Breaking down UKs three quarterback commitments
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It's a rare thing when a college football program has three high school quarterback commitments, but that's the situation Kentucky's in now.
First it was Gunnar Hoak, the pro-style Class of 2016 passer from Dublin Coffman in Ohio. While it may seem like it took ages for the Cats' to find their '16 quarterback he still committed with a long time to go in his high school career. Hoak will enroll early at Kentucky and get an extra semester under his belt to make the learning curve and transition to college a little easier.
Then Class of 2017 quarterback Mac Jones committed. One class and one year younger than Hoak, he's also a pro-style with an accomplished arm, even if he hadn't played a lot of starter snaps heading into this year compared to some other top prospects.
Shannon Dawson had thoroughly evaluated both players prior to accepting their commitments. That he woulds take two commitments from players known much more as passers than runners seemed to cement the assumption that Dawson would be moving strictly in a pro-style direction. Given the way he's put the brakes on Patrick Towles on the ground this year that seemed to make sense.
But then Kentucky accepted a commitment from Walker Wood, the local dual-threat from Lafayette High School in Lexington.
Wood had been on Kentucky's radar for a long time. If you can play and you're from Lexington the UK staff will find out about you quickly. But they found out about him quickly and got even more evaluation opportunities than they otherwise would have because of Landon Young's commitment and the fact that Jedrick Wills is a major target.
Wood is not like the other two quarterbacks committed to Kentucky. He wants his chance behind center just as Hoak and Jones do. But he's also more of an athlete that could get a look elsewhere if things don't work out at quarterback. That's only if they don't work out. Wood is hoping he succeeds taking snaps, even if he knows he's a different kind of player than Dawson has recruited at other instances.
Hoak's tested, ready to enroll early
Hoak may rightly be viewed as the most tested of the three. That's not to say the competition in Ohio is better than what Jones has faced at Bolles this year down in Florida. But Hoak's played a lot more snaps as a starter, and as a senior, and he's got a lot more game experience overall in live game settings.
Coffman's season ended anticlimactically with a 53-7 loss to Colerain in the Ohio state playoffs last week but it was still a solid year for the future Wildcat. In that loss Hoak was just 5-16 for 81 yards, one of his two worst games of the season. His other rough outing was in a 28-7 loss to Fairfield.
But it's not as though Hoak just ended the season on a rough streak. It was more a bad game, as the last week in October he was 14-26 for 213 yards in a clutch performance as Coffman defeated Upper Arlington 38-31.
Hoak missed a game against Marysville in the middle of the season with an ankle injury, but he was only sidelined for that one week.
In many of Coffman's games not much was asked of Hoak. For instance he only attempted more than 20 passes once in the first six weeks of the season. That was partly because Coffman was either blowing out their opponents or on the wrong end of a blowout.
While Hoak is classified as a pro-style quarterback he's not lacking necessarily mobility. He can make someone miss in the open field and he's got more than enough speed when he finds a seam to make first downs with his legs. But he is a player who looks to throw first.
Hoak throws a nice deep ball. He puts nice touch on the ball and throws really nice fades. He does a good job of putting the ball in small areas that give his receivers a chance to make a play, and generally away from defenders.
He's got the bloodlines. His dad is a former Buckeye football player so Hoak knows about the commitment that college football requires and he's got a good mind for the game, having grown up with it as an integral part of his surroundings.
Hoak's got good height but will benefit from gaining more weight. A redshirt year would be great for his development, and coupled with an extra semester starting in January he should be able to provide valuable depth as early as his redshirt freshman year.
Jones takes on new role with ease
While Jones hasn't taken as many snaps at the high school level -- he played some last year and he's started this year -- he's picked up all his new responsibilities with ease and the transition to full-time starter has been seamless. Jones had thrown a lot at camps and combines in the offseason so that helped him refine his craft, but the game experience has been invaluable, too.
Going into this year the two questions about Jones were his inexperience and his relatively lean frame. He's not especially tall or thick. Jones would be the first to admit that his frame probably slowed the flow of offers, but it didn't seem to bother Dawson, who again, has demonstrated that he doesn't necessarily want his quarterback to run a lot of draws or take a lot of hits.
So the fit helps to answer that potential question mark, and Jones' success as a full-time starter at Bolles has answered questions about inexperience and how he might perform. He's answered those questions to the tune of 1,750 yards and 20 touchdowns with only five interceptions. THose were his stats going into last weekend's bye.
Those stats were Jones amount to eight games worth of production. He's only played one half of some games as Bolles has won four games by at least five touchdowns apiece. Jones has two rushing touchdowns and has actually demonstrated better footwork than many would suspect, and he's completed 63-percent of his passes.
Jones runs the Wing-T offense that's been tested and modified over his coach's nearly four-decade long career. That's noteworthy because while Jones has obviously been successful (Bolles is 8-2) and productive in other systems his numbers would likely be even more impressive.
Even last year before he had a full year of starting experience at the high school level Jones exhibited some attributes that are tough to teach and nearly impossible to teach in a player that young. He trusts his protection when he knows pressure isn't far off and he's got uncanny patience in the pocket. Coupled with good instincts and a feel for when to get rid of the ball, that patience gives Jones' receivers a good opportunity to get separation.
For such a young passer Jones does a better job of going through multiple reads. He also is much better than most at not locking onto any one receiver. He's got a good vision of the field and he knows where his receivers are going to be on their routes. Even more, he usually has a good feel for where his last outlet is, so he's frequently dumped the ball off near the line of scrimmage just before a sack or the collapse of the pocket. One of the underrated aspects of Jones' game is his ability to avoid a lot of big negative plays. He can make all the throws, stretch and spread the defense, and keep defenders off balance by passing to several players, but he can also make little plays and short-gainers that might seem less significant, but are an essential part of scoring drives and sustained offensive success.
Nobody questions the way Jones spins the ball. He's been said to throw "a perfect spiral" and the way the ball comes out is a strength. He's coachable and works on the little things.
This week Jones told Cats Illustrated that as he's gained needed game experience this year he's not just become more comfortable with the speed of the game, but he's been able to refine skills that will be essential at Kentucky.
"More depth on drops from under center," Jones said, citing one thing he's doing better than previously. "Standing tall in the pocket and not moving unless absolutely necessary.
"Quarterback coach Kevin Fagan has done a good job working with me on my lower body hence my upper body mechanics are more sound," he added.
Continued experience and physical development are Jones' keys to growth. A lot of the more technical things that Jones does well are often raw areas that show up as problems in some much more highly-ranked players with more prototypical frames and even more accolades.
Shannon Dawson puts a lot of stock into the size of a quarterback's hands -- more so than a quarterback's height. While some have expressed concerns about Jones' height, Dawson measured his hand and determined that it's the right size to allow Jones to either grow or grip like a bigger player.
Wood looks good leading Lafayette
There are a lot of high school quarterbacks across the country who would love to have Young and Wills protecting them from defensive linemen and blowing open holes for backs to provide offensive balance. But Wood's more than just the beneficiary of great blocking. He elevated his game early this year, moved into the "take" category for Kentucky's coaches in the 2017 class (a year when UK doesn't have many scholarships, compared to some others), and has shown great improvement.
Wood's listed as a dual-threat for a reason. He's not as polished a passer as the aforementioned Hoak or Jones. He's not exactly a burner but his 4.7-second 40-yard dash time is indicative of his good mobility and ability to escape pressure. He's a better athlete than the other two future Kentucky quarterbacks mentioned here.
What sets Wood apart from a lot of prospects at quarterback is his competitive drive. That seems like a 'reach' in terms of a best attribute but in Wood's case it really defines him. He gets the extra yard, he makes the big plays and he's got all the leadership intangibles that a coach could want in a player.
It's not uncommon to see Wood diving to stretch the ball inside the pylon, running across the field to escape pressure, or extending the play long enough for receivers to get open when nothing seems there.
Wood is mostly accurate on his short and intermediate-range passes. He can get the ball to the sideline and he hits receivers in stride over the middle of the field. He's got experience working out of a spread that has allowed him to exhibit his arm and his legs. Wood puts pressure on the defense because he runs the read option well. Though he's not big he runs hard and will get through weak tackles. He won't slide or run out of bounds and even in college it's tough to imagine him as the kind of quarterback that would ease up much. That would really mute his strengths.
He's a player that will eventually have very good footwork in the pocket and a good presence. He's comfortable when pressure is nearby, probably because he's able to escape so well and he knows it. While he's better in the pocket than he's probably given credit for it's true that Wood's best appeal as a quarterback is what he's able to do outside the pocket, both when he's rolling and when he takes off on the edge, and when he can make defenders miss while keeping his head up as receivers are given extra time. This natural running and football instinct makes Wood who he is, so it's not really fair to say his success is due to the two elite linemen in front of him. Much of his best work has come via his own improvisation.
From the pocket Wood can find a rhythm and he's got good timing and rapport with his receivers this year. He throws a nice ball that's easy to catch and he throws it on time. He can work on tightening his throwing motion and that will help his release time and make him more effective from the pocket, and also better prepared to face SEC defenses.
He doesn't have a rifle. While he can make most of the throws he could stand to improve his velocity. The other question that Wood hopes he won't have to answer is simple: Is he a good enough athlete to play a skill position other than quarterback if quarterback doesn't work out? He wouldn't win a footrace in a camp setting with receivers or defensive backs that Kentucky has offered in the Mark Stoops era, but his football IQ and competitiveness make it possible that he could be serviceable elsewhere.
"I'm always trying to improve on the little things of being a quarterback," Wood told Cats Illustrated this week, with his Lafayette team 10-2 and preparing for a first round playoff game against Henry Clay.
"For example, my footwork, mechanics, understanding my offense inside and out so I can run it to its highest potential, and knowing my opponents and the defenses. I just try to learn more and more about the game every day," Wood added.
