Christian Veilleux once seemed destined for the NFL.
The quarterback from Ottawa, Ont. received his first NCAA Division I scholarship offer at the age of 15. More poured in over the next few years from programs including Penn State, Tennessee, Rutgers, South Carolina, UCLA, Indiana, Kentucky, and LSU, the then-reigning National Champions.
Veilleux eventually committed to Penn State due in part to the high number of Canadians on their roster. Jesse Luketa and Theo Johnson, both of whom are currently in the NFL, were members of the Nittany Lions at the time, as were now-Montreal Alouettes defensive back Jonathan Sutherland and fellow 2026 CFL Draft prospect Malik Meiga.
“Penn State just ended up being the place to be because of the Canadian connection, proximity to home, and then I truly did fall in love with the staff in the school,” Veilleux told 3DownNation. “I wouldn’t change my decision. I really thought at the time Penn State was the right place for me. I had some good years there.”
Veilleux saw the field as a true freshman in 2021, becoming the first Canadian quarterback to play for a Power Four school in more than 20 years. He threw for 238 yards, three touchdowns, and zero interceptions in limited action and was granted a redshirt, giving him four years of remaining collegiate eligibility.
The 23-year-old was expected to be the team’s primary backup in 2022 behind Sean Clifford, who has since enjoyed a respectable NFL career with the Green Bay Packers and Cincinnati Bengals. Clifford was entering his last collegiate season at the time with Veilleux as the presumed heir apparent under centre.
That all changed when Penn State landed four-star quarterback recruit Drew Allar.
The six-foot-five, 228-pound passer was named Ohio’s Mr. Football as a high school senior, an award previously won Joe Burrow and Mitch Trubisky. He arrived on campus and immediately impressed, quickly making it clear that Veilleux might have to have to transfer to a different program in order to see the field.
“From the moment I saw (Allar) throw the first time I was like, ‘Yeah, this guy’s gonna be in the NFL one day. This guy’s really good and if he beats me out, I don’t think I’ll ever be able to beat him back out,” said Veilleux.
“With him being younger than me, there was no chance for me to have my eligibility and then end up playing, so I told myself, ‘Just hit the portal, find a new opportunity and (the University of Pittsburgh) was that opportunity.'”
Frank Cignetti Jr., the younger brother of Indiana head coach Curt Cignetti, was the one who recruited Veilleux to Pittsburgh as a mid-year transfer. Just as they had at Penn State, things started out well for the young quarterback.
“(My first start) was against Louisville. (They were) undefeated, No. [14] team in the country. We beat them at home and at that moment in time, I was like, ‘I’ve worked for this moment and it’s here.’ I really thought that trajectory of my career was just up and it turned out to be complete opposite.”
One week after his team’s big win over Louisville, Veilleux felt he cost Pittsburgh what should have been a win over Wake Forest.
Late in the fourth quarter, he pulled the ball on a run-pass option but mistakenly slid just shy of the first-down marker. His team muffed the ensuing punt and took a penalty on the same play, giving the Demon Deacons a short field. They made no mistake, scoring the game-winning touchdown with almost no time left on the clock.
Veilleux’s lowest point of the season came the next week when Pittsburgh got blown out 58-7 by Notre Dame in front of almost 80,000 fans in South Bend, Ind. He threw four interceptions in the loss and was benched two games later after fumbling twice in a 28-13 loss to Syracuse.
“Sometimes it doesn’t always go your way, and that’s what I’ve learned throughout my college career. You’ve gotta deal with adversity,” he said.
“Your brain will always highlight the lows and the things you did wrong. When it’s late at night, you’re always thinking, ‘I should have done this, I should have done that,’ but you have to rewire your brain to think about (the positives). ‘Hey, I did this and I did that.’ I think that’s how you build confidence and build trust in yourself.”
“Coming out of that Pitt season, I think I did a lot of things really well. I was like, ‘I know I’m talented, I know I can play,’ so that’s how I kept confidence in myself and I was willing to bet on myself again and go in the portal.”
Veilleux transferred to Georgia State University for 2024, marking his step outside the Power Four. He started a season-opening game for the first time in his collegiate career, an arrangement that didn’t last the full year.
After throwing for 1,284 yards, nine touchdowns, and five interceptions over six starts, Veilleux was benched in favour of Zach Gibson. He regained the starting job late in the season and again experienced high highs and low lows — he threw three touchdown passes in a 52-44 win over Texas State, then four interceptions in a 48-27 loss to Coastal Carolina.
Georgia State welcomed multiple quarterback transfers ahead of the 2025 season but Veilleux remained the team’s day-one starter.
“I came out of that year, like, ‘I’ve got four years under my belt, I feel like I’ve got a lot of experience, a lot of lessons that I’ve learned,'” said Veilleux. “I finally felt ready this past year for it to be my year to really cement myself and kind of create some momentum for my professional career.”
The arrangement was short-lived.
Veilleux threw for 52 yards and one touchdown in the team’s season-opener against Ole Miss but tossed an interception in the third quarter. He was benched and didn’t see the field again until near the end of the year.
“That one was a surprise this past year. A lot went on behind the scenes that was tough to deal with, but once again, it’s character-building. Adversity that I’ve gone through that not a lot of guys can say they’ve been through, so I’m just excited for what’s next.”
In total, Veilleux completed 54.4 percent of his passes for 4,017 yards, 26 touchdowns, and 22 interceptions over five collegiate seasons. He also rushed 75 times for 148 yards and one score.
The six-foot-four, 219-pound passer is arguably the only player in the 2026 CFL Draft class with a chance of making it as a professional quarterback. Eloa Latendresse-Regimbald, the dual-threat passer out of McGill, will surely be drafted but projects as a short-yardage specialist, receiver, or safety.
Veilleux tested well at the CFL Combine in Edmonton and is ready to showcase his abilities in on-field drills on Saturday and Sunday. After an up-and-down collegiate career, they may end up determining if he gets a shot to play in the league.
“I just want to show that I’m a well-rounded quarterback and that the college me who made bad decisions and had some inconsistent moments is kind of gone now, so that’s what I want to show.”
