In the return of the Scouting Notebook, I think this is no question the best one yet and could have easily been five different articles. Instead, here’s a collection of thoughts based off of this past week’s college football weekend.
I’ll talk about two college quarterbacks going in different directions at the next level and my thoughts on their NFL futures, some stat touting talents that aren’t just college producers but future NFL players, some great small school notes, and a new Top 10 that is a little thought provoking.
Denard Robinson at the Next Level
After another dazzling effort with his feet by Michigan’s Denard Robinson, it’s already well known that Robinson is firmly in the Heisman mix and is one of the most dangerous weapons in all of college football. While his passing numbers haven’t been great, it’s obvious that the new system implemented by Brady Hoke won’t limit Robinson’s playmaking ability this year, and I still firmly believe the Wolverines have a great chance of winning the Big Ten conference.
However, now that Robinson is a junior at Michigan and he has less than two years before he’s staring at the NFL draft, it’s begun to be a topic of discussion: where can Robinson play at the next level? At 6-0, under 200 pounds, an average arm by NFL standards and subpar accuracy outside of the hashes and past 20 yards, it’s safe to say he’s not a quarterback. But despite his position change to the next level, I think Robinson could be highly coveted come draft day.
He’s outstandingly quick, cuts well laterally, has great vision in the open field, explodes through holes in defenses, and is deadly in space with his moves. The fact that he was banged up consistently as a sophomore runner proves that he can’t play the running back position. He needs to be out in space. While Armani Edwards (formerly of Appalachian State) hasn’t been a great success in Carolina, Robinson could follow a similar path as the former 3rd round pick. Robinson is likely quicker in short areas than Edwards and likely faster in straight-line speed.
Edwards was listed as a quarterback for a brief time with Carolina, something that likely won’t happen for Robinson. But Robinson could be an outstanding wildcat, in space receiver, and kick returner at the next level. I’d give him a 5th round grade as a junior now, and if he stays healthy through his senior year, maybe gets bigger, he could be pushed to a 2nd-3rd round area.
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Ryan Tannehill and Why I’m Not Sold
Some scouts, both NFL and internet, feel Tannehill is a 1st round quarterback prospect, maybe the best senior in this class. I’ve heard their points, considered their opinions (at least the people who’s evaluations I trust), and re-watched film. And based on that and the Oklahoma State game this past weekend, my opinion is still firm: Ryan Tannehill is not a franchise quarterback in my eyes.
He played at times this past weekend, no question.. He’s confident in his feet and can make plays outside the pocket. Maybe the most impressive asset of his game is his pocket poise. Even this past weekend on a few plays, he read the pressure, moved within the pocket, kept his eyes down field, re-set his feet, and delivered a throw on the money. His development in that area, in my opinion, combined with his arm at least gets him in the door for the NFL. He anticipates his receivers routes well and isn’t afraid to making a throw before his receiver is out of his break.
But Tannehill overall is very predictable in what he wants to do. He stares down his target too obviously and struggles to check down effectively. He forces passes to his early target and doesn’t scan the field all that well pre-snap. He doesn’t have great touch on deep passes, and more or less lays up a jump pass down the field instead of put the ball accurately. His overall arm is good, not great. While he can put velocity behind short passes, as he goes deeper, he struggles to keep good velocity and put balls into tight windows.
Overall, I’m more sold on the complete skill set of Kirk Cousins of Michigan State and like Ryan Lindley (San Diego State), BJ Coleman (Chattanooga), Nick Foles (Arizona), and Dominique Davis (East Carolina) as fellow solid senior quarterbacks. Tannehill is still in the Top 4 round mix in my mind, but no 2nd round talent.
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Stat Leaders to Take Note Of
Checking through some stats on the season so far, something I don’t do often, I noticed four prospects being at the top of some pretty impressive catagories. Oddly enough, four prospects I have viewed highly for a while now all are performing very well statisically this season.
The first is Bernard Pierce, running back from Temple. Last year, I saw Pierce’s explosiveness as a rusher and his rare body control/balance/vision in the hole. However, he was banged up throughout his sophomore season, so the nation couldn’t get a firm grasp on how talented Pierce is. Now with 12 touchdowns through four games, he’s firmly in the national spotlight. As a junior, he’s likely to declare for the draft this year, and as I’ve “tweeted” before, if he can stay healthy, he’s a 2nd round running back.
Quarterback Robert Griffin of Baylor has been a talent I’ve kept my eye on since his freshman year when he started to embarrass Big 12 defenders in the open field. But it’s his development as an accurate, composed passer that is most impressive. I thought as a freshman, he was a more developed passer than Terrelle Pryor, and now that he’s a junior, so far he’s proving that he’s even better than the 3rd round quarterback. With 13 touchdowns and 0 interceptions, he has more touchdowns than incompletions. He has a high ceiling as a quarterback prospect, could be a 1st round talent this year or in 2013.
Finally, wide receiver Jordan White (Western Michigan) and cornerback Casey Hayward (Vanderbilt) have been productive, as expected this year. White is thriving under junior quarterback Alex Carder’s development as maybe the MACs best quarterback, and White has 43 catches. White was out all last year, but we have him graded as a 4th or 5th round prospect with great vision as a receiver and reliable hands along with some big play ability. Hayward has been in the mix for our top cornerback spot since the end of the 2011 draft, and he possibly could have declared and been a top 3 round prospect in last year’s draft. With 4 interceptions despite being the defense’s best player, Hayward deserves credit as an outstanding receiver talent with great ball skills, able to handle all types of receivers, and taking advantage of the opportunities he gets.
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Small School Scouting Notes
I got a chance to watch a few prospects from the small school ranks in particular this weekend. Here are a few scattered notes:
–Tyler Hendrickson, OT, Concordia (MN) has outstanding size at 6’8, 320. He slides fairly well for his size and is good off the snap in terms of quickness and pad level. He engages fairly well, but needs to use his strength better as a pass blocker and dominate. He needs technique work and to be more powerful/aggressive, but the size is there.
–Alex Tanney, QB, Monmouth (IL) is our top ranked Division III prospect, and he impressed against Illinois College this weekend. He has great poise in the pocket, stands tall, has good zip across the field, and doesn’t seemed fazed by pressure. He is a little slow and deliberate in his drop back and needs to drive harder off his back foot in his passes, but he’s a confident, well built (6’4) quarterback at the D3 ranks.
–Chris Lum, QB, Lehigh was one of seven Mountain Hawks I scouted this week in their upset over the more talented Liberty team. Lum has a somewhat awkward release and doesn’t have great accuracy across the field, but has great velocity and once he gets into a rhythm, he has a lot of confidence. His receivers Jake Drwal and Ryan Spadola both track the ball well and have solid routes, but neither are NFL prospects in my eyes.
–Matt Theis, OT, St. Cloud State was a bit of a surprise that impressed me this weekend, as he is well built, and gets his hands on defenders fairly well. He needs to stay lower in run blocking and bend more in the run game, but he has good upper body strength, keeps his feet fairly well, and extends well. His opposite side tackle, junior Andrew Anderson, was VERY impressive, and a small school left tackle prospect for 2013.
-Also, Tony Kubes, S, St. Cloud State tracks the ball very well, good ball skills, good size at 6’0, 203, but didn’t wow me as a fundamental tackler and doesn’t have great hips. Still, could get an NFL shot.
–Thomas Mayo, WR, California (PA) was one of many CalPa prospects to impress. But Mayo’s suddenness, ball grabbing ability, focus, and speed was very impressive. He’s a small school talent to know, for sure, and he’s very much a draftable prospect. Also for CalPa, defensive backs Robby Green (former Alabama transfer), Erik Harris, and Shawn Anderson all got PFA grades, along with Mayo’s fellow receiver Chedrick Cherry, who was battling injuries that game.
-Also, Rishaw Johnson, OG, California (PA), former Ole Miss transfer, was impressive athletically as a guard and did everything well in terms of getting to his spots and exploding off the snap. He could use his hands a little better and didn’t dominate with his strength in the run game as much as I thought he could at the D2 level, but he’s still a draftable/PFA guy for us.
-Finally, Barrington Morrison, DE, Clarion was the only next level talent for CalPa’s opponent. He’s a good athlete, nimble in his rush moves and has a few options as a rusher, but lacks the size and power to be a force in run support. Fringe NFL prospect at all.
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Top 10 Quarterback Rushers
As teams lean towards better athletes for their spread offenses, productive running quarterbacks are becoming more of an essential part of an offense rather than a luxury. Taking a look at the top ten rushers at the quarterback position, we see some interesting trends.
First off, three of the quarterbacks play for triple option teams in Army, Georgia Tech, and Navy, so they are expected to be in this area. Collin Klien, Chandler Harnish, and James Franklin are picking up yards thanks to their athletic ability to go along with their passing play, especially in Harnish’s case. Kain Colter is impressive as a runner from the quarterback spot, but that’s more due to the offense not being built to fit his talents, as Dan Persa should be returning to Northwestern this upcoming weekend.
Marqueis Gray and Taylor Martinez are both smart and heady runners that use their combination of size, feeling of the offense, and speed to make plays consistently with their feet. The two top rushers on this list (oddly, both from the Big Ten, a conference known for drop back passers and power run teams) are also the top two rushers for the entire Big Ten conference, both are undefeated, and both are firmly in the Heisman mix.
1. Denard Robinson, Michigan (552 yards)
2. Taylor Martinez, Nebraska (421 yards)
3. Trent Steelman, Army (383 yards)
4. Marqueis Gray, Minnesota (351 yards)
5. Collin Klien, Kansas State (318 yards)
6. Chandler Harnish, Northern Illinois (285 yards)
7. David Sims, Georgia Tech (276 yards)
8. Kriss Proctor, Navy (267 yards)
9. James Franklin, Missouri (260 yards)
10. Kain Colter, Northwestern (237 yards)
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