As the college QB turns … The college rankings almost took a major hit on Saturday when top-ranked Clemson, playing without star QB Trevor Lawrence who was quarantined with covid symptoms, trailed Boston College by as many as 18 points during the first half of yesterday’s game. However, the Tigers’ defense stiifened after the break and Clemson was able to rally behind true freshman QB DJ Uiagalelei and eked out a 34-28 to remain unbeaten. Perhaps Clemson was caught looking ahead to next week’s big game against 3rd ranked Notre Dame for the ACC lead. Whatever, they are going to have to face the Irish without Lawrence who has already been ruled out of the game. With Lawrence sidelined, Ohio State’s Justin Fields was able to close some more ground in the chase for this year’s Heisman Trophy after he lead the Buckeyes to an impressive road win at Penn State. Fields completed 28 of 34 passes against the Lions for over 300 yards and 4 TDs. In fact, through the first two weeks of the campaign, Fields has completed a remarkable 87% of his pass attempts (48 of 55) including 6 for scores versus zero picks.
While there’s a lot to like about Fields, who is generally considered to be the #2 QB prospect in the 2021 draft class, we aren’t convinced that Fields in necessarily closing the ground on Lawrence in the eyes of pro scouts. Fields has good size, finds the open receiver and throws well on the run, we’re not sure we seeing the full skill set one would normally expect to see with an elite QB prospect. Fields appears to have a somewhat deliberate, elongated release, doesn’t consistently throw a real tight spiral, and seems to throw a lot of passes that really aren’t right on the numbers. This also highlights the problem of trying to evaluate prospects in general, and QBs in particular, who play on really good teams. Fields, for example, who seldom finds himself in must-pass situations, spends most of his afternoons throwing from a clean pocket to pretty wide open receivers. So you have to look deep behind the gaudy numbers to evaluate the players potential to successfully transition to the pros. We promise, though, that we are going to hear a lot more on the subject between now and April. Stay tuned!
