While the Matt
Barkley’s of the world get all the press
throughout the year, it’s important not to
forget about the smaller name guys that could be
the gems of the 2013 draft. During the season,
we’ll focus on the following players at the FCS
level below and uncover those diamonds in the
rough.
Brad Sorensen/QB
Southern Utah – 6’5, 230
8-30 at Utah St: 12/31,
153 yards, 1 INT
Sorensen has
immediately drawn comparisons to Pittsburgh
Steelers’ quarterback Ben Roethlisberger because
of his size, but he should be likened more to
another AFC North quarterback, Joe Flacco.
Sorensen did get off to a rough start, failing
to complete his first five or six passes. But he
settled in after that and really shined the rest
of the game even in a bad loss. Even though I’ve
only watched a few quarterbacks in this young
season, he’s arguably going to have the
strongest arm in the class. He showed good touch
and ball placement, leading a receiver on one
“out” route from the far hash. He showed
accuracy on the move coupled with a quick
internal clock and a quick release. Sorensen has
complete control of the offense, running
everything from empty set to the I-Formation.
The only other consistent concern outside of the
shaky beginning was him taking his eyes off the
field when the pocket started to break down. But
all in all, don’t pay attention to the stat
line, it was a good start.
Eric Kush/OT Cal (PA) – 6’4, 305
9-15 at Edinboro
Kush
did a nice job getting out of his stance with
explosion and overall, moves well laterally. He
gets his arms extended and has a good enough
first punch. The Vulcan gets proper leverage in
the run game and can generate a push. He usually
won once he locked on. However, he played too
high at times and may be opening the gate too
early off the snap.
Terren
Jones/OT Alabama St
– 6’7, 320
9-2 at Bethune-Cookman
Jones is a huge
body with long arms. He’s predictably strong in
the run game and wins once he’s able to lock on.
He was also a better cut blocker than I
anticipated, cutting a defensive back five yards
downfield on a screen. But Jones struggled
mightily in pass protection. He was an awful
waist bender that constantly doubled over,
leading him to routinely getting beat. He seems
to play on his heels too much in pass protection
and overall, has poor weight distribution.
Keith Pough/OLB
Howard – 6’3, 225
9-8 at Rutgers: 9
tackles, 2 TFL
I only watched
the first half but still got insight into Pough.
He’s a lanky kid but has a frame to grow into. A
fast, fluid athlete, Pough possesses quality
closing speed and is relentless in his backside
pursuit against the run. He’s a reliable tackler
who despite his lankiness, will challenge and
attack any running back. But as mentioned, he
lacks bulk and can get washed out against the
run when tackles get their hands on him. He has
trouble staying square to the ball and will
disappear at times.
9-15 at Norfolk St: 9
tackles, 1.5 TFL, 1 sack
It
was more of the same for Pough the following
week. He is rangy and looked fluid in coverage,
dropping into a ton of hook zones. He is a
big-play, momentum changer as he racked up his
63rd tackle
for loss in his career. He again proved to be a
solid tackler that will not miss. He got more
chances to be used as a pass rusher and did pick
up a sack, but he mainly used just a speed rush.
His sack came as a result of being unblocked. I
was curious how he would hold up against the run
but because Norfolk St got down early, they
rarely ran so it was difficult to tell.