http://www.hudl.com/athlete/594850/highlights/77131382?autoplay=1
Few observations on Hokie Quarterback committment, Andrew Ford.
1. His high school runs a very sophisticated, pro-style passing attack. Many of the formations look like they are from the Loefller playbook - I can see why he recruited this kid. He takes snap from under-center, from the shotgun in an inverted veer play-action package, and from the pistol. Sound familiar?
2. His offensive line is pretty bad, and he therefore spends most of his snaps running out of the pocket to save his life. With that, he is very good at throwing on the run. He keeps his head up, maintains a very quick throwing motion, and gets the ball there very accurately. Again, on the run.
3. When he does have time to stand in the pocket, his footwork is excellent. Very, very good. Watch how he chops his feet, plants his backfoot, and quickly releases the ball. Peyton Manning chops his feet just like that. All the good ones do. Andrew Ford is cleary very well coached in QB technique.
4. In addition to his footwork, he scans the field very well. He clearly goes through progressions - watch his head pivot from side to side. On film, I would spot the open receiver I thought he was looking at, and he would throw the ball to a different, more open receiver.
5. His ball fakes are very good, including both pump fakes and play-action.
6. He doesn't have the strongest arm in America, but neither does Russel Wilson. However, he is extremely accurate and finds open receivers by recognizing coverages and anticipating routes.
I'm excited to have this kid. He definitely competes for the starting job as a r-Fr in 2015.
Comments
nice
Very nice play by both Ford and his receivers making plays on 50 50 balls. I think he will need to learn to play more conservatively (some of those throws are INT's in college) and keep the ball up in a throwing position while moving away from traffic, but he certainly seems to be comfortable, accurate, and a has a good arm.
Wow, his OL is BAD. Did Newsome move to PA?
It is better than Stroman's line at Stonewall Jackson.
Jon Gruden made a comment during a game last week that "wide receivers do not get open quarterbacks throw receivers open". Interesting and this kid seems to have some of that ability while running for his life!
Super smart, accurate, graduating HS early and here for spring... hmmm, Sam Rogers II?
Not a walk on, unfortunately.
Why the heck did they put a light pole at the 50 yard line of their field? That must be extremely annoying for their fans.
Wow. What a great talent. Granted these are highlights but he shows it all repeatedly: very accurate, mobile enough to give a defense headaches, very technically sound, looks down the field even with a rush, great size. And yeah, his offense looks a lot like what SL is trying to do with our. Im excited about this guy.
Me three! lol
Offer #24 a scholarship now.
was thinking the same after I saw him turn the jets on that one play.
kid can block too
Now wait a damn minute we definitely do not want any receivers blocking anyone!
Hahaha there are so many OL gems in this. I like what I see from Ford; he seems like the best passer we've gotten in some while and he also can move pretty well. If you want some laughs, though, fast forward to 1:10. There are others, but this was just embarrassing.
Edit: WOW. There are some impressive throws in that video. Imagine how long his season highlights will be...
My thoughts are he throws the ball off his back foot too much and he throws across his body when he runs to his right which almost always spells disaster at the college level, however he looks smart, fast, agile, and quite accurate. His receivers do a really good job of getting open as well. He can also really drop the deep ball in nicely. You cannot complain about his stats.
Wait this kid is a 2014 commit right? Is he officially redshirting, or just your guess?
Nobody knows what exactly will happen in the future so it's just a guess. But a educated guess that makes sense. I mean he's enrolling early in the spring so there's a possibility that he comes in and blows everyone away and wins the job as a true freshman. But I think most people assume that Leal will start next year and so rather than burning Ford's redshirt to be a 2nd or 3rd string, just redshirt him and have Bucky and Motley as your backups in whatever order.
Then for the 2015 season, have a full on QB competition between Motley, Bucky and Ford.
That makes sense. I can see that happening of course, just wasn't sure if the coaching staff had mentioned anything about it. I'd love to see him enroll in the spring and then light it up and immediately compete for the starting position though. If not then I hope our offense can get rolling so Leal can get some playing time this year!