http://www.hudl.com/athlete/594850/highlights/107710400
Looks really good. If his football Iq is high like they say it is we might have a sleeper here
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http://www.hudl.com/athlete/594850/highlights/107710400
Looks really good. If his football Iq is high like they say it is we might have a sleeper here
Comments
He's got a little bit of those happy feet and he needs a bit less loft on those passes, but he looks good.
We're going to make him stronger and leaner. Get rid of some of those high school habits and soon, very very soon...
A left handed QB will wear #7 for the Hokies.
Buckle the fuck up, kiddos.
I cant tell you how giddy I just got thinking about this
It looks like he's chopping his feet like Peyton Manning does. He evaded a rush pretty effectively using that technique. Little steps help you get your feet set correctly.
I think the foot chopping is a plus (Manning, etc)
What's great is what needs fixing (arm strength. a little more foot speed) are fixable. His football IQ, ability to throw on the run and accuracy great from the get go.
His footwork is actually a plus for me. In general, he seems to have a great feel for the pocket (something that Thomas struggles at). I'd love to see a full game though, hard to judge a quarterback based on highlights. It's easy to see what his ceiling is, but not his floor.
Reasons like this are why I'm just a fan and not a prognosticator. To me when I see the foot chopping, it's reminds of an anxious movement that leads to indecision.
You guys are right though, Peyton does it. I'm not a gigantic NFL fan, so I can't say I see a lot of pro QB's do it, and the college game has a lot of hybrids so it's not a very good measuring stick either.
I'll believe you guys though. I'm super psyched the kid decided on the good guys.
When you are a 4 time NFL MVP you can chop your steps
When you are a 4 time NFL MVP you can do what ever you want. Fixed it :)
Particularly that guy.
He basically runs the gametime offense with help from his OC as a spotter and providing ideas.
You see him direct the offense after the huddle? changing where guys lineup and their assignments? He's got hand signals for his WRs so he can change their route just before hiking the ball.
And he wins ball games doing it.
I bet he's in on the discussions with the coaches talking about what their needs are and the possible player fills.
I can hear it now, last Winter.
"Hey, P., New England put Welker up for sale, waddaya think?"
Manning - "A team oriented veteran that catches balls like that AND with balls of brass? I'm not worried about taking Brady's castoffs, I want him here and nowhere else."
"Okay, P. We'll get him on the phone right now."
I'd venture you're not too far off. Two Super Bowl qbs running the place, I bet it's the P and J show. I laughed thinking about how you portrayed the Welker pickup.
I see it happening a little differently.
Denver's FO is meeting to discuss roster moves, draft plans and general offseason strategy. They're fairly happy with their roster and they aren't planning any major moves, just some tinkering around the edges with young project players. John Fox's phone rings and it's Manning. He answers by the second ring, because he knows Peyton will hang up if it goes to three.
He answers, "Hey Peyton, wha--"
An abrupt voice on the other end interrupts with two words, "Get Welker."
-click-
Fox turns to the rest of the staff and tells them, "I guess we're grabbing Wes Welker."
A few miles away Peyton Manning sets the phone down and turns his attention back to the wall of monitors playing game film Ozymandius-style, a joyless smirk adorning his face. A keen ear would be able to hear him softly muttering under his breath, "Omaha... 54's the mike... kill kill kill."
hahahahaha oh man I'm dying right now. Now that was funny!
Plotting Manning
He must be ideal for what Loeffler wants to do. Seems to have really good vision. And what about his receiving corp, those guys made some plays our guys didn't make this year.
Seriously, are we recruiting any of those receivers? I think they all had super glue on their hands.
Can't find anything on anyone recruiting #24 (Jake Scott)... he's listed at 5-9 165 soooo- invited walk on?
#13 JR noah malone might be one to keep an eye on for next year as well. But yeah, I cant even find any of his WR's in a database.
I found his Hudl video here.
Plays WR, CB, and KR. Dude can ball. If no one's recruiting him, we could definitely use him to shore up at least two of those positions.
To be fair, all receivers look great on highlight videos :)
But they weren't just making the catch, to make Ford's highlights, they were picking up tons of YACs.
I was hoping to see him under center more..
If the future is anything like this past year I think our QB's under center days are few and far between. I for one think it should be an automatic 15 yd penalty if a QB lines up in the shotgun or pistol inside the opponents 10 yd line though.
You mean like when we did that on the BC 1 and hit Cline wide open for a TD? Yeah, that should never happen.
/sarcastica
I'm wondering why more people haven't mentioned this. I think he looks good in the video, just not one snap taken from under center.
Does anyone know his TD to interception ratio this year? I love highlight videos, but its the bad plays that really make the difference. Imagine how deceptive LT's highlight video would be this year.
35 TDs - 7 Interceptions with a 67.6% Completion rate
Meh... thats alright
/sarcasm
He looks like a child-sized Payton Manning.
Exactly what I was thinking, especially given the uniforms. He moves really well in the pocket, but is he any threat to scramble? Is Lefty looking to develop him into a manning pure pocket passer, or an Andrew Luck version, with the scrambling threat as well.
Baaammmm.. First Throw into the highlights and I actually saw him chop chop chop then he steps into a throw and its a bullet right up the middle made me smile!!
The QB debate next year between the limited-yet-experienced senior and the unrefined-yet-promising freshman will last all year.
I would be 0% surprised if Hodges or Motley wins the job, though. I think it's a 4 way battle.
I would be shocked. I don't expect Hodges to be a VT QB next year, either not at VT playing QB or or at VT playing TE. Motley is a slightly better JuJu Clayton, which is to say he's an inexperienced Mark Leal.
Motley was our best QB in the spring and was playing against the 1st team defense. The kid can ball, has a cannon, and has a serious set of wheels. He will be in the mix.
JuJu had a noodle arm (sorry JuJu), was slow, and had a bad QB coach.
The grumblings I've heard is that Ford will probably be the guy and Bucky is headed to TE. I'm hoping Leal gets a fair shot at the job, but it doesn't look promising since Ford is "Loeffler's guy."
Motely was offered because he is the nephew of Donald Snell and is a pretty good athlete. Seems like he is being wasted right now being buried at QB, so hopefully they switch him to something that is going to let him have a shot of getting on the field. Even if it is on special teams.
Not a Motley fan - I feel we wasted a scholarship on him only because he was the hometown kid (which is okay to do) but I do not think he'll pan out at QB.
I don't think he was a wasted scholarship if we threw him into the Rov/Whip/FS mix and he played some critical special teams in his career. We're wasting him at QB, where he'll never play for us. He's a good enough athlete to contribute....at a multitude of other positions.
Completely agree - should have clarified a little better to a wasted scholarship at QB.
"...Where he'll never play for us", said CDS7C, the new Virginia Tech quarterback coach making $250,000 / year.
I was thinking the same thing in July of last year... then I saw him play in the fall. Dude's got an arm and some serious athleticism. Hard to tell just how good he is, but he could very well challenge to be a multi-year starter for VT. Bowl season, spring, summer and fall will give us some great position battles, QB right up there with them (not just this year's starter, but next year's as well).
Same exact thought process for me as well. Had completely written him off, until I saw him throw the ball in the summer. He's got a surprisingly good arm. How accurate is it? Not sure. How well does he know the play book and make his reads? Not sure.
But I'm convinced he has the physical tools to play. Certainly athletic enough.
I have no idea how next year will go. You can probably run a more dynamic offense through Leal but in terms of consistency and presence Ford may already have the advantage and he has not even set foot in Blacksburg. It's an excellent problem to have though. Its always beneficial to have two players trying to outwork each other.
Ford is enrolling in January, so he'll have more experience with the playbook than most freshmen.
Yep. If Ford was enrolling normally there is no doubt it would be Leal's job. The fact that Ford has that time in the spring is what could make it interesting.
Ford's a bright kid, he'll have the playbook stuff down. What he will struggle with is what you saw from Lambert this weekend, the speed-of-the-game issues.
But Lambert has had a full redshirt year and a full r-Fr year and still can't beat out Watford....so maybe Lambert just sucks.
Hasnt exactly been handed an easy situation though. If I was Lambert and Mike London put me in on the two yard line with Bane Gayle breathing down my neck I would have flipped him the double bird and walked off the field.
And now given how the NFL and NCAA both are more apt to give the younger exceptional guys the nod,as opposed to the elder statesmen, do it to it.
I love QB battles. To the victor, the spoils.
He probably already has a playbook. In fact, I'd be shocked if he doesn't.
Do they have a written commit or is it verbal?
If it's not written, I'd hesitate on that.
Ford's pocket awareness, his ability to elude pass-rushers, and his ability to throw accurate darts on the run make me smile. If he can learn to read defenses, he'll flourish in Loeffler's scheme. With a better O-line and some RBs, the offense may actually become a strength.
Maybe this is just me not studying QBs that much - but his footwork seems a little different?
Seems to me like his base when he goes to throw is really wide, and it doesn't seem like he's driving off his back foot that much. I don't know if this is right but it looks like he's using his upper body to make the throws more than his waist/plant foot.
I'm no QB guru (but darn it all I try), but the main things to look at are:
1. Is everything lined up? That's toe, knee, hips, chest all pointed at the target at release
2. Does he consistently set his feet and give himself a good base to throw off of?
3. Is weight transferring from the back to the front?
4. Does he follow through on his throws, with his hand to the opposite hip?
The one thing I'd say about him is pretty much what you're saying. Especially on long throws, he has a tendency to not step all the way through his throw, which causes the ball to float a bit. Admittedly, on several of said throws, he's got a guy in his face. Not a lot of these passes are thrown from a clean pocket, so it'll be interesting to see how he transitions to the college game, where he'll have to trust his line, reach the top of his drop and be ready to plant off his back foot and get the ball on a line to his receivers on quick timing routes. That said, I definitely see a good number of throws where he seems to have good technique all the way through. Definitely excited to see Lefty work with his Lefty.
I concur. I think working with Lefty will really help him out, and I love his ability to make accurate throws with zip outside the pocket and on the run. You can't be taught that- you either have it or you don't, and it seems like he has it.
YES. It's pretty darn hard to coach a guy on how to throw on the run, since a good number of the "rules" (ie, set your feet, etc) either go out the window or get a whole lot harder to follow. Kid definitely does a good job of putting the ball where it needs to be.
I agree- I'm just concerned a bit with his footwork. I just don't know if he's transferring his weight correctly. That being said, if he's not pushed into starting to quickly, I'm sure those problems can be resolved relatively painlessly
Well, if Loeffler is good at anything, he's good at helping dudes figure out how to deliver a ball from point A to point B.
I love Ford's film, and his efficiency (15% of his throws are for touchdowns/70% completion percentage factoring in the number of times that high school kids will drop balls and run the wrong routes), but the lack of snaps from under center concerns me a bit.
Based on what I saw in the fall, Brendan Motley will get a chance to compete and may be the surprise of spring camp. He excelled on play action and bootleg and demonstrated a terrific arm, usually playing against the top defense. He is miles ahead of where Bucky Hodges was (granted, he also has the benefit of an extra year with the team) but he was at least as efficient as Leal, just as good an arm, and a better runner. If Ford isn't ready to contribute immediately (and he may be), I bet Leal vs Motley becomes the quarterback controversy.
For other surprises, watch the beat writer quotes closely during bowl practice. If they start discussing a kid making plays in practice, that means he is getting reps and they think he will contribute next season. I will be keeping my ears on the ground regarding Seth Dooley, David Prince, and of course Wyatt Teller.
Btw im pretty sure I read an article Of Ford's coach somewhere and he said he lets Ford call his own plays at the line of scrimmage. Ill have to try and find that
FWIW, Beamer just said on TTL he believes Leal will be the starting QB next year.
Ford isn't even on campus. The kid dazzles, especially since he's Grimeys boy, he will play.
"Whomever puts us in the best position to win"
ya as much as I am excited about Ford and his potential, I realistically don't see him starting next year. He'll probably redshirt. I mean Michael Vick redshirted for crying out loud. the battle I want to see is Leal vs Motley. I'd prefer Motley cause otherwise we're doing this all over again next season when Leal graduates. But like we've mentioned before Beamer is loyal - both to his coaches and to his players. I believe he has the "he did his time on the bench, now he gets to start" philosophy
Beamer states in his book that a major reason why MV7 was redshirted had to do with a promise Beamer made to his parents.
As someone who hasn't watched a HS QB's highlight reel before... How impressive is this compared to other big name recruits? Would Glennon or Hodges have had an equally impressive reel?
Also... Maybe I missed this discussion months ago but any idea why he's only a 3 star recruit?
Recruiting rankings are heavily influenced by offers. If a player doesn't have a ton of big name offers, he won't be a five star athlete almost regardless of merit.
Unless I'm mistaken, Ford didn't disclose to recruiting sites who all gave him offers. They can't tell how many school want him if he doesn't say how many offered.
This was my understanding as well. I have to say I like the fact that he doesn't care about fame and notoriety at all. He accepted the offer he wanted and he doesn't give a damn about anything other than that. That kind of attitude will do well in Blacksburg.
QB "offers" are weird, too. Take for instance Grayson Lambert. UVA will tell you he had an "Alabama offer." Well, maybe he did. Last summer while we were recruiting Jacob Parks and David Cornwell, both had "Bama offers" and both had to come to camp with three other QB's for Bama to select which one had a "committable offer." Cornwell got the nod and he went there. Parks then went to UGA's camp and got a "committable offer" and went there.
So we've seen Grayson Lambert. That doesn't look like a kid with a committable offer from Alabama. For Ford, I think he had an "offer" from VT but was told he was third on our list. When the other two guys went elsewhere, his offer became "committable" and he took it.
interesting...so help a guy like me understand...are his highlights as impressive as they seen, or does everyone who makes it to the college level look that good in HS? Did Sean Glennon have highlights that looked this good, or is this something really special & elite? Obviously none of us can predict how he'll pan out, not asking for a crystal ball, just looking for context on these highlights.
417 yards passing vs. #1 team in Pa (Bishop Mc Devit) this year (all in the first 3 quarters)- FYI
Glennon had excellent high school highlight footage. They can be seen by googling Eddie Royal HS Highlights.
Similarly Mike Vick's high school WR looked amazing on film and was recruited (Andre Harrison - I think) and he never
made the dress squad.
His receivers were really good. They used their bodies better than our WRs did.
Ford looks good. He is accurate and throws his receivers open. He could use some arm strength but that will come in the next few years. Keep in mind we are used to seeing LT throw who has a howitzer of an arm.
I am really excited this kid will be here in January. 8 months of strength and conditioning with Gentry and 8 months with Leoffler will be huge for him come fall camp and him competing for the job.