Army Bowl: Ranking the QBs after Day 1
SAN ANTONIO - The East and West teams at the U.S. Army All-American Bowl practiced inside the Alamodome on Monday as temperatures dipped into the high 20s. Here is a breakdown and ranking of how each of the six quarterbacks looked on Day 1, led by a familiar face.
MORE ARMY BOWL: Updates from the first day of practice
In typical fashion, Lawrence was excellent pretty much all day and what stood out most was his accuracy on the deep ball. The top-rated prospect and Clemson signee effortlessly threw bombs to receivers all day and put it right on the money every single time. Lawrence has great arm strength and the five-star did a nice job of checking down to receivers when needed. None of this is a surprise. The Cartersville, Ga., standout plays with such maturity and patience and he immediately established a rapport with almost every receiver on his team. The transition to all-star practices can be difficult especially on quarterbacks but Lawrence was smooth all practice long.
The five-star USC commit recently reclassified to the 2018 class from 2019 and fit right in with the top quarterbacks at the Army Bowl, looking just as good as any signal-caller other than Lawrence. Daniels throws a fantastic deep ball and puts it right where his receivers can run under it and defensive backs can’t pick it off. His ball pops off his arm, he throws receivers open and Daniels is really smooth. As the practice went on (even though the West team did far less competitive stuff in the workout) Daniels became even more sharp. Sometimes, his weight balance was off early in practice but that was corrected after just a few throws.
McKee could have easily been second on this list as well because he had a strong day, showing off many of the same assets that make him one of the best quarterbacks in this class. The only pro-style quarterback among the top 18 still uncommitted, McKee’s height allows him to see over the offensive line and to work around the outstretched arms of defenders. He can zip it when needed or put a little air under the ball. The four-star is smart and a great decision-maker who can also get out of the pocket to make something happen with his feet. His delivery is a little elongated but McKee seems to always get the ball there on time.
Jurkovec was the most athletic quarterback on the East team. The four-star Notre Dame signee moves smoothly in and out of the pocket and throws well on the run as well. When he’s standing in the pocket, Jurkovec also throws a nice deep ball and hits receivers routinely down the field but needs to spin it better sometimes and his ball does float a little bit. There were some low throws - especially early in the practice - that receivers had to snatch off their shoe tops but as Jurkovec’s arm warmed up he was zipping it better. His athleticism and running ability should show even more in a game setting.
Corral also had a strong day, showing off his arm talent which is as good as any quarterback at this event. He can fire the ball all over the field, throws really well on the run and is as athletic as any quarterback here. Sometimes, Corral misses open receivers down the field because he locks in on a certain target and tries to force throws into tight windows but that only happened sparingly. For the most part, Corral delivered the ball on time to receivers and if it wasn’t for some missed throws the Ole Miss signee could be even higher because he has special ability.
There is no question Williams has a live arm and can fire it all over the field but on Day 1, the four-star Miami signee struggled with high throws and it didn’t get much better as the day went on. The Lawrenceville (Ga.) Central Gwinnett recruit was not missing receivers with overthrows that went uncaught but he was not hitting them in the numbers, either, and the ball sailed a few times more than the other quarterbacks. That might be a little nitpicky but all the quarterbacks were solid in an indoor setting. Williams did show nice accuracy throwing on the run but when he was standing in the pocket on numerous occasions the ball was not right on the money.
