For the first time in several years none of the top-rated QB prospects for the upcoming draft were at the Senior Bowl. And it showed to a degree in today’s game. Jake Haener of Fresno State was named the game’s MVP after he completed 12 of 19 passes for 139 yards and a TD as he lead the West team to a 27-10 win. However, despite the award, its hard to see how Haener, who is one of several QBs in a battle to be the next best at the position after the pretty much acknowledged top 5 comes off the board, would necessarily have gotten much of a boost from today’s outing. Haener, who is a little on the short side for a pro pocket passer at barely 6-0, did show some nice touch and good velocity when he was able to step up in the pocket; he also got the ball downfield without much air under it. He also did a nice job on several occasions sliding around the pocket to avoid pressure. However, when he wasn’t able to step up because of the pressure, Haener tended to get a little happy-feet and really couldn’t get much mustard on off-angle throws. He also has something of a sidearm delivery that could be problematic at the next level given that he is on the shorter side.
There was something of a similar story for Houston’s Clayton Tune, who was actually a little more efficient than Haener as he completed 9 of 12 passes, but they were almost underneath passes that only netted 70 yards. And like Haener, Tune was able to get the ball off with authority when he could step int his throws, but struggled when he was forced off his spot. In fact, one of the things we thought we saw with both Haener and Tune is that they both tended to be a little robotic and mechanical in the pocket and looked more like system QBs.
In fact, the QB in Mobile who kind of impressed in Mobile today was Tyson Bagent of FCS Shepherd who completed 17 of 22 passes for 124 yards and a TD as he came on late and led something of an East team rally. Unfortunately, it fell short when he threw a rather ugly pick after rather artfully escaping trouble in the pocket. And while clearly still very raw – and there are still going to be questions about his arm strength – what you did see was a little bit of a riverboat gambler who was very comfortable in the pocket. He stood tall, appeared to see the whole field, had a compact release and just had that 6th sense about when things were about to break down around him. He also showed the ability to ad lib plays when things did break down.
On the other hand, it was a very disappointing outing for TCU’s Max Duggan who looked like he was still suffering a bit of a football hangover from the Frogs loss in this year’s CFP national championship game. Duggan did have a couple of nice throws, but finished just 4 for 9 and 26 yards. It was also something of a mixed bag for Louisville’s Malik Cunningham who looks like a very athletic QB who throws well enough to get by. Cunningham did complete 3 of the 4 passes he attempted, but the 4th was a really ugly pick 6 on which he was injured trying to make the tackle.
