The Athletic: College Coaches Remarks on Bryce Young & CJ Stroud

[Saca312]

In an article discussing a particular analyst's mock draft, a collection of quotes from several coaches who have faced off against the top quarterbacks is prominently featured.

https://theathletic.com/4357004/2023/03/31/mock-draft-nfl-picks/

While the analyst in question has projected CJ Stroud as the Panthers' pick, that detail is not the primary focus. Instead, the crux of the article lies in the insights provided by various college coaches regarding these star quarterbacks.

The following are selected excerpts from those coach's comments:

CJ Stroud:

On his processing and understanding of coverages:

Quote

“He’s so calm. I wasn’t sure about the (Buckeyes’) previous guy’s ability to read coverage. But I know C.J. can. He has such a good ability to process, and his anticipation is so good. He runs better than you think. He’s the complete package.”

On his accuracy and timing:

Quote

““He’s the most accurate quarterback I’ve ever played against. It’s like he couldn’t have handed the ball to his receivers any better, and they’re 30, 40 yards downfield. He’s got high-level NFL accuracy and NFL vision. I think he understands the game so well and gets it out in under three seconds. He has very high football IQ.”

On his performance against one coach and his opinion on his ability: 

Quote

“His accuracy downfield is really special. He’s bigger than you think and faster and harder to sack than people realize. I thought he’s better than Trevor Lawrence. He’s such a pure passer and can make all the throws. He does really unique stuff. Watch some of the stuff he did against Michigan. There are two plays in that game, one on a deep go-ball and another on a corner route, where the DB undercuts it. It’s to the wide side of the field, and he just drops it in over the outside shoulder. Then, I’m watching him against Georgia, against those guys, and he was dominant in that game. We did our best to disrupt the timing, and he still got us. We played more aggressively at the line of scrimmage and he made a bunch of big plays. On third-and-11s, in real rough spots, he was able to improvise when it wasn’t there. If we didn’t match a pattern or cover a guy just right, he took advantage every time.”

Bryce Young

On his intelligence:

Quote

“I am a big believer in Bryce. Been watching him forever. I was really impressed, especially with his intelligence and his decision-making. He’s emotionally mature and really accurate. We heard when Bill O’Brien got there, Bryce ended up teaching him the early stages of their offense."

On facing him and the coach's opinion on his ability to read coverages and be effective:

Quote

““He shredded us. It was like that old Denny Green line, he was who we thought he was. He completes passes on really good coverage. Incredibly accurate. He never left the pocket. Was impressed by his ability to go through his reads and find receivers down the field.

On his athleticism and positives on durability:

Quote

I don’t think people give him enough credit for his feet. He doesn’t look like he’s running real fast, but he is. He’s also so damn accurate on the move. I was really impressed with how well he understands where to go with the ball, if you gave him any tip or tell of what you were doing, pressure-wise. If you do, he’d kill you. In our game, there’s no way he knew it was coming; our safety wasn’t even off the hash. There was nothing to tip him off. Nothing that said throw it out there. We hit pretty hard eight or nine times. I thought he did a really good job of handling that. He slid protection really good. I Zero-ed (blitzed) him a bunch, thinking, fug it. Let’s hit this quarterback as many times as I can. But he did such a great job of seeing it at the snap, especially for being such a young guy in terms of snaps played.

Criticisms durability concerns and translation of talent into the NFL:

Quote

“We changed significantly (scheme-wise) before we played him. We ran Fire Zone and Cover 0 and really heated him up, and I didn’t think he saw it that well when there’re athletic 6-5 dudes running down your throat. I’m not sold on him. I’d take C.J. before him.”

Quote

"My only concern is that he’s little. At some point one of these gigantic interior guys is gonna land on him and you’ll be scared that he’s not gonna get up. His size scares me because against us, he really didn’t escape. We ran him down three or four times. We’ve got some good athletes, but those are the athletes that you’re trying to run away from at that level.”

 

 

 

 

Edited April 1, 2023 by Saca312

[PantherOnTheProwl1523]

Looks like Stroud has the higher upside compared to Young then. Who ever we draft our new QB will be an excellent addition to the team and something we needed and haven't had for many seasons.

Edited April 1, 2023 by PantherOnTheProwl1523

[jfra78]