Scouting Reports- QB

A-H / I-P / Q-Z

Boo Jackson                                                                                                                                           Ohio

    Lacks height and at times will get passes knocked down at the line of scrimmage.  Has decent bulk.  Never able to completely take the reins at Ohio.  Inconsistent play caused him to be in and out of the lineup.  Struggles with accuracy and has a tendency to throw a lot of INTs.  Has good arm strength and has good athletic ability.  Can get some yards with his feet.  Has some ability but probably lacks ability to make it on the next level.

Ross Jenkins                                                                                                                        Louisiana Tech

    Has decent size.  Played a lot throughout his career but struggled to remain the starter.  Isn't overly athletic but is able to make things happen with his feet.  Has a pretty good handle on the offense and is fairly accurate.  He makes pretty good decisions.  Where he really struggles is with arm strength.  They didn't throw the ball down the field much and his arm strength was borderline for their system.  He has a so-so release.  Has the makeup of a decent backup type but lacks the arm strength needed for the next level.

Jerrod Johnson                                                                                                                         Texas A&M

    Physically looks the part.  Has really good size and a real good arm.  He can make all the throws and at times can make special throws.  At times does a good job throwing receivers open.  Has good athletic ability and can get yards in the open field.  Is strong and is hard to bring down.  Not afraid to be physical, against Kansas he lowered his head and ran over a DB.  Failed to hold onto starting position this past season.  Really struggles with turnovers.  They seem to find him.  Some aren't always his fault but some are, in either case he is involved in a lot of them.  In addition to INTs he has a propensity to fumble the ball.  He struggles with accuracy because his mechanics aren't consistent.  He also struggles when he is pressured and at times will throw the ball up for grabs.  He doesn't always show good decision making.  It is discouraging that he has had some experience but he doesn't seem to develop and get better.  Also discouraging is that the offense looked more in synch and played better when Ryan Tannehill took over as the starter.  He has played some WR in the past and could get a look at a different position but that is unlikely.  He has big time potential but needs a lot of development and up to this point he hasn't shown the ability to improve.  Still he is an intriguing developmental type that is bound to get selected late in the draft.

Colin Kaepernick                                                                                                                              Nevada

    Highly productive college player who is the only player in college football history to pass for over 10,000 yards and rush for over 4,000 yards in a career.  Has good size and a cannon for an arm.  Has really good athletic ability and can make things happen with his feet, which he was asked to do a lot in college.  Will have to make a huge adjustment coming from the pistol offense.  That system is not a complex offense, requiring him to make one to two reads and if it isn't open to take off with the ball.  He will really need to work on pocket presence.  In the NFL he will have to stand in there and make a throw which is not something he is used to.  In his system, he was a good decision maker and did a good job protecting the ball.  He has a funky release that is a little long but at times his arm strength helps overcome that.  He needs to work on throwing the ball with touch and deep throws.  At times he just likes to bring the heater rather than getting some air under the throw.  He is a little bit of a project but has good character and toughness.  It might take him some time to develop but he has the potential to develop into a really good QB.

Jordan La Secla                                                                                                                          San Jose St

    Lacks ideal size.  Shows really good toughness and is competitive.  Release is a little long and his arm strength is decent.  A little inconsistent with his accuracy.  Decent college player who probably isn't special enough to make it on the next level.

Jake Locker                                                                                                                               Washington

    Has decent size and is really athletic.  Can really cause damage with his feet.  Has a strong arm but really struggles with accuracy.  His mechanics have improved over the course of his career but he is still a little inconsistent in the lower body which at times makes him inaccurate and at times saps some of his arm strength.  Has the ability to make throws from the pocket and on the run.  Physical ability is not the question.  He doesn't play with good anticipation and struggles reading defenses.  Has a tendency to throw the ball late.  Also has a tendency to lock onto receivers.  You would have liked to see him throw the ball with more accuracy but he has good physical skills, wants to get better, shows good leadership skills and likes to compete.  Figures as a boom or bust type but has the ability to develop into a good QB in the NFL.

Ryan Mallett                                                                                                                                  Arkansas

    Has really good height and overall size.  Has a big time arm and can really zip the ball in there.  He has a special arm and can make throws that few people can.  Throws the best deep ball of anyone in the draft.  He isn't overly athletic but moves around in the pocket well.  He is strong and hard to bring down.  He kind of reminds me of a more athletic Drew Bledsoe.  Has pretty good mechanics and can be pretty accurate at times.  Struggles a little bit with his accuracy when he is pressured.  Sometimes when pressured he tends to short arm the ball.  At times he can lock onto receivers.  He has a competitive spirit.  Physically has everything that you look for in an NFL QB but is rumored to have some off the field concerns which may affect his stock.  Boom or bust type who has the potential to develop into an elite QB.

Jeremiah Masoli                                                                                                                         Mississippi

    Transferred from Oregon where he led Oregon to a PAC-10 championship.  Was dismissed from Oregon due to pleading guilty to a burglary charge and being cited for marijuana possession.  So there are some character concerns.  He also lacks height and is more of a runner than a passer.  He doesn't have great arm strength and has limited experience in a complex passing attack.  He doesn't do a great job reading defenses.  Has good athletic ability and can make things happen with his feet.  He has good toughness so a move to RB is not out of the question.  Has limited upside and comes with some serious character issues but he has been a winner at a high level.

Greg McElroy                                                                                                                                 Alabama

    Has been a winner his whole life.  Has decent but not great size.  Is really smart and it generally translates onto the field.  Was more of a game manager for Alabama rather than the center piece of the offense.  Lacks arm strength and doesn't have a quick release.  Is somewhat accurate on short passes but struggles with long passes.  Lacks athletic ability but moves around in the pocket ok.  Shows good leadership abilities and toughness but isn't going to beat anyone with his arm.  When Alabama fell behind and needed to throw the ball, they struggled.  Has limited upside and doesn't figure to ever develop into a starter in the NFL but has a chance to develop into a solid backup.  Has experience in a pro style offense so he can fill a backup roll quickly.  His work ethic and intelligence gives him a chance.

Mitch Mustain                                                                                                                                       USC

    Highly touted out of high school, he transferred from Arkansas when Gus Malzahn left.  He had some success at Arkansas but didn't see much time at USC.  He has good size and athletic ability.  He can make some things happen with his feet.  Has good arm strength and a decent release.  His lower body is not always in synch with the rest of his body which can affect his accuracy.  He hasn't had a ton of experience these last couple of years and when he has played it is often garbage time where he hands the ball off or makes short throws.  Despite his lack of game time, he has a lot of experience in a pro system.  In February he was arrested for selling narcotics.  Up to that point he looked like he could be a late round project but with the arrest he is likely to go undrafted.

Arvell Nelson                                                                                                                       Texas Southern

    Has good size and is really athletic.  Can really make things happen with his feet.  Transferred from Iowa where he was dismissed due to marijuana.  Has decent arm strength but his release is long.  He has really lazy footwork and often doesn't get his feet set correctly which affects his accuracy.  Has a tendency to throw a lazy ball and ends up throwing too many INTs.  Has some raw ability but has a real long way to go before he could compete for a job on the next level.

Cam Newton                                                                                                                                      Auburn

    Was the best college player in the country this past season.  He possesses rare raw skills.  He has really good size and freakish athleticism for his size.  He runs really well and is really hard to bring down in the open field.  He has good arm strength and release.  At Auburn he played in a really simplistic offensive scheme and asked him to use his feet a lot.  Basically he had one or two reads and if it wasn't there he was to make something happen with his feet.  This means he will need a ton of work developing into a throwing QB.  He has never gone through multiple progressions and doesn't have a lot of experience reading defenses.  This past season he often locked onto his receiver and forced the ball in there if he threw it.  It is important to realize that this was really his only year as a starter against decent competition.  This makes him risky because he is a one year wonder but he also hasn't had much development as a thrower.  Another thing in his favor is that while he isn't refined as a passer, he was always able to find a way to win.  He often put his team on his back and led them to victory against elite competition.  The sky is the limit with his potential.  He reminds me of a more talented Vince Young.  However, he qualifies as a boom or bust prospect because he is in need of so much development and due to potential character issues.  He started his college career at Florida but left for undisclosed reasons.  Before he left he was arrested and charged with burglary, larceny and intimidating a witness after reportedly stealing a computer.  He also was reportedly going to be dismissed due to three incidents of academic cheating.  This past season his father was investigated for initiating a pay for play bidding war for Cam's college commitment.  There are other reported concerns about his character and those he surrounds himself with.  He has the potential to be all world or suffer the same fate as Ryan Leaf.

Christian Ponder                                                                                                                            Florida St

    Has good size and is really smart.  Has good athletic ability and can make some things happen with his feet.  Is able to buy time with his feet and does a good job keeping his eyes downfield.  Has good arm strength and a good release.  Competes and has pretty good mechanics.  Has been fairly accurate but at times struggles with deep throws.  At times he will float the deep ball.  Has a tendency to lock onto his receiver.  Doesn't go through progressions real fast and has a tendency to throw the ball a little late and into coverage.  Has good leadership abilities.  Has struggled to stay healthy the past two seasons but he shows good toughness.  Has the physical ability to be a good starting QB in the NFL as long as he improves his decision making and gets quicker going through his progressions.

Josh Portis                                                                                                                             California (PA)

    Intriguing small school prospect who has good size and athletic ability.  Has had a rocky college career, starting at Florida.  He then transferred to Maryland and eventually transferred to California (PA).  At Maryland he was caught cheating on an exam and was suspended.  In 2010 he was charged with theft for unlawful taking, receiving stolen property, forgery and access device fraud for allegedly using a stolen credit card.  So there are some character issues there.  Physically he has some good raw skills.  He has good arm strength and can make things happen with his feet.  He has good accuracy on this level but will be making a big jump in competition and at times looks hesitant in his play.  He has a little hitch in his delivery but has an ok release.  Has the look of a good developmental prospect.  His off the field concerns might keep him from being drafted though.

Taylor Potts                                                                                                                                Texas Tech

    Has really good size with good arm strength.  Was much better this past season than he was the year before.  He really improved his footwork which helped his accuracy.  He still has a way to go with his footwork but it is a lot better than it was.  For a bigger guy he has a little athleticism and is able to buy time in the pocket.  Is still viewed as a system guy and he does a lot of throwing to spots rather than to receivers coming out of breaks.  Has some physical skills that can translate on the next level but will need a lot of work.  Could develop into a backup down the road.