David Yost has been teaching quarterbacks at school soccer’s highest degree since 1996.
His methodology of evaluating the game’s most essential place has not modified a lot over time.
The previous offensive coordinator at FIU, Texas Tech, Utah State and Missouri has a guidelines he makes use of to establish gamers he wish to coach.
Does the peak and weight match what’s listed? Does his athleticism match my staff’s wants? Can I reside with the way in which the ball will get launched from his hand? Does he full deep passes?
What’s modified over time for Yost is the significance he’s placed on accuracy and the power to make anticipatory throws into tight home windows — one thing he realized whereas working for Mike Leach because the huge receivers coach at Washington State from 2013-15.
“Coach (Leach) wished to know what the man’s completion proportion was,” Yost mentioned. “So what I need to see is the final 100 performs of no matter season you simply accomplished. Of that, I’m hoping to get 75 throws to attempt to get what I confer with as a real completion proportion. Not screens. What’s your completion proportion if you’re throwing the ball down the sector? In case you hit the man within the palms, however he dropped it, I name it a completion. In case you throw it badly and he makes an unbelievable catch, it’s an incompletion. In case you discover a QB above 50, 55 p.c, that’s a fairly correct thrower at the highschool degree to me.
“The blokes who hit that quantity or above, they often find yourself changing into guys who full every little thing after they get to varsity. The blokes I didn’t take who didn’t hit that quantity, most don’t ever find yourself changing into correct throwers.”
The issue for Yost and different longtime coaches is that top college recruiting and participant improvement are now not the first strategies employed by school soccer groups to fill their quarterback wants. That’s given strategy to the switch portal.
Of the 141 FBS quarterbacks who began at the very least 5 video games this season, greater than half (76) have been plucked out of the portal. And 30 of the highest 50 quarterbacks in passing effectivity have been on their second (at the very least) cease in school.
So, how do coaches establish the suitable guys, put them in the suitable system and keep away from an enormous swing-and-miss that may sabotage a season and set a program again financially as a consequence of misappropriated NIL funds?
Yost usually prefers a quarterback who has performed quite a lot of snaps.
“The blokes who’ve performed, it doesn’t matter what degree they’ve performed at, they might not be an awesome quarterback, however they’re most likely a fairly good participant,” he mentioned. “In case you’re a fairly good participant at D2, FCS or Group of 5, it’ll most likely translate on the subsequent cease up. It does translate. Like what Indiana did with (Kurtis) Rourke. He was a very good participant at Ohio. Guess what, he was a very good participant at Indiana. The danger is taking the man who hasn’t performed as a lot.”
There’s ample proof that helps Yost’s concept.
• Rourke began 34 video games at Ohio and was named 2022 MAC Offensive Participant of the 12 months earlier than incomes second-team All-Massive Ten honors in his solely season at Indiana.
• Cam Ward was a second-team FCS All-American at Incarnate Phrase earlier than starring at Washington State and Miami.
• Dillon Gabriel threw for 7,223 yards in his two wholesome seasons at UCF earlier than shifting on to Oklahoma and Oregon.
• Diego Pavia guided New Mexico State to 10 wins earlier than main Vanderbilt to a 6-6 document in 2024 — highlighted by a win over Alabama — and its first bowl recreation since 2018.
Diego Pavia was a second-team All-SEC choose by the AP in 2024. (Butch Dill / Imagn Pictures)
When coaches recruit a quarterback who has not performed a lot at his earlier cease, it’s essential to speak to as many individuals as doable to seek out solutions for the next questions:
Did he have a foul angle? Did he observe exhausting? Did he proceed to compete even after he did not earn the beginning function?
“It doesn’t matter if it’s school or the NFL, it’s exhausting,” mentioned a Group of 5 offensive coordinator who was granted anonymity so he might converse candidly. “It’s exhausting to know precisely what you’re getting from a expertise standpoint, from a psychological make and all these sorts of issues. It’s exhausting. You simply by no means know what habits they type from a yr at a program. There are such a lot of belongings you don’t know.”
The coordinator mentioned his program took two quarterbacks out of the portal final cycle, however they have been gamers he was conversant in from camps and the highschool recruiting path.
He additionally made the purpose that the game’s newfound reliance on transfers has affected the way in which some packages construct an offense.
“One factor I believe and it sucks as a result of it hurts the long-term improvement of those quarterbacks — it forces you as coordinators and play callers, you’ve bought to remain easy,” he mentioned. “Very not often are you going to have the ability to construct a system and have a number of gamers, quarterback included, in it for 2 or three years. So that you’ve bought to simplify issues. … A few of these individuals who run pro-style stuff, they’ve bought to rethink or retool a few of the stuff they do and consider in as a result of in the event that they don’t, you’re placing so much on these guys. It’s principally asking a rookie quarterback to go play within the NFL whereas studying a troublesome system. That’s not going to go properly.”
To mitigate additional danger, one other ex-G5 coordinator mentioned he often targets extra athletic quarterbacks within the portal.
“You’re all the time a bit of bit safer to take an athletic child,” he mentioned. “Even when he can’t throw it that nice, he can do one thing for you at that place. You’ll be able to have a bundle for him to run. That’s the safer factor. That’s why so many individuals are on the lookout for dual-threats now, whereas the pure pocket passer that doesn’t work out is type of caught within the mud. There’s nonetheless quite a lot of children that may throw the ball and work in your system, however you’re much less more likely to make a mistake by way of worth by taking the extra athletic man.”
Yost’s final quarterback, FIU’s Keyone Jenkins, ranked twenty first nationally in passing effectivity in 2024. Jenkins entered the portal after coach Mike MacIntyre was fired together with Yost however determined this week to return to high school.
Yost didn’t have quite a lot of time to develop Jenkins. He was FIU’s beginning quarterback by his second recreation as a real freshman. Jenkins beat out veteran Grayson James, who transferred to Boston School and took over because the Eagles’ starter late within the 2024 season. James compelled Thomas Castellanos out. Castellanos is now at Florida State, which is hoping to bounce again after a disastrous season that went off the rails due largely to a poor analysis (DJ Uiagalelei) out of the portal.
Will Castellanos be the reply? Who is aware of.
However one factor is evident: The sport of quarterback musical chairs shouldn’t be slowing down.
Coaches will proceed to seek for solutions. And plenty of will proceed to swing-and-miss.
“Match and system issues,” a Massive 12 offensive coordinator mentioned. “However to me, not everybody goes to bat one hundred pc. No matter the way you do it, at instances you will (misevaluate) that place.”
(High picture of Kurtis Rourke: Jason Mowry / Getty Pictures)
