Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
This year’s draft featured a lot of stellar offensive lineman and defensive players. Now how about the quarterbacks? Most expert’s are saying that this year’s draft was one of the worst ever for quarterbacks. Only one quarterback went in the first round, E.J. Manuel, and only one in the second round, Geno Smith. These rookies may have an impact, sure. Geno Smith is bound to start sometime this year with butt fumble Sanchez at the helm. Manuel is backup up Kevin Kolb, who is an absolute fail at the QB position, so by week 4, I expect Manuel to be starting.
However, there is one key under looked rookie quarterback that I think will have a huge NFL career.
He was undrafted, but signed by the Jacksonville Jaguars. His name is Matt Scott. Before I talk about how he can be successful, lets take a look at his college career….
Matt Scott committed to play quarterback at the University of Arizona during his senior year of high school. As a freshman with the Wildcats, he was a backup to senior Willie Tuitama. He was mainly used as a change of pace quarterback, because of his ability to run. He gained 188 yards with 2 touchdowns on the ground. He did pas the ball some though. He finished his limited passing season on 7 of 11 passing, for 84 yards and a touchdown.
Entering his sophomore season, 2009, he was named the team’s starting quarterback. He got off quickly to a 2-0 start, but in the third game against Iowa, he was pulled from the game in favor of Nick Foles, due to a poor performance in the game. With the benching, he subsequently lost his starting job to Foles.
His junior year was almost the same result. Foles opened as the starter. Scott almost considered switching the wide receiver so he could play, because he hated sitting on the bench. With limited time playing, Scott managed to start two games because Foles had a knee injury that kept him out for two games. He finished 66 of 93 through the air, with 4 touchdowns and only 2 interceptions.
His senior year was much different. Scott decided to redshirt his senior season, in order to gain a fifth year of eligibility.
Red shirting appeared to be the right decision as well. New head coach Rich Rodriguez joined Arizona in 2012, and he brought the spread offense with him, which works perfectly for Scott because of his mobility. This change led to an outstanding year for Scott. He finished the season with a 60.3% completion percentage, 3,620 yards, 27 touchdowns and 14 interceptions through the air. On the ground, he finished the season with 506 yards and 6 touchdowns. Overall, Scott finished his career with a 61.4% completion percentage, 4,921 passing yards, 1138 rushing yards, and 41 total touchdowns.
Now, the numbers may not seem stellar to some people, but let me talk about why I think this man will thrive in the NFL. Firstly, look at where he was signed. He was signed by the Jacksonville Jaguars as an undrafted free agent. Jacksonville was looked at as idiotic for not drafting a quarterback, considering they only had Blaine Gabbert and Chad Henne of the roster. This move definitely will benefit Scott. Although Scott is NOT going to start game one or maybe even play this season at all, he will, next year, be their starter. If Gabbert has one more terrible year, which I think he does, he is on his way out. Henne is not much better himself. So with that, I truly believe the Jags are going to get rid of at least Gabbert, which will give Matt Scott a look. The only other quarterback on this roster is fellow undrafted rookie quarterback Jordan Rodgers of Vanderbilt.
Rodgers will be given the same opportunity that Scott gets; however, Scott’s style of play is one that will better fit this offense. Scott is a tad bit more accurate as well. Overall, all I can say is, watch out for Matt Scott, because in the next few years, everyone will know who this guy is, and he will be putting up consistently good numbers year in and year out, even with the situation in Jacksonville.
