UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH FOOTBALL MEDIA CONFERENCE

October 31, 2026

Holden Geriner

Press Conference

Pitt 34, Georgia Tech 11

Q. Holden, what did you like that you saw from your offense?

HOLDEN GERINER: Absolutely. First of all, shout-out to the O line, running backs and receivers blocking on the perimeter. I thought the guys did a tremendous job all night going out there and getting positive yards every run play.

You have to establish the run game first. I think we did a good job of that. Like I said, shout-out to the O-line, the running backs and receivers as well, going out there and making plays.

Q. Specifically about the running backs, what did you make of Damon's performance?

HOLDEN GERINER: He's unbelievable. He's a really good player. Really all those guys in the room are. La'Vell had a great night. Damon had a great night. Justin had some good runs. Jaylin Brown in the end as well.

Whole room is awesome. Whether it's the run game or the pass game, they're going to help the team out. Thought they did a tremendous job all night.

Obviously Damon had a good night. He's a good player. Build on that confidence and keep him going.

Q. Getting the first win as a starter, what does that do from a confidence standpoint? What was the mood in the room?

HOLDEN GERINER: It's awesome. A feeling I've dreamt of for sure in college. It's awesome to be able to get that win for sure. Obviously shout-out to the offense and the defense as well and special teams. It's a team game; it's a team win. But feels awesome.

Obviously the guys, we came out there and played our brand of football. Obviously some things to clean up. We'll get better in the bye week, get healthy, all those things.

It's a great feeling to go out there, get the win. Get bowl eligible was another thing. It was awesome.

Q. The energy that Damon brings, how important is that, especially with the recent losses?

HOLDEN GERINER: Yeah, absolutely. It's funny, my locker is directly -- we look at each other in the locker room. He's one of those guys that's always playing, playful, brings joy to the team for sure.

That's big for the program. Had a stretch where things weren't the best. Just having guys spread positivity is the biggest thing. Negativity can easily creep in in those situations.

I thought the team did a great job just staying positive and staying focused. Obviously it's one game at a time. We prepare each and every week to go out there and win.

A guy like Damon obviously brings a tremendous amount of joy and keeps it light in the locker room there. It's great having him around, and all the guys in there.

Q. (No microphone.)

HOLDEN GERINER: It's awesome, anytime we get guys in there that can make plays. Obviously we're going to put the best guys in there to make plays. I thought Dylan did a great job on the little jet sweep. He was running full speed, wanted to hit somebody. I saw that. That was awesome. Brought a smile to my face, for sure.

Q. How did you overcome the penalties... How were you able to overcome those?

HOLDEN GERINER: I think just goes back to the mentality of playing one play at a time. It's cliché to say, but it's true.

You get stopped a couple times, you can dwell on that and say we're going to get stopped again, or you can go out there and make the play that you're playing the best play that you can. That's kind of the mentality down there. Obviously we're leaning on the O-line down there big-time. Shout-out to those guys.

There's always things to improve. I thought the guys did awesome down there protecting the ball, getting in the end zone.

Q. Did you think you were done in the second half when you were taken out? How hard was it to get back in the mode of play?

HOLDEN GERINER: Yeah, I mean, I'm always prepared to play whenever my number's called, whenever it may be. Obviously that's a coach's decision. That's kind of out of my control. That's more so for them.

But like I said, always staying prepared. Never know when your number's going to get called, whether it's first, last, second, whatever it may be. Just staying ready.

Like I said, just staying involved in the game, whether Corey goes in, whoever goes in, making sure they know what's going on in the game, telling them what they've been doing. Staying focused and keeping the team going, keeping positivity.

Q. There was some passes we saw you miss, but most you hit. What was going on in those moments? What do you have to do better?

HOLDEN GERINER: Yeah, sure, I mean, obviously, like I said, some things to clean up. Those are some specifics there for sure.

Just getting my feet in the ground is something specific can I work on a little bit, making sure I have faster feet. But just trusting the guys. Obviously comes down to execution. I got to do a better job executing better on that end, which is something we do in practice every day. Just kind of trusting the guys, making the plays better, execution.

Q. What has your relationship been like with Corey over this stretch? Day to day, what is it like?

HOLDEN GERINER: Corey and really all the guys in the room, we all have a great relationship, which is awesome. Sometimes you don't always see that. It's really cool.

We always feed off each other's energy. We really love each other. It's a fun room in there. So we all have great relationships with each other.

Obviously on field everybody wants to play, but at the end of the day it's one quarterback. Really helping each other out. Whoever is on the field, whoever is playing, just feeding off them. Helping each other how we can be better.

I think that is the biggest thing. Like I say, we all have a great relationship with each other, and we all want the best out of each other, which is something Coach Bell and Coach Fuller preach on. It starts from them and kind of trickles down within us.

Just I think we have a great relationships with each other. We have a really good time in the room.

Thank y'all.