UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH FOOTBALL MEDIA CONFERENCE

October 10, 2026

Holden Geriner

Press Conference

North Carolina 21, Pittsburgh 17

Q. That fourth and two at the 21, what were you seeing on that play?

HOLDEN GERINER: Yeah, they did a good job obviously all game kind of squeezing and scraping in terms of defense. So just wanted to give La'Vell the chance there, but at the end of the day, they gave us the read to probably pull it.

Take that one on me. Obviously, you know, should have pulled it and kept the ball in positive yards and gained some positive yards there. Like I said, the end did a good job of kind of playing both.

You know, obviously I trust La'Vell and all the backs in every situation there. That's kind of what the deal was there.

Q. Another fourth down, it seemed like you had Blue open, and the ball came out a little high.

HOLDEN GERINER: Yeah, they did a good job obviously tempo not lining up well. I got to be quieter with my feet. Just a little more calmer in the pocket there. Obviously we had a couple of guys open, so that was on me. Just got to deliver the ball.

Q. Overall, how did you kind of assess how you played first start?

HOLDEN GERINER: Sure, yeah. Obviously ups and downs for sure. North Carolina did an incredible job obviously, and all the credit to them. They're very well-coached.

In terms of us, I got all the confidence in the world in our team and our guys. Moving forward, obviously we're going to learn from this, and take it and learn from it and get better from it. Just, you know, being better, getting in the film room and working with the guys more and more. I'm confident moving forward.

Obviously we have half the season left, so take this as a learning curve, get with the guys, and we still got the confidence to finish out the sane.

Q. Break down the two interceptions for us. I think the first one Kinsler was the closest guy. Maybe a miscommunication there. Then the other one I think it was intended for Blue, but --

HOLDEN GERINER: Sure. Yeah, the first one, I was just kind of standing there, trust the concept that we have called. That was kind of one of the things that Tony did. He ran the right route. It was just on me there. Should have worked the other side. Just got to be better there.

The other one, they gave us a certain look, a certain coverage. I was kind of thinking something that I should have just worked the other side there again too. You know, it's both of them are on me, learning curves.

Based on what coverage they're in and things like that, I just got to cut out all the distractions and the pass -- coaching points in the past and just focus on the game plan at hand.

Obviously, both of those are on me. Our guys did an incredible job all game. Just got to be better in both of those areas, take care of the ball, and I got all the confidence in the world in those guys. They're going to continue working hard and so am I. We're going to get better at it and move forward.

Q. Did anybody throw anything at you that maybe was different just going up against a Bill Belichick-led unit there?

HOLDEN GERINER: Yeah, as I said they're incredibly coached. Coach Belichick does an incredible job there. In terms of throwing anything different at me, I thought they for the most part played pretty base stuff. Now with the iPads on the sideline after every drive, we kind of get to analyze things there.

They did, like I said, a great job. They threw a few things out there, but like I said, they're very well-coached, and they played extremely hard. As I mentioned, we got the iPads now, so it's great to be able to come back on the sideline and analyze it, depending on down in distance, kind of what they're doing and stuff like that.

Q. Kade Belle, after the first couple of drives in the third quarter, you guys had struggled to move the ball. You had two turnovers. It seemed like he had a time-out, and he was kind of speaking really loud. He patted you on the butt, and you came out. I think it was four straight passes you completed, including that moonball to Malik Knight.

HOLDEN GERINER: Coach Bell, Kade, I love the guy to death. He's one of my favorite coaches I've ever been around. Probably one of the most positive coaches I've ever been around. No matter what the circumstance is, what the situation is, he's always got my back and everybody else's back in the world on the team, rather.

Like I said, he has all the confidence and pours the confidence into me and into the rest of the guys. We feed off that confidence. He's always positive. Obviously, he wants the best for us. So I can't thank Coach Bell enough.

I got all the confidence in him as well. Moving forward, I can't wait to continue working with him.

Q. This is your first start in a long time, right, since high school. Obviously, next man up and all that, but how are you feeling just heading into this one emotionally and throughout the week?

HOLDEN GERINER: Yeah, absolutely. Like you said, it's the first one in a long time, but you know, I was focused on the game, obviously focused on the game plan, things like that.

I knew that it was next-man-up mentality, so I didn't change a whole lot in terms of preparation. Just came in there every day like I've been doing. I had the confidence in the guys to come out there. Just got to execute a little bit better.

Q. Your teammates talked about how confident they were in you this week. Your coaches showed that in you. How does that help you maybe after a loss today to continue forward?

HOLDEN GERINER: Absolutely, yeah. They did an incredible job patting me on the butt and telling me, Let's go. They obviously poured a tremendous amount of confidence into me, which gives me a lot more confidence in myself.

Obviously I have that to begin with, but to have the confidence of the coaches and the players alike, you know, is incredible. I love that. I love the team to death. The coaches, they're all incredible.

Q. What's the challenge going through your mind trying to keep everything level when you take over a 5-0 team, ranked, a lot of eyes on you, and having to step out on a stage like this, what do you say to yourself or prepare yourself throughout a week for a moment like this?

HOLDEN GERINER: Sure, yeah. At the end of the day, it just comes down to next game. At the end of the day, it's next play. So kind of going into it was just I'm taking this game as one game. Obviously we didn't get the outcome that we did, and we're going to take that and learn from it. You now, just building off of it.

Obviously the good thing about it is we got another game next week, so we're going to go take this and learn from it and build off of it and things like that. I'm super excited for the rest of the season. Obviously I wish we could have gotten the W here tonight, but we're going to learn from it, and we got the confidence for the rest of the season.