Meet the five-stars: Matt Corral
There are five five-stars in our initial Rivals100 for the Class of 2018. Here is an up-close look at one of those five-stars, quarterback Matt Corral.
Recruiting wrap: Corral is committed to USC.
Analyst’s take: Corral is sharp in everything he does. He’s comfortable under center but is especially so in the shotgun. There are no wasted motions in his delivery, the ball gets out quickly and he’s super accurate. The ball pops off the hand of Corral, who hits receivers in stride and rarely, if ever, makes a bad decision. Not only is the USC commit accurate and smooth with his passes but he has great velocity on his throws. He’s super throwing on the run as well. All those things make him special. Corral also has a tremendous mind for the game. He studies football, loves the sport, loves his position and is a winner.
Why he’s a five-star: “Corral not only has a strong arm and can get the ball where it needs to be with a flick of his wrist, but he also has great field vision and can extend the play and run when needed. He is a daring quarterback, a kid with a chip on his shoulder and boasts confidence you can’t teach. He’s well prepared and knows he can win games late if he needs to.” - Rivals.com National Recruiting Director Mike Farrell
His coach says: “He’s a student of the game and you can’t give him enough information. He wants more and more and more. He’s in the coaches office watching film, he’s like a sponge that is absorbing all the information we can give him. From that standpoint, he really separates how hard he works as a quarterback. What he does on the field carries over. He can make every throw. He’s 6-foot-3, 195 pounds, athletic and he can run. He ran track last year to develop his speed. He’s hitting the weight room hard, team leader. All the clichés you talk about kids, Matt has all those characteristics.
“He’s a coach’s extension on the field because he really has an understanding not only of what he’s doing but what everybody is doing. The other thing about Matt is he has a great personality. If I’m upset about something and I’m on a roll, he’ll wait until I’m done and bump his shoulder into me, ‘Coach, you OK?’ He does those great things that make me appreciate being out there and make me smile. He’s the full package.” - Jim Benkert, Westlake Village (Calif.) Oaks Christian coach
Odds and ends: In his sophomore season, Corral threw for about 3,200 yards with 37 touchdowns and six interceptions in a highly-competitive league. His top target was USC signee Michael Pittman, a four-star prospect, and another favorite go-to player was 2017 four-star tight end Colby Parkinson, who’s committed to Stanford.
Corral said he tries to study the games of Tom Brady and Cam Newton; Brady because of his throwing mechanics and Newton for his running ability.
Recent recruit comparison: Shea Patterson, Ole Miss