Makin a believer out of ya, huh? Heh. Yeah, you know I agree. This thread originally started with a look at Jacory Harris but like I said, Ponder smells much more NFL for now. There's still a little something missing and I think one of those things is what you alluded to, consistency. The other thing is at times his command of the offense is not total. I look at him though and all I can think about is what an amazing prospect he'll be when he comes out onto the field in 2010 for the Noles. And I hate the Noles as much as I dislike the Gators. This isn't about a guy who is a QB in the state of Florida. This is about a guy who has decent size, a really good arm, accuracy, a brain, and supposedly is an emerging leader on the team.
You know, as a Nole fan, it's hard to get too excited about a QB as we've wobbled through some misdemeanours at the position, especially recently. Thought he was too up and down last year and he didn't look great when I saw him early this, but sat down and watched those two games back to back on Tuesday night and boy was I impressed. He LOOKS like a leader. He LOOKS to make the right throw. He LOOKS like he knows what he's doing in the pocket. He's going to be fun to watch from here on out because if he puts it all together, then the sky's the limit.
He has the makings of that quality you really need in an NFL quarterback which is that if you're not interfered with in some way, the ball needs to be there in all quarters of the field 90% of the time...not 60%. You need to be able to count the number of times you throw an unfettered and yet uncatchable ball on one hand by the end of the game. He shows me glimpses of that, as well as glimpses of ball placement. It's just about being more consistent with it.
Before today's game I thought any top 5 that had Tebow in it was jobbing somebody. I'm not sure I think Tebow belongs in the top 5, but at least I thought today he was being pretty damn good. I can absolutely see Ponder being screwed in the Heisman race.
If we're talking about college QB as in Charlie Ward or Steve Taylor or Tommie Frazier or Charles Thompson, etc., then Jeremiah Masoli is the best college QB I've seen this year. He almost singlehandedly destroyed USC with his feet and his accurate passing and good decision making. He was outstanding in the Bowl game against OSU last season and excellent earlier in the year. He's not going to be an NFL passer at under 6 foot, but the kid can flat out ball.
That backup for Pike over in Cincy has been very impressive as that kind of player. The best QB I've seen this year might indeed be Ponder. He might be ready for the NFL sooner than I thought. I thought he was OK last year, streaky, but starting with that very first game this year against the Canes, I've been smitten. I must have tweeted about him like 20 times that night. And I hate the Noles. I still really like Colt McCoy but he's sort of turning in on himself in that system of theirs. One of the reasons I had really liked him before was he seemed to transcend the system and be able to throw vertical. When you have a yards per completion of less than 10 yards at the college level, all kinds of alarms start going off in my head. Between Ponder, McCoy, Locker, Clausen and Bradford, this could be an interesting QB class. My immediate, not really thinking about it feelings on the above are as follows: Christian Ponder - NFL all the way Jake Locker - Incomplete, need to know more Jared Clausen - I'm thinking he was so hyped out of high school that people are too quick to accept a short period of good performance Sam Bradford - NFL all the way Colt McCoy - Might have honestly stayed in that system TOO long, there's a possibility it will have ruined him for the NFL Tony Pike - Right now I'm thinking like a Sage Rosenfels type at the NFL level but obviously my feelings are not complete yet Jevan Snead - Seriously? Tim Tebow - Maybe if someone runs the Wildcat full time
My new friend Myron Rolle told me that he and Ponder are good friends and that Ponder thinks he can win the Heisman next season, so Myron thinks he's staying. I think, nee hope that McCoy is good enough and bright enough. He strikes me as ultra frustrated working in that limiting offense. Plus, I think he has a much better arm than people give him credit for. I'd want Bradford to add some serious muscle to that frame. Snead is no way an NFL QB. I like Pike. He can make every throw in the book. I'm incomplete on Clausen, Mallett is too streaky. I'm not even getting into a discussion about Tebow, who, if he wasn't the nations darling, wouldn't be talked about as the pro QB that he so patently isn't.
Zach Collaros <Cincy> is a a damn good looking Soph QB. Mobile with great touch, poise, and field awareness. Tremendous moxy and football intelligence. Plays smarter than most Senior QBs could ever hope for. Making of a Drew Brees?
I got a good look at Collaros a couple of times and I think the thing to take away from that situation is maybe a little bit of weakening of the Tony Pike story and that Collaros is a very good college QB without much pro potential unless the pros really do start adding spread elements. He's been around all year but this is the first time I got a real good look at him and I have to say there's a new "best QB" in town. Or at least he will be the best QB in time. Andrew Luck is incredible. And coached by Jim Harbaugh? Sign me up. I've been a fan of Harbaugh's work since he joined the college coaching ranks. Actually, I've been a fan of his work since the NFL specifically his stint with the Indianapolis Colts. But he's certainly translated HIS style onto his football teams and specifically his quarterbacks (I was a big fan of Josh Johnson as well). In Andrew Luck he got a 6'4" and 230 pound guy with brains, accuracy and a good arm...and he's got five years to do what he wants with him. Maybe four. This is only his redshirt freshman year and that game he just had against Oregon was the most complete pro-style quarterback game I've seen the entire year, from any of the guys out there bar none.
Kyle Parker has really impressed me this year. Guy shows unreal poise (that word again) and stands tall in the pocket. Kinda reminds me of Sam Bradford when he was a freshman, but with a better arm.
He's starting to come along nicely, finally..... now that he's learning to step up in the pocket rather than running backwards 15-20 yards on every pass.
Yeah, not easy to be a redshirt freshman QB in the ACC, or any conference for that matter. When that kid has time to throw he is deadly, especially with the weapons he has around him.
Dan LeFevour is still the best college QB I have seen this season that I have been able to see multiple games of. With that said, I don't know if he has the arm strength for him to succeed early on in the NFL. I could definitely see him having the ability to be a more mobile Chad Pennington though. PS: LeFevour for Heisman!
