Fortunately for Penn State's Trace McSorley, he has that rare skills that teams want from their signal caller - mobility - when the arm can't deliver, it is "feet, don't fail me now" as a scrambler running out of the backfield. Much like 2001 draft top pick, Michael Vick, and Seattle's Russell Wilson, McSorley is a valid weapon as a runner. He’s slippery enough when flushed from the pocket, but you also see that Drew Brees-like pinpoint accuracy when he has to move the chains.
McSorley has a gift for sensing pressure, escaping and resetting elsewhere before delivering an accurate pass. That ability to create new passing windows helped, as he was not playing behind one of the better offensive lines in the game the last two seasons. His ability to secure the ball and head up field, or roll out and throw on the run saw him deliver great success against the bigger opposing defenders.
While McSorley's running skills are obvious, he is not another Michael Vick. He shows patience and the flare for spotting the impossible window opening to get the ball to his receivers, much like Drew Brees, who is closing in on nearly two decades of success. Thanks to Brees and Wilson, they have proven that a short pro-style passer can succeed in the league. “Good players figure it out,” Denver Broncos coach Vance Joseph said of Brees.
Like Mayfield, McSorley has an NFL-caliber arm, just not one that will go for the "home run" on every play. He is a quick decision-maker who get the ball out quickly and has every bit of the toughness a pro club would want from its quarterback. Beyond that, he possesses one of the most important traits of a great quarterback: accuracy.
While speaking with NFL.com’s Albert Breer for his story “Searching For the Next Great QB,” Atlanta Falcons offensive coordinator Steve Sarkisian recalled talking shop with legendary San Francisco 49ers coach and noted quarterback guru Bill Walsh once when Sarkisian was a Pete Carroll assistant at USC. Walsh hinted that personnel execs sometimes fall in love with a prospect’s measurables at the expense of his most desirable skills.
“Everyone goes to the (combine), they tell me how tall he is, they tell me how much he weighs, they tell me how big his hands are, how long his arms are,” Sarkisian recalled Walsh saying. “They tell me how high he jumps and how fast he runs. I go into these meetings with our scouts, and they tell me how strong his arm is, they tell me about the offense they had. And all I want to know is, when he throws the ball, does he throw it where the receivers catch it?”
After three productive seasons at Penn State, McSorley continues to prove his doubters wrong. Yes, his height might not be ideal, but it’s obviously not a disqualifier. It all comes down to the perfect fit, one that suits the Nittany Lion's many skills - the West Coast scheme, which is centered around a quarterback's ability to quickly assess and deliver accurate midrange throws. Just ask Joe Montana (6:01), or Steve Young (6:00) how Bill Walsh put that scheme in place for his future Hall of Famers.
Young even commented on his stature during a recent interview. "I’m only six-feet tall," the former 49er noted. "My football card says 6-foot-2, and in shoes I really am 6-2, but it was a dream to be 6-2 because “6-foot” and “quarterback” don’t go together well in the NFL because everybody else is 6-5, 6-6, 6-7. Many times I would drop back to pass, look for Jerry Rice, and see nothing but bodies in front of me. So I would start to run around to get visibility. And then, inevitably, I would be tackled and sacked for a loss. And the coach would say, “Steve, Jerry Rice was open. You were protected. Why didn’t you throw the ball?”
“Couldn’t see him.” And then the great comment back: “You’d better start seeing him.” It was really all about perspective, or lack of perspective, and how I had to learn to throw it blind. I wasn’t going to grow. I couldn’t put springs on my feet. There were no stilts, no high heels. The perspective was what it was. So I dealt with it by saying to myself, “I just saw Jerry Rice. I know where he’s going. I’m going to throw it anyway.”
The insistence of prototypical height and weight at the quarterback position has always been of grave interest, in a sort of macabre, self loathing sort of way. We all know the score. 6:04, check. 225 pounds, check. Big hands, check. Let’s draft him! Many quarterbacks have probably missed out on having a shot at the NFL, purely because of their height. Of course, NFL scouts are known for the thorough approach to identifying talent, so putting it all on how tall a guy is probably a bit obtuse, but I think it will be interesting none the less.
In a recent organizational study, every league quarterback who has started at least sixteen games in the last three years were examined in these categories; Tall (6’4" or more); Medium (6’2"-6’3"); Short (6’1" and under). Taking into consideration their season averages for pass completion percentage; touchdown pass made; interceptions thrown; amount of times they were sacked; times they turned the ball over via fumbles, the study revealed;
Short (6'01" and under)...57.0% completion, 15.3 touchdowns/10.7 interceptions, 23.1 sacks, 7.1 fumbles for an average
Medium (6'02" to 6'03")...61.2% completion, 18.6 touchdowns/12.6 interceptions, 25.8 sacks, 6.4 fumbles for an average
Tall (6'04" and over)...62.2% completion, 18.6 touchdowns/11.7 interceptions, 28.2 sacks, 8.1 fumbles
NFL draft analysis provided exclusively to 92-9 The Game courtesy of The NFL Draft Report...
