By SCOTT KENNEDY
Scout.com
Director of Scouting
OVIEDO, Fla. - If one were to construct a prototype for today's spread offense, the quarterback might look a lot like Florida commitment Jeff Driskel. Driskel has all of the tools, but how does his physical ability translate to the football field?
Quarterback Jeff Driskel (6-4/230) was a bit of an unknown as a junior being that he played for a 2-8 Hagerty team in 2009 that was new to the varsity scene in the state of Florida. The Florida Gators however saw enough of the physical potential in Driskel to offer him a scholarship.
Driskel proceeded to show off the natural ability he was blessed with at various camps across the spring and summer including the Elite 11 in which Scout.com named him the participant with the most upside, best arm, best fit in any system, most likely to win a BCS Championship, and overall MVP of the event (Scout Elite 11 Awards).
Shorts and t-shirt awards are nice and all, but how would Driskel develop on the field from his junior to senior year. Would those physical attributes translate to a quarterback that can put pressure on all aspects of a defense on every snap?
In a word... yes.
It's been written before, but it never hurts to repeat that Driskel has the arm strength to make every throw on the field. If he weren't allowed to run, he'd still be one of the top quarterback prospects, and probably the top pro-style quarterback, in the country. His size and strength allows him to stand tall in the pocket if the situation warrants.
But the fact of the matter is that he's plus athlete as well, and he can pull the ball down and run for an acre of yards on any given snap. For perspective purposes, the player running 50 yards downfield to catch him on the second play of the reel below is Ole Miss commitment Serderius Bryant. I don't think Bryant catches him if the defensive back doesn't force Driskel to slow down. Running away from SEC backers is something that Driskel should make a habit of on the next level.
The superlatives are numerous when describing his game. He's got the cannon for an arm. He can run by most defensive linemen and linebackers. He has a lightning fast release. He shows nice touch on underneath routes, and he sees the whole field.
So what does Driskel need to work on to reach his full potential?
For lack of a better description, I call it the Jay Cutler syndrome. Now Cutler may have been making bad decisions his whole career, but I always got the feeling when watching him at Vanderbilt that he felt he had to make the impossible happen to elevate teammates that were less talented than him. Cutler got in the habit of forcing the ball and making bad decisions.
Driskel needs to avoid that temptation. There's such a thing as trusting too much in one's own arm and forcing passes rather than throwing it away and taking the incompletion. When pressured, Driskel has a tendency to try and make the impossible happen and putting the ball at risk of an interception.
Ball security is a common theme when it comes to things to work on. Not just while throwing, but while scrambling and running as well. The ball tends to get away from Driskel's body as he's running the ball. Whether its holding onto it like a loaf of bread, or having it swing away from him in the wrong arm as he's headed for the sidelines, Driskel will take enough hits running the offense at Florida, that he'll need to learn to tuck the ball away instinctively.
Teaching an athlete with the skills of Driskel to play within himself and protect the ball is a much more tantalizing prospect than coaching around a players deficiencies, and Driskel will give the Gator coaching staff a lot of options through the course of his career.
See him in action against Seminole from earlier this season in this presentation by ScoutTV:
