re: Bryce Underwood

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he looks identical to JD5

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quote:

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for being #1 overall in the nation, there’s not that thing (in my eyes) that POPS & makes you say WOW

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First of all, these two statements are totally inconsistent. Daniels is literally having one of the greatest QB seasons in the history of college football. He is currently sitting on the 2nd best single-season yds/att mark of all time--only 0.1 behind #1--and the best mark ever by a P5 player (and also the best mark ever by someone who's not in a gimmick offense). I don't know where to find these numbers for the whole country, but within the SEC, he is #1 in both passing success rate AND passing explosive play rate--and that's all while having the lowest play-action rate (by, like, a MILE) and the lowest "action rate" (motions, etc) in the league, plus the lowest screen% and a well below average RPO rate. In other words, he's doing this on straight drop backs--not schemed plays. And all that is before we even consider the fact that he's the best rushing QB in the country as well.


Bottom line: If you could guarantee a HS kid would have a season even 90% as good as the season JD5 is currently having, that kid would be the no-questions-asked #1 overall recruit.


But let's talk about Bryce Underwood himself a little: Underwood is already more sturdily built than Daniels as a HS Junior. And he may not be Josh Allen or Justin Herbert or Patrick Mahomes, but he's got a clearly bigger arm than Daniels, too. So, the tools are very much there--but the tools aren't even the biggest selling point for Underwood: That's his extreme polish. This kid won the state title in both his freshman and sophomore seasons. Only lost 1g in those 2yrs. He's been fantastic individually, too. And he's not just relying on superior size and athleticism to run all over--he's a pocket passer first and foremost: As a sophomore, he completed 65% of his passes for 2751 yards and threw 37 TD.



Oh, and by the way: He's an August birthday - he put up those numbers at the age of a HS freshman. So whatever type of athleticism you see on film... bear in mind that going forward he's going to progress more physically than whomever you're comparing him to. Pair those kind of tools with that kind of polish at that young an age, and you've got an absolute can't-miss prospect.



Finally: Especially with QBs, I think it's important not to get hung up on "wow" plays (not that Underwood is even lacking in that department). Thinking back to Burrow in 2019, he had his fair share of crazy plays escaping pressure, but the thing that made him so special wasn't his best 5 or 10 or 20% of plays--it was the fact that his worst 20% of plays were still very good: He straight up did. not. miss. throws. Those "ordinary" plays are where QBs separate themselves. The difference between one guy's 75yd TD and another guy's 75yd TD is mostly aesthetic; the difference between one guy's 8yd out-route to convert a 3rd and 7 and another guy's miss that leads to a punt - that's the difference that wins and loses games. But you'll never see that type of play on a highlight tape.



In sum: You shouldn't be underwhelmed by Underwood's film if you think he looks like a JD5 clone, but if for some reason you are, remember 1) that he's a year young for his class, and 2) that highlight tapes don't really paint the best picture for QBs.