Matt Miller scout notebook Week 1

[RS12]

— The college football season kicked off with talk of Clemson's Deshaun Watson as the No. 1 quarterback in the nation. Then Notre Dame played. One scout I talked to this week said DeShone Kizer has "the best arm in college football," while another said the redshirt sophomore "was the most impressive quarterback on the field in Week 1."

— There is a lot of time for Kizer to move up or down the board, but the early look on him is impressive. My notes on Kizer highlighted his poise in the pocket, arm strength, downfield vision and his ability to create with his legs when the play breaks down. Kizer is a capable runner, but he doesn't panic and look to run too early in his progressions. Over the next four months, he may fall flat on his face and bottom out as a prospect, but the tools are all there for him to be a No. 1 quarterback.

— The best receiver in college football? That's Clemson's Mike Williams, according to NFL scouts I spoke with this week. One AFC West scout said Williams has the "best hands and best route adjustment" among draft-eligible receivers. The Clemson pipeline to the NFL at wide receiver doesn't hurt his cause either.

— "We heard all summer how good [Conor McDermott] was and thenMyles Garrett ate his lunch." That's from an AFC pro personnel director who commented on the UCLA left tackle McDermott and what Texas A&M's junior defensive end did to him in the Week 1 opener. According to Jordan Plocher of Pro Football Focus, Garrett graded out higher against UCLA than he did at any time last year.

— An Ole Miss fan asked my opinion on quarterback Chad Kellybefore the game against Florida State on Monday night. My comparison for Kelly has been Jay Cutler for a while now, and we saw that on the field with his hot-and-cold throwing (four TDs, three INTs). And as one NFL scout texted me Thursday morning, Kelly's off-field concerns from his days at Clemson—which led to his dismissal there—will be a huge red flag for any player but more so for a quarterback.

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2662022-matt-millers-week-1-nfl-scouting-notebook

 

[RS12]

Aint gonna happen but Garrett would look great in a Cowboy uni.

 

[RS12]

Miller: When you walk onto a campus, who is the most important person for you to talk to?

Scout: I really find it beneficial talking to academic advisers. They have the opportunity to relate to a player away from football and in a much different environment. Honestly, a lot of guys don't like school, and that's not a major red flag or anything, but you want to find out how the player functions in an environment when he's asked to do things he doesn't necessarily want to do.

Does he complain and go through the motions? Is he a professional? Does he show up on time and handle his business? What's his focus like? You can really get a feel for a guy's maturity.


This is thorough scouting. Hope the Cowboys do this.

 

[roughneck266]

Miller: When you walk onto a campus, who is the most important person for you to talk to?

Scout: I really find it beneficial talking to academic advisers. They have the opportunity to relate to a player away from football and in a much different environment. Honestly, a lot of guys don't like school, and that's not a major red flag or anything, but you want to find out how the player functions in an environment when he's asked to do things he doesn't necessarily want to do.

Does he complain and go through the motions? Is he a professional? Does he show up on time and handle his business? What's his focus like? You can really get a feel for a guy's maturity.


This is thorough scouting. Hope the Cowboys do this.

I hate to sound pessimistic, but if they did previously to this year, we wouldn't have the likes of Gregory on this team. At least I doubt it. I am not trying to badmouth the guy either, just saying I doubt he had those qualities in college.

 

[CalPolyTechnique]

I don't know what folks are seeing in Notre Dame's Kizer. He's as raw a passer as there is; pure project at the next level.

 

[Sydla]

I don't know what folks are seeing in Notre Dame's Kizer. He's as raw a passer as there is; pure project at the next level.

Raw how? Like Michael Vick raw?

 

[CalPolyTechnique]

Raw how? Like Michael Vick raw?

He's a tremendous physical specimen at the QB position; Cam Newton'esque. In terms of being a QB prospect, he's more of a thrower than passer. Notre Dame doesn't run a pro style offense, but rather a run-option based attack with Kizer. When I here "top prospect" I'm thinking high draft pick and immediate contributor. I just don't see Kizer as that guy right now.

 

[Sydla]

He's a tremendous physical specimen at the QB position; Cam Newton'esque. In terms of being a QB prospect, he's more of a thrower than passer. Notre Dame doesn't run a pro style offense, but rather a run-option based attack with Kizer. When I here "top prospect" I'm thinking high draft pick and immediate contributor. I just don't see Kizer as that guy right now.

ND runs a more pro style offense than you think. But Watson and Clemson run a spread style offense too. Is Watson not a top prospect? Using the rationale that a guy has to be playing in a pro style offense, who is a top prospect in the next draft? Most college teams run spread principals. What did you think of Goff? Was he worthy of a Top Ten pick? He also played in a spread. Only a handful of upper level programs run pure pro style offenses - Michigan under Harbaugh, Stanford, etc.

You're underselling Kizer as a QB prospect. Most of the scouts, at least those that have been talking to the press would disagree that he's a "thrower, not a passer".

 

[kiheikiwi]

If you look at Millers top 25 to start the season - look at all the Edge Rushers ! - Jus sayin ....

 

[CalPolyTechnique]

ND runs a more pro style offense than you think. But Watson and Clemson run a spread style offense too. Is Watson not a top prospect? Using the rationale that a guy has to be playing in a pro style offense, who is a top prospect in the next draft? Most college teams run spread principals. What did you think of Goff? Was he worthy of a Top Ten pick? He also played in a spread. Only a handful of upper level programs run pure pro style offenses - Michigan under Harbaugh, Stanford, etc.

You're underselling Kizer as a QB prospect. Most of the scouts, at least those that have been talking to the press would disagree that he's a "thrower, not a passer".

I'm not sure how bringing up Watson or Goff relates to Kizer as a pro prospect? A lot of draftniks didn't believe Goff was anything close to a Top 10 pick, let alone top overall pick last year.

The problem is the predominance of spread offenses in college. Now, you don't have to run a pro style offense to ultimately be successful, but if you aren't in one, it's much more more difficult to project a player as a pro and you're further behind in learning curve; teams typically have to dumb down offensive schemes to suit the QB until they can pick it up.

You bring up Harbaugh and Stanford and that's a great example. Andrew Luck was clearly a top talent and prospect at the position. When someone says the same thing about Kizer, it's only in title ("top prospect") because it's a night and day difference as an actual prospect.

 

[Sydla]

I'm not sure how bringing up Watson or Goff relates to Kizer as a pro prospect? A lot of draftniks didn't believe Goff was anything close to a Top 10 pick, let alone top overall pick last year.

The problem is the predominance of spread offenses in college. Now, you don't have to run a pro style offense to ultimately be successful, but if you aren't in one, it's much more more difficult to project a player as a pro and you're further behind in learning curve; teams typically have to dumb down offensive schemes to suit the QB until they can pick it up.

You bring up Harbaugh and Stanford and that's a great example. Andrew Luck was clearly a top talent and prospect at the position. When someone says the same thing about Kizer, it's only in title ("top prospect") because it's a night and day difference as an actual prospect.

Yeah but Luck was deemed as one of those once in a generation QBs that come along every so often. If he's the standard bearer for someone worthy of being a Top 5 pick at QB, then not a lot of QBs should get drafted in the Top 5 ever.

 

[CalPolyTechnique]

Yeah but Luck was deemed as one of those once in a generation QBs that come along every so often. If he's the standard bearer for someone worthy of being a Top 5 pick at QB, then not a lot of QBs should get drafted in the Top 5 ever.

The scarcity of actual franchise/NFL caliber QBs drives the price up on all QB prospects. It also creates a market where teams are more prone to taking risks on lesser talent (e.g. Goff, Hackenberg, et cetera). A guy like Watson may very well likely go Top 10, but IMO his draft slot doesn't correlate with his worth as a prospect.

 

[TheCoolFan]

Kizer is every bit a legitimate QB prospect. If he isn't then I don't know who is.

 

[CalPolyTechnique]

Kizer is every bit a legitimate QB prospect. If he isn't then I don't know who is.

He's legit for sure.