Well, well, well. Zach Wilson is playing Coastal Carolina on Saturday 12/5 at 5:30 PM ESPNU.

[Basbear]

Faaar too many huddlers only have two thoughts- Player is GOD-LIKE or pure trash. Once a great player has one bad game- Hes GARBAGE!!!!. Its like mind-tarded line of thinking, players has 12 good/great games and 4 bad/awful ones..... they will focus on the bad and the great ones never happened. If you want full support form panthers fans, better be a 1st ballot HOFer. 

[Varking]

1 hour ago, TheProcess said:

Yes, that was my point. Most of us see Fields as the 2nd best, but discredit Jones because of the Alabama narrative. You can say the same thing about any Alabama or Ohio State QB, including Fields. I have Fields as number 2, but I also have my worries about him. He struggled a little at Georgia. Was that due to being a freshman? Was it because he didn't get consistent playing time? Is the Ohio State system making him look better? Can a Ohio State QB finally succeed in the NFL? Can he go through progressions and reads? I ask the last one, because at OSU he mostly has one read because their system is able to get guys into separation. He hasn't faced great competition on the Big 10, and OSU has such an athletic and speed advantage on other Big 10 teams. Having said all of this, man I wish the Panthers could draft Fields. LOL

Fields has gone through too many reads at OSU and it leads to sacks. The announcers talk about it a lot. He hangs onto the ball too long at times looking for people to get open instead of running or throwing it away. This last game he did much better with just deciding to run rather than sit there and take a hit with 3 offensive lineman out due to covid. 

[Ricky Spanish]

Ok so I finally have a chance to pitch in my two cents:

Missed the first half of the game, so can't really speak on him in the first half.

Went through his progressions when he actually had time. Looked off some guys then threw to another receiver. 

Solid pocket mobility. Needed it behind the line that night.

Got sacked on a play where he completely missed the free blitzing LBer. Should have diagnosed that pre-snap, but could be a lack of preparation thing. Either way, I blame him for not noticing it. 

Dude made a number of big league throws that his receivers let him down on. One in particular he uncorked one 65 yards in the air in stride to his receiver who dropped it. HELL of a throw. I was impressed.

His supporting cast did him no favors throughout the second half. RB fumbled. O-Line was swiss cheese, Receivers dropped passes, and when they did catch it, they ran 15 yards backwards behind the line of scrimmage. Drops killed drives that had promise and didn't allow the offense to stay on the field. TOP was non existent in the second half for BYU and it really wasn't Wilson's fault.

The lack of support from his teammates in the second half put the offense in numerous 3rd and long situations that ended up killing drives.

Coaches elected not to go for a 4th and short with like 4 minutes left. That was confusing. That allowed Coastal to drain the clock and make BYU try and march all the way downfield with no Timeouts.

That final drive, Wilson was throwing dimes. Came up one yard short. Impressive.

All in all, I wasn't deterred from the kid. Honestly there wasn't enough tape to make a firm decision one way or the other, but from what I saw it looks like his skills might translate to the NFL just fine. I would still be perfectly fine if we drafted him, Fields, or Lance. 

[weyco2000]

5 hours ago, bababoey said:

With some of the dirty stunts he pulled I would not touch him.  You do stuff like he did in the NFL you either get suspended or lit up by a pissed of TE or big WR on a crackback block.

The guys I would not want is anyone from the BYU defense.  There D line was in the backfield a lot, but they could not find the ball.  300 yards rushing, against a spread, shotgun, triple option that no one else runs, don't look good.

In the pocket, I thought Wilson looked like the best QB I have seen this year in college.  He knows how to slide in the pocket and move up and left or right and keep his feet square to his target at the same time.  I don't know who said he doesn't have a strong arm but I heard one of the announcers say something about it and I am pretty sure there are some guys on this board that knows more about football than him.  He may not have Cam's arm coming out of Auburn but he has more than he will ever need in the NFL.

You can't pick your teammates in college but if his WR's didn't drop like 5 balls, 1 on 4th down, and turn a 4 yard gain into a 20 yard loss at midfield, that might have been the dumbest thing I have seen a player do at any level in years, they win this game and its not close.  Even with the pressure he was getting he still looked good.

Before this game he was my #3 QB now, he might really be #2 and the only one I would draft in the 1st round this year.  Unless some miracle happens and Lawrence falls.  But I would say Wilson in the 1st, Mac Jones in the 2nd or don't draft a QB.

Obviously you don’t watch a lot of college football.

[Navy_football]

13 hours ago, LinvilleGorge said:

Defending a triple option is all about assignment discipline and being prepared to face that style of offense. If you're not ready for it you're likely to get gashed. You're not getting ready for it in 60 hours.

Exactly! You could have Aaron Donald athletes all over your dline but if they're not disciplined and prepared for the triple option...

The service academies consistently rush for close to 300 yards per game running the triple option - all of them. And they ain't bringing in 4 star backs to do it. 

[Moo Daeng]

1 hour ago, Navy_football said:

Exactly! You could have Aaron Donald athletes all over your dline but if they're not disciplined and prepared for the triple option...

The service academies consistently rush for close to 300 yards per game running the triple option - all of them. And they ain't bringing in 4 star backs to do it. 

BYU beat Navy 55-3 this season and were scheduledto play Army the next week before it was postponed early in the week. BYU was prepared for the triple option and no problem with it. Linville is never going to stop with these lame excuses.

[nctarheelreincarnated]

1 hour ago, Navy_football said:

Exactly! You could have Aaron Donald athletes all over your dline but if they're not disciplined and prepared for the triple option...

The service academies consistently rush for close to 300 yards per game running the triple option - all of them. And they ain't bringing in 4 star backs to do it. 

And to be fair, COVID showed me how the Coaches that run that awful offense have to get their players prepared to run it. The first game of the season vs BYU, Navy looked awful and lost. They need adequate practice, because they did not have that and when you don't have adequate practice to run that putrid offense, you'll be screwed if you get in a hole. 

[CRA]

1 hour ago, Navy_football said:

Exactly! You could have Aaron Donald athletes all over your dline but if they're not disciplined and prepared for the triple option...

The service academies consistently rush for close to 300 yards per game running the triple option - all of them. And they ain't bringing in 4 star backs to do it. 

couple years ago The Citadel went into halftime with #1 Alabama tied.    

[Ricky Spanish]

12 hours ago, Ricky Spanish said:

Ok so I finally have a chance to pitch in my two cents:

Missed the first half of the game, so can't really speak on him in the first half.

Went through his progressions when he actually had time. Looked off some guys then threw to another receiver. 

Solid pocket mobility. Needed it behind the line that night.

Got sacked on a play where he completely missed the free blitzing LBer. Should have diagnosed that pre-snap, but could be a lack of preparation thing. Either way, I blame him for not noticing it. 

Dude made a number of big league throws that his receivers let him down on. One in particular he uncorked one 65 yards in the air in stride to his receiver who dropped it. HELL of a throw. I was impressed.

His supporting cast did him no favors throughout the second half. RB fumbled. O-Line was swiss cheese, Receivers dropped passes, and when they did catch it, they ran 15 yards backwards behind the line of scrimmage. Drops killed drives that had promise and didn't allow the offense to stay on the field. TOP was non existent in the second half for BYU and it really wasn't Wilson's fault.

The lack of support from his teammates in the second half put the offense in numerous 3rd and long situations that ended up killing drives.

Coaches elected not to go for a 4th and short with like 4 minutes left. That was confusing. That allowed Coastal to drain the clock and make BYU try and march all the way downfield with no Timeouts.

That final drive, Wilson was throwing dimes. Came up one yard short. Impressive.

All in all, I wasn't deterred from the kid. Honestly there wasn't enough tape to make a firm decision one way or the other, but from what I saw it looks like his skills might translate to the NFL just fine. I would still be perfectly fine if we drafted him, Fields, or Lance. 

I was able to find this youtube video with the highlights from the game. Somethings make a bit more sense to me now. Aditional observations below:

• BYU was killing Coastal on the ground in the first half. This was both with Wilson and the RBs and why the game script was so run heavy second half. Seems like they wanted to keep pounding Coastal like they did the first half. Did not work out it seems.
• Wilson is sneaky athletic. Real lunch pale mentality. Scrappy Gym Rat. First in first out kinda guy. Would let him date my sister (If I had one).
• Goofing off aside, the dude has some wheels but he is reckless with his body. Will not last long in the NFL playing like that. Does not protect himself and actually sought out contact. Dude tries that against Bobby Wagner in the NFL he will die. See RG3 for example.
• Arm strength is not a concern. Kid has a gun. Looks like he can make every throw.
• The blitz he missed that I spoke about before was actually a corner blitz. Still should have seen the overload on the side pre-snap. Again, not sure if that was lack of prep or what. 
• Jesus that one play where the receiver ran backwards 20 yards was just... painful. Absolutely killed that drive.

Many in this thread seem to be judging his play based on the team's performance. Isolating him and only looking at him, he played fine. I'm not going to say his teammates are trash or Coastal is trash like others did. In the opportunities and plays he was given, he executed and did it well. Game flow, scheme, and errors from his supporting cast dictated the game. Saying he's "trash" based on this game is hyperbolic. He played fine, his team did not. 

Again, Nothing I saw would keep me from drafting him. Kid has a hose for an arm, is mobile, and tough. The only thing I can't assess is his knowledge of the game and X's and O's stuff that I can't see without coaches film or without interviews. Does he have a mind for the position or is he a system QB? Can he learn an NFL playbook? What are the reads he is making and is he leaving yards on the field? When he takes off to run is it a panic or was it the best option?

TL;DR

He's still on my wishlist along with the other top QB prospects. 

[ImaginaryKev]

I don't know, if you look at the QBs on the roster now, Wilson seems to fit the profile of what Rhule and Brady are into--focusing more on good decision-making and making others better rather than being big at all. Wilson seems to do that and has a NFL arm and can throw on the run. You could justify drafting him all day, esp at 7, 8, 9, etc. I'd prefer a trade down and offensive lineman/DB/Kyle Pitts sorta first round but I wouldn't hate it. 

[ImaginaryKev]

I also think some folks are scared off by the fact that he totally looks like a dude who's all hype and that's fair too, eye of the beholder

[cookinbrak]

If he was there in the 2nd rd, yeah. Top ten pick? No.

[nctarheelreincarnated]

1 hour ago, cookinbrak said:

If he was there in the 2nd rd, yeah. Top ten pick? No.

Yeah, absolutely. Let's hopefully have a guy that's a certified top 10 pick in the second round. Sheesh. Huddle gonna Huddle man. 

[LinvilleGorge]

Every year pre-draft talk is that all the prospects people want will be gone before we pick and everyone else is a mid-round caliber prospect at best.