad was a huge Peyton Manning fan, so when I was a kid, he would put me in front of the TV when he was watching Colts games and I was pretty much brainwashed to like football. One day, I told my dad I wanted to be the next Peyton Manning, so I guess that's when it all started. As soon as I picked up a football, I knew I loved it. I loved to throw and stuff, so that's how I got into it. I started playing when I was nine. I think I played one year of soccer, but I hated it, so my parents took me out.
Snyder: You started camping at Penn State when you were just getting started. Did those early visits end up helping Penn State in the end?
Veilleux: I remember going down there when I was really young. It was, I think, freshman year. I just remember that during the first camp I did, Coach [Joe] Moorhead was still the [offensive coordinator] there. I remember talking to him and he pulled me out in the middle of camp to have me work with the upperclassmen. That was the first time that ever happened for me. I remember thinking, "Shoot, this is a big deal." But yeah, I've always had a relationship with those guys because I've been there so many times and I know people that go there, so I visited a bunch. We definitely built a good relationship with Coach [James] Franklin early on, so that helped.
Snyder: Who are you friends with on the current team? I know Jesse [Luketa] and some of the other Canadian guys, but is there anybody else that you've become close with over the past year? Or do your connections mainly go back to Gridiron Academy?
Veilleux: Yeah, my connections go back to Gridiron. Jonathan [Sutherland] and Jesse are really the two guys that I know the best. I've gotten to know Cam Brown some from going to Bullis, which is pretty cool. I've gotten to know Theo Johnson and Malick Meiga, so I have good relationships with those guys.
Snyder: Did you play against Theo back in the day or train with him at all? Or did you just get to know him through recruiting? Same with Malick.
Veilleux: No, I just got I got to know both of those guys, Malick and Theo, from recruiting. Knowing that they're from Canada, I started talking to them some.
Snyder: You took a ton of visits early on, but two of the more recent offers you received, Duke and Clemson, ended up being Penn State's main competitors. How hard was this commitment? Take me through those past couple of weeks.
Veilleux: It was really difficult. I really bounced around from team to team at times, but Penn State was usually at the top. But there were times where I was high on Clemson, high on Duke, high on Tennessee. But I think at the end, it really came down to Penn State being best. We looked at Duke and Clemson hard. We looked at those schools profoundly and then compared them to Penn State. Penn State, from the beginning, was always one of the schools that I knew that I would love and that I really liked, so from the get go, Penn State was at the top of my list. Ever since they offered me, they were the team I was comparing everyone to. I finally made the decision on Sunday morning. I woke up and told my parents at breakfast that I was ready to make a decision. I told them and they were all on board and super happy. But yeah, the past two weeks really were tough. I spent a lot of time comparing Duke to Clemson. Penn State was kind of always at the top. I think Penn State always had an edge on all the other schools, so it was really a fight between Duke and Clemson. Figuring those two out, and how they compared to Penn State, was what I wrestled with the most. But ultimately, I just kept coming back to Penn State, which was my initial school.
Snyder: What's Kirk Ciarrocca like? We haven't been able to get to know him much yet. What would you tell fans about Penn State's new offensive coordinator?
Veilleux: I'll say this: As soon as he got hired and I built a relationship with him, it definitely helped Penn State in every single way. If I was to describe Coach Ciarrocca, I would say that he's just an honest and straightforward guy. He'll tell you how it is. He'll really tell you how he feels and stuff. That's how he did it with me. He was just honest about everything. He understood my process, so I feel like what he brings to the table is definitely special and something that I can benefit from.
Snyder: Can you pinpoint anything that really separated Penn State from the other schools?
Veilleux: I think the biggest factor was location. Being from where I'm from, I like that I can hop in the car and take a seven-hour drive to campus. My family can come watch games and come visit. I think that was really important to look at compared to all the other schools. It was either that or I would have to take two flights to get to school, so that was a pretty big factor for me.
Snyder: How hard do you plan to recruit players? Some players are really active, others take a more laid-back approach. Did you like hearing from recruits elsewhere?
Veilleux: During this whole recruitment, I've definitely been in contact with a bunch of top recruits from my area. I got some texts from the guys already committed to Penn State. I felt like that was really important. It really showed that not only do the coaches want you, but the players do, too. I felt like that was important. But for me personally, I know that I'm definitely going to recruit like crazy. I'm going to make sure that this class is going to be special. I'm going to make sure that I have the right guys around me to succeed. So, I definitely plan on helping to maximize the potential of the class, for sure.
Snyder: If there's one thing you really want to improve on before enrolling at Penn State, what it is? Also, is there one thing that just comes naturally to you as a quarterback?
Veilleux: I think my biggest weakness is accuracy outside of the pocket. I definitely want to work on that and work on getting my throws on the run on point and on target. I want to be able to utilize my arms and my legs at the same time. I think that's really important. I think my best trait is my ability to just lead a team. I feel my ability as a leader is strong. I feel like I have the ability to bring a team together and get a team behind me and supporting me. I think I'm good at getting everybody together and fighting for the same goal.
Snyder: What do you want to study at Penn State? Also, how did academics play into this?
Veilleux: Academics were extremely important. The thing that I like about Penn State is that they have a really good business school and the alumni. The Penn State alumni are just incredible. It's the biggest in the country, so I feel like that's extremely helpful. I want to study business. I'm looking at finance, maybe something in real estate. I'm not sure yet, but I know the business school is definitely something that attracted me. Academics were very, very important for me and my family.
Snyder: To finish these, I like to give you a chance to say something to the Penn State fans. It could be anything that comes to mind. What would you like to tell them?
Veilleux: I would just tell them that I'm ready to compete and be the best quarterback in Penn State history. That would be my message.
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