Saturday, November 15, 2008

Top Junior Quarterback Prospects

The junior quarterback class should be a very good one and should produce a number of pro-bowl caliber quarterbacks. Remember that this is based on their NFL potential. It was hard to pick the top 5 but here it is:

1. Matthew Stafford, Georgia - NFL scouts have been raving about Stafford since his high school days. Mel Kiper even predicted that Stafford would develop in a first overall pick in a draft. Stafford, however, hasn't put up amazing stats. The reason why Stafford is my #1 quarterback prospect is because of his size (6'3, 235) strong and accurate arm and his great footwork inside the pocket. Stafford is a pure NFL quarterback. He plays in a pro-style system and uses a lot of play action and drop back passes. In my opinion, Stafford will develop into a pro bowl quarterback and will be the face of a very lucky franchise.

2. Mark Sanchez, USC - This is an arguable pick but with the success of USC quarterbacks, I see Sanchez having a good NFL career. Like Stafford, Sanchez possesses good size and a good arm. Sanchez makes good decisions. He has only thrown 7 picks this season and 3 came against Arizona State. He is also completing around 65% of his passes. Sanchez also plays in a pro-style system that uses a lot of play action passes and therefore Sanchez will be more prepared when he starts playing on Sunday's. I see Sanchez having a good, but not great NFL career. He reminds of Kurt Warner.

3. Tim Tebow, Florida - Sure Tebow has never, and probably will never, drop back to pass in college but he has all the tools to be a solid NFL quarterback. People say that his skills will not translate to the NFL because he does not have the proper throwing mechanics, he plays in a spread offense and he has a run first mentality. Personally, I see nothing wrong with his throwing mechanics. Tebow is the one player that I think could make the jump from a spread offense to the NFL's pro style offenses. You can never count out Tebow. Whatever team takes Tebow is making a very high-risk, high-reward pick.

4. Josh Freeman - Freeman gets overlooked playing in a conference with so many great quarterbacks but Freeman is one of the best. Freeman has been climbing the draft boards recently and will possibly be a first round pick. Freeman is a monster. He stands 6'6 and weighs about 250 pounds and has been clocked at a 4.76 in the 40. Freeman has a cannon for an arm and can take off and run the ball if he needs too. Freeman will take time to develop into a good NFL quarterback because he is still raw but the sky is the limit for him.

5. Nate Davis - Nate Davis is another quarterback who has been climbing up the draft boards of late. He has good mechanics and footwork and average size (6'2, 218). He has been a starter for Ball State since his freshman year. A knock on Davis is that he plays in arguably the worst conference in the FBS. However, there have been some good quarterbacks to come out of the MAC with Ben Roethlisberger being one of them. Scouting quarterbacks is so hard because many highly touted ones end up being duds and others come out of nowhere and surprise many people. Some quarterbacks just have "it", whatever "it" is. Nate Davis, in my opinion, should have a solid career.

Honorable mentions - Colt McCoy, Texas. Rusty Smith, FAU. Dan Lefevour, CMU. Max Hall, BYU.

Most of this years junior class may end up declaring for the draft because of a very weak senior class. The junior quarterback class is one of the most talented classes in years.

Thursday, November 13, 2008

Top Senior Quarterback Prospects

This is my list of the top 5 senior college quarterbacks based on pro potential:

1. Curtis Painter, Purdue - Painter has a lot of experience. He has been a three and a half year starter for Purdue and has broken school records along the way. Painter has ideal size (6'4, 230), good arm strength and accuracy. Along with that, Painter has a very quick release and this is what separates him from the other quarterbacks. The knock on Painter is his decision-making, he has thrown 35 interceptions before his senior year. But, similar to the case with Matt Ryan, Painter may have had to force throws due to a lack of talent surrounding him. I think Painter will develop into a solid NFL quarterback and a fringe pro-bowler.

2. Hunter Cantwell, Louisville - Although Cantwell made my list of most disappointing players, he still has the talent to become a very good quarterback in the NFL. After sitting behind Brian Brohm, Cantwell finally got the opportunity to be the starting quarterback for the Lousiville Cardinals. He hasn't quite lived up to his hype but he is still having a decent year. Cantwell has great size (6'5) and a very strong arm although he doesn't have the best accuracy on his throws. Cantwell also needs to improve his footwork in the pocket. NFL teams are unsure of what they will get from Cantwell because he is very unproven. Cantwell is a very high-risk, high-reward pick. Sometime a very strong arm does you no good in the NFL...

3. Tom Brandstater, Fresno State - Brandstater gets overlooked playing in a non-BCS conference but he is a solid quarterback playing in a pro-style system. Like the quarterbacks ahead of him, Brandstater has good size (6'5) and a big arm although he is not the most accurate. He is a streaky performer who does not play against top notch competition. Brandstater, in my opinion, will be a fringe starter in his NFL career.

4. Chase Daniel, Missouri - Unlike the other quarterbacks in this list, Daniel operates almost exclusively out of the shotgun and is listed about 4 inches shorter than the other quarterbacks. Having said that, Daniel has tons of skill and has been compared numerous times to Drew Brees and Doug Flutie. The comparisons to Drew Brees are legitimate because of Daniel's high release. Daniel's high release makes up for his lack of height. The other big concern is that Daniel rarely takes the snap from under center. Only time will tell if Daniel's skills will translate to the NFL.

5. John-Parker Wilson, Alabama - I had to include Wilson on this list after he has lead Alabama to a 10-0 record this season. Wilson has decent size for a quarterback (6'2) but he doesn't posses any outstanding qualities like the quarterbacks listed ahead of him. Wilson will most likely be a second day pick. I wouldn't take too much from NFL scouts because there are many quarterbacks that go by unnoticed and end up having solid careers.

Honorable mention - David Johnson, Tulsa. Mike Reilly, Central Washington. Todd Boeckman, Ohio State. Rhett Bomar, Sam Houston State.

This years senior quarterback class is a very weak one. In my opinion, the senior class would be lucky to have 1 pro bowler.

My top 5 Juniors will be coming next followed by Sophomores and Freshman.

Thursday, November 6, 2008

Underachievers

Here is my list of the biggest underachieving programs in college football. Remember that I am basing this not only on this year but on the past few seasons. Here it is:



University of Washington


It's surprising that a team from a good area for recruiting isn't able to bring in the talent to compete in the Pac-10. It's also surprising that with a stadium that seats over 72,000, the Huskies haven't even played in a bowl game since 2002's Sun Bowl (which they lost). Prior to the start of this season, since 2004, the Huskies are a combined 12-36 over those 4 years. That is horrendous. Things aren't looking much better either. The Huskies are currently 0-8 and fired coach 'Ty' Willingham midway through their awful season. With all of the factors in their favor, its surprising to see Washington is, and has been, the bottom feeder in the Pac 10.




Texas A&M University


Texas A&M has been unable to take the next step. They have been mediocre for a long time. Prior to this season, are 28-21 over the last 4 years. That may sound decent but with talent that the Aggies bring in year after year, they should be a serious contender in the Big 12 South. They have been able to bring in good talent because of the rich tradition and a great stadium in Kyle Field not to mention the state of Texas produces tons of great players. Unfortunately, Texas A&M seems content on being mediocre. They are currently 4-5 and have not looked for a great coach to lead this team to a Big 12 title (Mike Sherman is not the answer).




UCLA


Similar to Texas A&M, UCLA has been unable to take that next step. UCLA consistently brings in top 25 recruiting classes but is rarely and plays rarely like a top 25 team. UCLA is probably the most underachieving football program in my opinion. With a gorgeous campus, a 91,500 capacity stadium, one of the best if not the best recruiting state, UCLA has only been able to muster up an average of 7 wins per season. Currently, they are 3-5. Very underachieving if you ask me. UCLA has the talent level but cannot find a way to put it all together. Maybe they should take a few pointers from rival USC on how to get to the next level (picture on the left).




Syracuse University



Syracuse is one of the finest universities in the state of New York. They should be able to attract good talent and put together top 25 recruiting classes but they have not. The only bright spot in Syracuse football in recent years is in 2001 when they finished the season 10-3. Since then, the Orangemen have put together seasons of: 4-8, 6-6, 6-6, 1-10, 4-8 and 2-10. The talent just isn't there for Syracuse to be a serious contender in the Big East. Syracuse will always be remembered as a 'basketball school' unless they can attract better talent and win some ball games!





University of Miami


'The U' were the most dominant team in college football just awhile ago. From 2000-2003 over those 4 seasons, Miami posted records of: 11-1, 12-0, 12-1 and 11-2. Not only were they winning games but they were outscoring their opponents by a ridiculous amount. Miami attracted the best talent and sent the most players to the NFL. Since then, Miami is still attracting the same level of talent but they have just not been able to be as dominant as they used to be a short while ago. It got bad last year when Miami lost to Virginia 48-0 at home! They also failed to qualify for the postseason. Despite their pitiful season, Miami still brought in the #3 ranked recruiting class according to Athlon. Talent has never been a problem at Miami who arguably have the best area to recruit from with barely any competition. The problems at Miami have been escalating at Miami with attitude problems and even a player being killed (Bryan Pata). Randy Shannon needs to control his players if Miami has any chance at returning to their 'glory days'.


If you somehow missed it, here is a good video of the brawl between Miami and FIU.