More Toby stuff:
Since the days of the NFL-AFL quarterback wars of the early 1960s, only a handful of small college quarterbacks have gone on to find success in the NFL. But Korrodi put up record numbers for the Mules, and impressed at the Combine in February by leading all quarterbacks who participated in the ball speed drills with a throw of 63.0 miles per hour.
Korrodi was a standout quarterback at Harlandale High School, where he earned all-city, all-district and all-state honors. He threw for more than 6,500 yards and 78 touchdowns during his career, and also lettered in baseball and basketball.
The left-handed passer married his high school sweetheart, Laura, and the couple then enrolled at Northern State (S.D.) University. Korrodi redshirted in 2002, taking over signal-calling duties the following season for head coach Ken Heupel, whose son, Josh, was an All-American quarterback at the University of Oklahoma (1999-2000). Korrodi had a banner first season at the helm for the Wolves. He was D2Football.com's National Offensive Freshman of the Year and earned Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference Newcomer of the Year accolades.
Korrodi set school single-season records in 2003 for pass attempts (428), passing yards (3,528) and passing touchdowns (36) while also setting the team's game passing record with 502 yards against Concordia St. Paul. He ranked sixth nationally with an average of 312.8 yards per game in total offense and finished 25th nationally with a 142.56 passing efficiency rating while completing 225 passes with 15 interceptions in 11 games.
A freak game-day accident by Laura in 2004 resulted in Toby missing the Nebraska-Kearney and St. Cloud State games. He appeared in nine contests, amassing 2,452 yards on 189 of 340 passing (55.6 percent) with 24 touchdowns and 12 interceptions. At the conclusion of the season, Ken Heupel retired as Northern State's head coach and Korrodi decided to transfer.
That decision brought about a recruiting battle for his services. Northern State's new head coach, Chris Boden, announced in mid-April that Korrodi would not be returning for the 2005 season. Korrodi left because his family wanted to be closer to home. Korrodi then signed a non-binding scholarship agreement with Washburn on May 6, but soon after he decided Central Missouri would be his new home.
Washburn's loss was soon to be Central Missouri's gain. Korrodi ranked third in the nation with a 176.9 passing efficiency rating in 2005. He connected on a very impressive 179 of 240 passes (74.6 percent) for 2,066 yards and 23 touchdowns. His two interceptions tied Hosea Harris of Albany State (Ga.) and Corey Isner of Charleston (W.V.) for the lowest total among NCAA Division II quarterbacks.
In 2006, Korrodi earned All-American, All-Mid American Intercollegiate and All-Region honors. He ranked sixth in the nation with a 161.13 pass efficiency rating and finished 10th in the Division II ranks with an average of 254.3 yards per game passing. He hit on 211 of 325 passes (64.9 percent) for 2,797 yards, 29 touchdowns and only five interceptions. He also scored once on 30 carries and punted three times for a 27.0-yard average.
In 20 games at Northern State, Korrodi gained 5,980 yards on 414 of 768 passing (53.9 percent) with 60 touchdowns and 27 interceptions. He lost 132 yards on 99 carries (-1.3 average), and on 867 plays he amassed 5,848 yards in total offense (292.4 yards per game). He also had one assisted tackle and kicked off once for 35 yards.
In 21 games at Central Missouri, Korrodi piled up 4,863 yards on 390 of 565 passing (69.0 percent) with 52 touchdowns and only seven interceptions. He rushed 68 times for minus-143 yards (-2.1 avg.) and two scores. He competed in 633 plays, picking up 4,720 yards in total offense (224.76 ypg). He also punted four times for 104 yards (26.0 avg.).
For his entire collegiate career, Korrodi played in 41 games, starting 38 contests. He gained 10,843 yards with 112 touchdowns and 34 interceptions on 804 of 1,333 passes (60.3 percent). He lost 275 yards on 167 carries (-1.6 avg.), but did score twice on the ground. He kicked off once for 35 yards and punted four times for 104 yards (26.0 avg.). In 1,500 plays, he amassed 10,568 yards in total offense, an average of 257.76 yards per game while being responsible for 114 touchdowns. Korrodi was sacked 75 times for losses totaling 484 yards. He also turned the ball over 14 times on 25 fumbles. In 30 contests, Korrodi turned the ball over 11 times on 22 fumbles and was sacked 58 times for losses totaling 334 yards. Of his 593 pass completions, 357 were good for first downs, with 105 of those completions gaining 20 yards or more. He helped convert 170 of 409 third-down plays (41.6 percent), including leading the Division II ranks in 2005, when he was successful on 56 of 107 third-down plays (52.3 percent). He added nine first downs rushing and had 113 of his 1,008 pass attempts deflected.
ANALYSIS
Positives: Has long arms and a strong wrist to get the ball out quickly in his release … Has nimble feet sliding in the pocket and the leg drive to break tackles in the short run … Moves effectively driving back from center to his pass-set point, demonstrating good body control and agility in and out of the pocket … Smooth and efficient driving back quickly from center … Sets up quickly, whether in a three- or five-step drop and gets into position and is ready to throw … Makes quick decisions and shows good poise under pocket pressure … Durable athlete who is certainly not a threat running with the ball, but does a good job of sliding and stepping in and out of the pocket … Plays with a fast-paced tempo, making proper checks at the line … Gets good depth in his pass drops and shows balance when planting his feet and stepping into his throws … Does an excellent job of scanning the field and seeing the pre-snap coverage and is not only quick to react, but will usually have the right answer … Demonstrates good judgment under pressure and is quick to throw the ball away rather than take the sack … Has a compact, three-quarter delivery with good arm snap and a smooth release … Quick getting the ball out and shows the smooth mechanics to throw a tight spiral that consistently gets out in time … Has that loose arm needed to throw with a tight circle and a quick, compact motion that lets the ball effortlessly come off his fingers … Does not need to wind up to throw the deep outs and has more than enough arm strength to control the secondary with his deep ball touch … Has the velocity on his underneath and intermediate throws to lead the receivers … Possesses the accuracy to pinpoint his tosses and is very good at sticking the ball into tight windows with great zip and touch … Quick flicking the ball out on dump-offs, shovel and screen passes, knowing when he needs to take something off his throws to make the ball catchable … The ball comes off his hand with a tight spiral and is easy for his receivers to catch … Does a nice job of keeping the ball away from the defender and directing it over the outside shoulder of his targets … Tough under fire and does not panic when the pocket collapses, showing the ability to run and unload … His ability to keep his head up to properly scan the field and quick decision-making process lets him make proper reads and locate his secondary targets … Because of his good understanding of protections, he knows how to step up in the pocket … Always keeps his eyes down field and has improved his timing on crossing routes, knowing how and when to lay the ball up into the soft areas on the field … Has the ability to throw on the move, doing a nice job of getting his shoulders turned to generate velocity on his roll-out tosses … Efficient at leading his receivers and getting the ball to them without his targets having to break stride. Negatives: Has a tall, thick frame with marginal muscle tone … Needs to concentrate on improving his strength, as he has room on his frame to develop better definition … Not a threat as a runner, but has enough movement skills to step up and avoid the rush … Earlier in his career, he held the ball too long, resulting in 26 sacks and 13 fumbles as a freshman, but he continued to improve throughout his career … Will never win a foot race into the second level and while he is a good ball handler with the savvy to carry out fakes, he is not even remotely considered a threat to run with the ball … Has enough athletic agility to stay away from the pass rush, but is not able to go long distances before he is caught … Shows accuracy throwing on the run, but needs to find that target quickly, as he is not able to stay alive for long trying to escape a fierce rush … Best when not playing in an offense that will feature option and quarterback draw plays … Showed more effort in improving his body frame, but he is still soft around the mid-section and the additional bulk has impacted the marginal speed he has, making him an inviting target for the bull rush and blitz … Academic struggles bring concerns about his ability to digest a complicated playbook, but he has shown good skills in making multiple reads and it is rare to see him make poor decisions on the field. Compares To: Chris Simms, Tampa Bay Buccaneers … Korrodi is much more like former Raiders great Ken Stabler because of his long ball accuracy and home-run ability … But like Simms, these two left-handed passers are very capable of playing within the system they are in and following the game plan set forth with good results.
