A thick, well-built quarterback with above-average girth through his upper body. Showcases good mechanics and clean overall footwork, quickly getting out from under center and maintaining his balance in his drop. Is a bright kid who does a great job keeping the football cocked and getting the ball out of his hands quickly. Displays a good mental alarm clock and a quick, compact release, which allows him to consistently get the ball out on time. Is a solid athlete for the position who does a nice job stepping up in the pocket, buying time for himself with his feet and has the ability to create with his legs once he breaks containment. Exhibits impressive ball skills, handles the football well on play fakes and looks really comfortable anytime he's asked to get outside the pocket and make throws on the move.
Showcases good anticipation, accuracy and touch on all levels of the field. Spins a really clean football and consistently is able to throw to open receivers both down the seam and outside the numbers. Exhibits a real rhythm in the short passing game as well, quickly setting his feet both from under center and from the gun, striding toward his target and accurately picking defenses apart. However, really struggled at times as a senior with his ability to find secondary targets and go through his progressions. Has taken his fair share of shots and seemed to get gun shy, causing him to drop his eye level quickly or stick on his initial read and force throws into coverage. Lacked great arm strength when asked to zip the football outside the numbers this year and when he is late with a throw, passes hang on him and he gives defensive backs plenty of time to jump his throws. Showed good rhythm and anticipation skills as a junior, which allowed him to make all the throws, but wasn't nearly as impressive as a senior keeping his eyes down the field and working his progressions and struggled fitting the ball in tight areas. Displays a good understanding of the pass game and does a nice job quickly recognizing coverage's and working his way one side of the field to another. However, needs to do a better job looking off safeties when attempting bucket throws down the field. His football has a tendency to hang on him a bit down the field, giving rangy defensive backs a chance to make a play on the throw. Also, when working his way back across the field on his progressions, he will occasionally throw blind into coverage. Nevertheless, the guy has come a long way since 2008 and he knows how to handle adversity, work through it and come out on the other side better because of it.
Impression: I had big expectations for him as a senior, but his play was pretty poor after suffering numerous injuries this past season, taking away from his arm strength and ability to make all the throws. However in my mind, you almost have to throw out his tape as a senior because he wasn't anywhere near healthy. With that being said, he did a nice job during the post season spinning the football and his arm looked as live as ever. Is a guy who has battled through adversity, has some good tape as a junior and is someone I would not want to bet against. Gets it from the shoulders up.
