Geno Smith, QB, West Virginia

[Babylon]

Originally Posted by Wide Right

Geno Smith v Tyler Bray for 1st QB taken this year.

I still think it will be Barkely. Have to call this years crop deep but not having a lot of quality.

[Leon Sandcastle]

Originally Posted by Babylon

I still think it will be Barkely. Have to call this years crop deep but not having a lot of quality.

I like Barkley but I can't see a 6'1 QB who doesn't have a rocket for an arm be the first QB taken.

Not to mention they scouts will destroy him for the talent he has around him and the weak Pac-10 schedule. They also got 4 years of tape to nitpick from. Just can't see it.

[bucfan12]

Yeah. I just don't see Barkely as this Elite QB proespect. He's a very solid QB, but he would not have been taken over RG III in 2012 draft.

I like Geno Smith. He's an interesting talent, but I just don't like the offense he comes from. very suspect in scouting talent.

[rawdawg]

I was sold on Geno vs. LSU last year. There were several times I thought he was going to really start going downhill, but he was able to move the ball the entire game.

I don't like the crazy offense, but I think it does force the QB to really go thru his progressions, read his keys and have strong timing with his WRs. Those things can only help him in the NFL.

My biggest concern with him is his size. He has good height at 6'3", but he's a skinny little dude. I'd like to see him get closer to RG3s 223 by the combine. Not that they are comparable players, but he'll take a beating in the pocket at the sub 215lbs he is now.

[kwilk103]

Originally Posted by rawdawg

I was sold on Geno vs. LSU last year. There were several times I thought he was going to really start going downhill, but he was able to move the ball the entire game.

I don't like the crazy offense, but I think it does force the QB to really go thru his progressions, read his keys and have strong timing with his WRs. Those things can only help him in the NFL.

My biggest concern with him is his size. He has good height at 6'3", but he's a skinny little dude. I'd like to see him get closer to RG3s 223 by the combine. Not that they are comparable players, but he'll take a beating in the pocket at the sub 215lbs he is now.

hes up to 220 now

[Caulibflower]

Seems like Pat White and Steve Slaton had more hype and media coverage while they were at WVU, but who else wants to bet that Geno Smith and Tavon Austin will be better NFL players?

[Raiderz4Life]

Originally Posted by bucfan12

Yeah. I just don't see Barkely as this Elite QB proespect. He's a very solid QB, but he would not have been taken over RG III in 2012 draft.

I like Geno Smith. He's an interesting talent, but I just don't like the offense he comes from. very suspect in scouting talent.

Thx for pointing out the obvious. No one has ever said Barkley was elite.

I personally think he's still the best, more polished, option out of the bunch. Everyone else blows by him in terms of potential, yes, but he's going to be a very good QB.

[Malaka]

Originally Posted by Caulibflower

Seems like Pat White and Steve Slaton had more hype and media coverage while they were at WVU, but who else wants to bet that Geno Hayes and Tavon Austin will be better NFL players?

I remember Geno Hayes.

[norcalgsr]

Originally Posted by bucfan12

Yeah. I just don't see Barkely as this Elite QB proespect. He's a very solid QB, but he would not have been taken over RG III in 2012 draft.

I like Geno Smith. He's an interesting talent, but I just don't like the offense he comes from. very suspect in scouting talent.

Geno Smith to the Buffalo Bills. Perfect fit. Three and four-wide, throw out of the shotgun.

[Caulibflower]

Originally Posted by Malaka

I remember Geno Hayes.

Haha. Brain fart.

[Armchair Scout]

I think the idea that Geno Smith is a dual-threat QB in the mold of RGIII is a big misconception. He plays in a spread offense, but not a zone-read one. He is fairly mobile, but mostly as a means of avoiding pressure. He had -33 rushing yards last year, so he was definitely not scrambling as a primary means of gaining yardage.

I love Smith's pocket presence and ability to feel the pass rush and elude it, as well as his touch on downfield throws and his consistently excellent decision making. He also does an excellent job progressing through his reads.

I don't like his inconsistent footwork, which leads to his inconsistency throwing the ball with zip. I also don't see a lot of "NFL" throws in his college career. In college, he always has check down options that are more open than they would ever be in the NFL and a lot of his throws are to wide open receivers who are often standing still. Very rarely is he asked to throw a receiver open or pass before his receiver breaks.

Overall, I see Smith being on of the top 3 QB's taken in next year's draft. He is one of the more polished decision makers in college football and is much more NFL-ready than most college QB's. He doesn't have the upside of some of the other QB's in college football, but he is a very steady player who is simply one of the best QBs in college football today and has relatively little risk as a prospect.

[bored of education]

Originally Posted by Armchair Scout

I think the idea that Geno Smith is a dual-threat QB in the mold of RGIII is a big misconception. He plays in a spread offense, but not a zone-read one. He is fairly mobile, but mostly as a means of avoiding pressure. He had -33 rushing yards last year, so he was definitely not scrambling as a primary means of gaining yardage.

I love Smith's pocket presence and ability to feel the pass rush and elude it, as well as his touch on downfield throws and his consistently excellent decision making. He also does an excellent job progressing through his reads.

I don't like his inconsistent footwork, which leads to his inconsistency throwing the ball with zip. I also don't see a lot of "NFL" throws in his college career. In college, he always has check down options that are more open than they would ever be in the NFL and a lot of his throws are to wide open receivers who are often standing still. Very rarely is he asked to throw a receiver open or pass before his receiver breaks.

Overall, I see Smith being on of the top 3 QB's taken in next year's draft. He is one of the more polished decision makers in college football and is much more NFL-ready than most college QB's. He doesn't have the upside of some of the other QB's in college football, but he is a very steady player who is simply one of the best QBs in college football today and has relatively little risk as a prospect.

This guy with the post of the month. Stole my ideas homie!

[justdoit12]

Originally Posted by Armchair Scout

I think the idea that Geno Smith is a dual-threat QB in the mold of RGIII is a big misconception. He plays in a spread offense, but not a zone-read one. He is fairly mobile, but mostly as a means of avoiding pressure. He had -33 rushing yards last year, so he was definitely not scrambling as a primary means of gaining yardage.

I love Smith's pocket presence and ability to feel the pass rush and elude it, as well as his touch on downfield throws and his consistently excellent decision making. He also does an excellent job progressing through his reads.

I don't like his inconsistent footwork, which leads to his inconsistency throwing the ball with zip. I also don't see a lot of "NFL" throws in his college career. In college, he always has check down options that are more open than they would ever be in the NFL and a lot of his throws are to wide open receivers who are often standing still. Very rarely is he asked to throw a receiver open or pass before his receiver breaks.

Overall, I see Smith being on of the top 3 QB's taken in next year's draft. He is one of the more polished decision makers in college football and is much more NFL-ready than most college QB's. He doesn't have the upside of some of the other QB's in college football, but he is a very steady player who is simply one of the best QBs in college football today and has relatively little risk as a prospect.

I pretty much agree with you assessment on Geno cept for the NFL throw part. He has shown the ability to throw back shoulder passes this year and is constantly throwing out routes which are two of the toughest throws to make

[Armchair Scout]

Originally Posted by justdoit12

I pretty much agree with you assessment on Geno cept for the NFL throw part. He has shown the ability to throw back shoulder passes this year and is constantly throwing out routes which are two of the toughest throws to make

You have a good point with that, but those make up a small proportion of his throws. He can make impressive throws, but I don't see him consistently having to push the ball upfield. He does make some nice touch throws, but rarely does he have to take risks. West Virginia's offense allows Smith to check down to receivers very easily. It will be more difficult for him to avoid mistakes in an NFL offense facing NFL defenses.

[FUNBUNCHER]

Originally Posted by Armchair Scout

You have a good point with that, but those make up a small proportion of his throws. He can make impressive throws, but I don't see him consistently having to push the ball upfield. He does make some nice touch throws, but rarely does he have to take risks. West Virginia's offense allows Smith to check down to receivers very easily. It will be more difficult for him to avoid mistakes in an NFL offense facing NFL defenses.

No college QBs make routinely difficult NFL caliber throws as a part of their team's base passing offense.
Most top prospects are making 'easy' throws, since the goal is to win games in college and not impress scouts.

This is where projection to the next level comes in, accuracy/decision making/playing well under pressure.

If WVU goes undefeated, we'll get a chance to see Geno Smith in either a re-match against LSU or a contest against FSU/Oregon/Alabama.

Any one of those matchups will tell us a great deal about how talented a QB Geno Smith is, or not so much.

[Todd Bertuzzi]

There have been questions about his footwork in the past but by all accounts he worked tirelessly on it in the offseason and the early results are very promising. Pay close attention when you watch him this year because it's been one of the things that's stood out the most to me early on and I might even go so far as to say it's become a strength of his.

[keylime_5]

Originally Posted by kwilk103

how come he isnt highly thought of? i know people say hes a system qb, but since the orange bowl, he has been insanely good

3 games (his 3rd one is in progress; start of 4th)

98/118 83% 1,141 yds 15 tds 0 int
15 carries 109 yds 7.2 ypc 2 tds

who says he isn't highly thought of? I guess he isn't getting Barkley's hype, but a couple guys I know who basically are qualified to be pro scouts had Barkley as the #1 slightly over Geno coming into the season. When you look at the disappointing year Barkley is having compared to the outstanding year Smith is having I think it's hard to believe that Geno isn't higher than Barkley on a lot of team's boards right now. Better size, better athlete, better arm, better production - albeit he is raw and has no idea how to play in a pro system yet like Barkley. It's all projection with him while Barkley we pretty much know what he looks like when you put him in a pro style offense with first round pick WRs and RBs and OLinemen to play with.

[SolidGold]

I am looking forward to the matchup vs. Baylor

The QB Smith is going up against this weekend is Nick Florence:

71/110 1,004 yds 11 tds 4 ints
21 carries 159 yds 7.6 avg

This game is going to be a shootout. If Baylor wins I expect Florence to get some traction in the Heisman.

[vidae]

I can't wait to see Geno in KC red.

[Armchair Scout]

Originally Posted by FUNBUNCHER

No college QBs make routinely difficult NFL caliber throws as a part of their team's base passing offense.
Most top prospects are making 'easy' throws, since the goal is to win games in college and not impress scouts.

That is basically correct, but most NFL-prospect QBs in college football are challenged to throw downfield more than Geno Smith. Aaron Murray, who I feel is very underrated as a prospect, routinely makes bullet throws over the middle of the field through traffic and often throws deep balls to receivers over the top of defenders. Most drop-back QBs, notably the prospects from the SEC, Murray, Tyler Wilson and Tyler Bray, are expected to push the ball downfield on a greater proportion of their throws than Smith.

[villagewarrior]

Originally Posted by vidae

I can't wait to see Geno in KC red.

This please. Or Tyler Wilson. I'm not so crazy on any of the other QBs.

[FUNBUNCHER]

Originally Posted by SolidGold

I am looking forward to the matchup vs. Baylor

The QB Smith is going up against this weekend is Nick Florence:

71/110 1,004 yds 11 tds 4 ints
21 carries 159 yds 7.6 avg

This game is going to be a shootout. If Baylor wins I expect Florence to get some traction in the Heisman.

You think Baylor is better than Clemson on D??
WVU is going to blow Baylor away.

[Robcards]

The Geno Smith and RGIII comparison is almost as laughable as the RGIII and Cam Newton comparison was last year. Just because the guy is black doesn't mean that they are ANYTHING alike. Geno Smith doesn't run a sub-4.4 40 for starters. His body type is much different, his deep ball isn't as good, his mechanics are different, basically he's a completely different quarterback in every way, except skin tone. Just like RGIII and Cam had nothing in common except skin tone and Heisman trophies.

That being said, while he will have growing pains going from his 'high school offense' as some people have said to the pros, if he goes through his progressions well and reads defenses and has a good arm then he'll be fine. Honestly wouldn't be surprised if he winds up being the first QB off the board in April with the other 1st round hopefuls falling on their faces as of late. How he does against a defense like Texas will be huge, likely the best pass rush and secondary he will face since LSU last year, which I turned off in the 1st quarter so can't really evaluate on that one.

[FUNBUNCHER]

RGIII and Geno Smith have nearly identical builds. No their throwing motions aren't similar and RGIII has a stronger arm, but not by much.

Geno Smith can scramble effectively, I believe he'll run low 4.6/4.7 at the combine which would put him at the Aaron Rogers/Alex Smith level of mobility in the pros - very good, and both QBs look to throw first instead of running it.

Geno like Robert prefers to do his damage from the pocket with enough mobility to punish defenses when he runs.

Also Geno and Grif ran that hybrid spread in college primarily out of the shotgun. I don't think their on the field games in college are as different as some are making it out to be. The only major distinction is RGIII is a world class athlete and is a threat to go the distance whenever he breaks from the pocket.

They're both highly accurate, both seem to be able to find secondary WRs without much difficulty, both play their best against top competition, both seem to have an innate ability to play the position beyond their physical tools.

The comparison isn't just skin tone.

[SolidGold]

Originally Posted by FUNBUNCHER

You think Baylor is better than Clemson on D??
WVU is going to blow Baylor away.

WVU doesn't have much of a defense either...its going to be a shootout. That is what I was getting at.