The senior quarterback class hasn’t had much luck in 2014, with nearly every name playing poorly when the lights are on. For East Carolina quarterback Shane Carden, he’s continued to improve and post gargantuan numbers as he leads his team to a potential AAC title.
By: Ian Wharton
Carden passed for a season-high 445 yards against Connecticut, leading his team to a 31-21 victory. Beyond the stat book, Carden looks like a better quarterback in his senior campaign, and his stock has risen. Too often in 2013, Carden would fail to transfer his weight and throw wobbly passes on intermediate routes. Against more athletic and talented teams, this would lead to near-interceptions.
But his improvement with his footwork, weight transfer and field vision has made a drastic difference for Carden’s outlook and ECU’s performance. Carden is still in a one-read system, so he rarely has to scan the field, but he is more effective when he cannot throw to his first option this season. His passes have had more velocity than before, and although his arm is still average, there seems to be less motion in his delivery.
Carden’s favorite weapon in the passing game is Justin Hardy, who racked up 186 yards on 14 catches. Hardy primarily plays slot receiver, and displays the type of toughness necessary to be a great NFL slot. His hands are unfailing and strong, and he can create decent yards after catch with good quickness.
Hardy and Carden each look like mid-round prospects, with Hardy expected to be selected first. He’s similar to Jarvis Landry, whom has had a great season starting in the slot for the Miami Dolphins.
Other Notes
-Martin Ifedi of Memphis had a solid game against SMU. The defensive end has plus hand quickness and is a mismatch with his speed off the line of scrimmage. His disruption as a 5-technique is inconsistent, but he has shown the physical tools to be a quality developmental player. He and his teammate Tank Jakes have earned the right to be drafted in May.
–Although the Michigan and Michigan State game was a dud, Michigan linebacker Jake Ryan was very impressive. Coming off a torn ACL in early 2013, Ryan moved to inside linebacker for his senior campaign. Now healthy, Ryan looks better than ever. He possesses sideline-to-sideline speed, the ability to read run plays with solid instincts, and made several open field tackles. His abilities in coverage remain to be proven, but he’s going to be a riser compared to his pre-season rankings.
– Kurtis Drummond of Michigan State has had several bad games this year, but he showed up in a big way against the Wolverines. He made several impact tackles at or behind the line of scrimmage, and delivered a blow to Devin Funchess on a slant route over the middle. Drummond took better angles and was much more instinctive than his play earlier this year.
– Anthony Zettle of Penn State has been getting hype recently, but in fact it should be his sophomore teammate Austin Johnson and fellow junior Deion Barnes getting the love. Each was tremendous against the Ohio State Buckeyes, and Barnes in particularly looks special as an edge rusher. If Barnes declares for the NFL draft, expect analysts to realize how good he is in droves.
– Although Christian Hackenberg isn’t draft-eligible, there has been a lot of speculation he is the next Andrew Luck-type prospect. It’s time to pump the brakes on that talk. Hackenberg has struggled dearly this season, and although he doesn’t have much talent around him, he struggles with multiple progressions, is careless with the football, and has very inconsistent accuracy. This isn’t to say he won’t improve in these areas, but he is far from the next Luck, and more like Matt Stafford.
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