Official 2023 QB Thread

[Steins Gate]

This year's QB class looks almost like last year's class. Except Stroud and Young at the top. IMO there aren't any other QBs worth higher than a 3rd round grade.

Hooker may go higher due to the numbers he is putting up. But I don't think he is worth it.

[CWood21]

21 hours ago, brownie man said:

I think he’s a better prospect than Kyle Trask at least. 

That's honestly not saying much.  Trask was an awful prospect.

[Daniel]

18 hours ago, Steins Gate said:

This year's QB class looks almost like last year's class. Except Stroud and Young at the top. IMO there aren't any other QBs worth higher than a 3rd round grade.

Hooker may go higher due to the numbers he is putting up. But I don't think he is worth it.

Last year's class would have been good if you actually had a top end prospect or two.

I think Stroud is the easy No. 1, Young is a first, probably as well.  Great player, but he can't run in the NFL.  Already got injuries getting hit and he's tiny.  He's gonna have to learn to be a pocket passer most of the time.

Hooker is the easy 3rd for me.  I think he's earned a second round grade from what we've seen.  But he's also got the most volatile rating because of how little the offense he's in resembles and NFL offense.  But big arm, prolific passer, and athleticism for days is a lot to work with out of the box.

Bo Nix I'm iffy on.  I saw him against BYU, and wasn't blown away.  Just watched his WSU game, and his offense isn't exactly pro style either, but he has a lot of physical tools.  Stares down receivers and throws a lot of deep passes to wide open guys.  The games against Washington and Utah coming up will answer a lot of questions about whether he's a legit prospect or just another traits guy.

Jarren Hall impressed me early, and he's right there with Nix for the next up.  Electric with his legs, but still kinda raw as a passer.  Doesn't have the huge arm of Nix, but seems to be ahead in the mental side.  I hope he gets a bowl against a good team so I can see what's up.  He and Nix look like late third dudes to me.

Grayson McCall, his arm is pretty weak, but he has the mental aspect down.  It may not be too weak for the NFL.  Recorded the game against App State, which I'm looking forward to, but he needs a legit Power 5 opponent for us to see what he can do against good competition, and the bowls rarely deliver that.  They'll just put him against another overachieving small school, like Tulane or Liberty or UCF.

After that, it's traits guys.  And I think Malik Willis kinda showed what the ceiling is for traits guys at QB, and that was in a way weaker class.

[Steins Gate]

2 hours ago, Daniel said:

I think Stroud is the easy No. 1, Young is a first, probably as well.  Great player, but he can't run in the NFL.  Already got injuries getting hit and he's tiny.  He's gonna have to learn to be a pocket passer most of the time.

I agree with your evaluation of both Stroud and Young.

Quote

Hooker is the easy 3rd for me.  I think he's earned a second round grade from what we've seen.  But he's also got the most volatile rating because of how little the offense he's in resembles and NFL offense.  But big arm, prolific passer, and athleticism for days is a lot to work with out of the box.

Hooker will likely get drafted in the 2nd round. My main concern with him is he only reads half the field. No matter what offense that a QB runs in college, that ability to see the whole field translates to the NFL more so than the offense itself. How many QBs who ran pro-style offenses have we seen bust? A QB can learn any offense, but seeing the whole field can make a QB elite.

Quote

Bo Nix I'm iffy on.  I saw him against BYU, and wasn't blown away.  Just watched his WSU game, and his offense isn't exactly pro style either, but he has a lot of physical tools.  Stares down receivers and throws a lot of deep passes to wide open guys.  The games against Washington and Utah coming up will answer a lot of questions about whether he's a legit prospect or just another traits guy.

I agree here. Bo Nix has good physical tools, but needs more polish as a passer.

Quote

Jarren Hall impressed me early, and he's right there with Nix for the next up.  Electric with his legs, but still kinda raw as a passer.  Doesn't have the huge arm of Nix, but seems to be ahead in the mental side.  I hope he gets a bowl against a good team so I can see what's up.  He and Nix look like late third dudes to me.

I haven't watched much of Hall. So I will defer to you.

Quote

Grayson McCall, his arm is pretty weak, but he has the mental aspect down.  It may not be too weak for the NFL.  Recorded the game against App State, which I'm looking forward to, but he needs a legit Power 5 opponent for us to see what he can do against good competition, and the bowls rarely deliver that.  They'll just put him against another overachieving small school, like Tulane or Liberty or UCF.

I like McCall. Was trying to find a good comp for him. Jeff Garcia comes to mind. Very mobile guy with a weak-ish arm. Can make the short and intermediate throws, but bad deep ball. Needs to play in a traditional WCO. I have him as a 4th rounder.

I kinda like Dorian Thompson-Robinson too. I call him the poor man's Bryce Young. DTR is a little bigger than Young and has a slightly stronger arm. He has matured as a passer this year. It seems like he trusts the system more than his legs now, leading to a 74% completion percentage. I have him as a 4th rounder too.

 

[Ozzy]

On 10/31/2022 at 9:08 AM, tyler735 said:

Hooker is undoubtedly a more explosive athlete than Levis. Hooker has several explosive runs in his career such as the one below. Levis not so much.

Not doubting that Levis might have a slightly stronger arm (Hooker has plenty of arm talent too). Difference being Hooker has shown he can utilize his talent the past couple seasons and has turned it into crazy production in the SEC. Reminds me a lot of Deshaun Watson (obviously he’s an older prospect…and not a creep to my knowledge) as a prospect in terms of size, athleticism, arm talent, and elite production.

I do not know what you are watching, Will Levis can run if he needs to and is far more physical with the football in his hands!  He is a force as a runner and very difficult to bring down.  If you want a more slippery athlete sure Hooker is a bit better maybe but I would not be shocked if Levis out runs him if he runs the 40.  In terms of strength and power Levis has him beat all day long, at Penn State Levis was basically a wildcat QB and punished dudes out there, Hooker cannot do that.  Again I would never call Hooker a better athlete overall than Will Levis in terms of strength, power and difficulty to bring down.

 

Obviously some around here never watched Will Levis at Penn State.  

 

 

 

[sammymvpknight]

If Kenny Pickett was a 1st, why wouldn’t Hooker?

[RedandPewterReturns]

On 11/4/2022 at 12:34 PM, CWood21 said:

That's honestly not saying much.  Trask was an awful prospect.

1000000% agree. Kyle Trash had back up level talent that was over drafted. 

[Ozzy]

3 minutes ago, RedandPewterReturns said:

1000000% agree. Kyle Trash had back up level talent that was over drafted. 

Easy to say now but the dude at Florida, especially the last season was pretty legit.  Big tall kid and really could move the football with his arm or his legs.  Injuries have hurt him in college though and limited him athletically.  Sure maybe will not turn out as a pro but he was a solid prospect coming out.

 

By the way Anthony Richardson can sling the football, very solid game on the road against A&M today, some of the throws he made really have some zip and if people cannot see that, then I have no clue what they are looking at.

[jrry32]

7 hours ago, sammymvpknight said:

If Kenny Pickett was a 1st, why wouldn’t Hooker?

Pickett played in a pro-style offense and wasn't eligible for AARP.

[jrry32]

23 minutes ago, Ozzy said:

Easy to say now but the dude at Florida, especially the last season was pretty legit.  Big tall kid and really could move the football with his arm or his legs.  Injuries have hurt him in college though and limited him athletically.  Sure maybe will not turn out as a pro but he was a solid prospect coming out.

 

By the way Anthony Richardson can sling the football, very solid game on the road against A&M today, some of the throws he made really have some zip and if people cannot see that, then I have no clue what they are looking at.

Richardson might have the strongest arm in CFB. There shouldn't be any doubts about his physical abilities. He's just not consistent at this point in time. He should spend another year in college. Oddly enough, he plays better on the road than at home. He's a Gainesville kid. I wonder if the pressure messes with his head.

[RedandPewterReturns]

1 hour ago, Ozzy said:

Easy to say now but the dude at Florida, especially the last season was pretty legit.  Big tall kid and really could move the football with his arm or his legs.  Injuries have hurt him in college though and limited him athletically.  Sure maybe will not turn out as a pro but he was a solid prospect coming out.

 

By the way Anthony Richardson can sling the football, very solid game on the road against A&M today, some of the throws he made really have some zip and if people cannot see that, then I have no clue what they are looking at.

No, both sucked as prospects. Trash - anyone could see was a back up talent. 

[Ozzy]

39 minutes ago, jrry32 said:

Richardson might have the strongest arm in CFB. There shouldn't be any doubts about his physical abilities. He's just not consistent at this point in time. He should spend another year in college. Oddly enough, he plays better on the road than at home. He's a Gainesville kid. I wonder if the pressure messes with his head.

Obviously he plays better on the road because there is less pressure to perform.  I would disagree though and I think he should declare for the draft this year, especially if he keeps playing well and especially if some top NFL QBs retire, Houston, Carolina, Tampa Bay, New Orleans, Detroit, Indianapolis and possibly Atlanta and Washington are all potentially in the market for a QB or a developmental young QB.

 

I think he would learn more by sitting on the bench in the NFL with NFL coaching than playing another year in college but we will see how it goes.

 

2 minutes ago, RedandPewterReturns said:

No, both sucked as prospects. Trash - anyone could see was a back up talent. 

The guy was a 2nd round pick in the NFL draft so obviously he did not suck as a prospect or he would have been a 7th round pick or a UDFA.  The fact he played physical football, ran too much and had what knee braces on both knees, yeah that is not doing him any favors and greatly limited him in his career potentially long term with all the injuries he had early in his career.  

[Ozzy]

It is just the 1st half but Hendon Hooker does not look great on the road against Georgia.

Take away a big lead which is what he usually has had this season, take away the up tempo advantage and take away the YAC yards and he seems pretty average same with that Vols offense.

 

Not a great sign for Hooker in terms of his pro level ability but will see how he does in the 2nd half.  Stetson Bennett is out playing him and has made better throws at least this 1st half.  Would not be shocked if Bennett can sneak in as a 7th rounder and stick around the league, but still the QB class is so stacked it will be difficult.  Starks is playing great out there and that Georgia defense even without Nolan Smith is playing probably their best game of the year collectively, see if they can keep that up.  

 

 

 

Dorian Thompson-Robinson, Brennan Armstrong and Kedon Slovis could all be 6th or 7th round picks or even UDFAs so it will be hard to be drafted as a QB this year.  Will be curious where Bennett goes, even as a UDFA in the right system with the right coach I could see him maybe sticking around for a bit.

 

[RedandPewterReturns]

2 hours ago, Ozzy said:

Obviously he plays better on the road because there is less pressure to perform.  I would disagree though and I think he should declare for the draft this year, especially if he keeps playing well and especially if some top NFL QBs retire, Houston, Carolina, Tampa Bay, New Orleans, Detroit, Indianapolis and possibly Atlanta and Washington are all potentially in the market for a QB or a developmental young QB.

 

I think he would learn more by sitting on the bench in the NFL with NFL coaching than playing another year in college but we will see how it goes.

 

The guy was a 2nd round pick in the NFL draft so obviously he did not suck as a prospect or he would have been a 7th round pick or a UDFA.  The fact he played physical football, ran too much and had what knee braces on both knees, yeah that is not doing him any favors and greatly limited him in his career potentially long term with all the injuries he had early in his career.  

I have to ask - are you a Florida Gator Fan or alum? Also, watch JT Osullivan draft evaluation. Stats dont equal NFL level talent. Watch the film. 

If he was such a talent - I saw Trash live and his arm strength was as good as Ryan Griffin. 

[Ozzy]

1 hour ago, RedandPewterReturns said:

I have to ask - are you a Florida Gator Fan or alum? Also, watch JT Osullivan draft evaluation. Stats dont equal NFL level talent. Watch the film. 

If he was such a talent - I saw Trash live and his arm strength was as good as Ryan Griffin. 

I should watch film?  Obviously you do not post around here much if you believe that.  I have a 7 round mock draft ranking posted and watched ever player included in it.  You say that same?  I don't think so.