Devy Profile: Sam Darnold, QB USC

Eliot Crist Posted On September 8, 2017

You can’t talk about the 2018 NFL draft without talking about Sam Darnold.

Recruiting

Sam Darnold was ESPN’s eighth-ranked quarterback in the 2015 class, out of San Clemente California. The four-star recruit chose USC, and man does that look like he made the right decision. In high school, Darnold didn’t start until his senior year where he played 14 games and threw for 2,985 yards, eight touchdowns, and eight interceptions. He was surprisingly nimble with his feet, carrying the ball 125 times for 785 yards and 13 touchdowns in that year. Darnold was a two-sports star and a life long basketball player, and also played both receiver and linebacker in high school.

Athletic Profile

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At 6’3”, 225 lbs, Sam Darnold looks the part of an NFL quarterback. The quarterback who is receiving the most hype as a prospect since Andrew Luck has all the tools to check all the boxes for scouts. As a former basketball player, receiver, and linebacker, Darnold likely has all the tools to test as a solid athlete at the combine.

Injury History and Off-field

He missed his junior year of high school with a foot injury

Career

Darnold is heading into his junior year with only 13 games of experience under his belt. He didn’t play at all in his freshman year and didn’t get more than ten pass attempts in a game until Utah in week four when he took over as the starter. With only ten career starts, Darnold doesn’t have a ton of experience, but he does have gaudy numbers.

On the season, Darnold had 3,086 yards, 31 touchdowns, with a 67.2% completion percentage, and only threw nine interceptions. He added another 250 yards and two touchdowns on the ground. One thing Sam Darnold did when he became the starter was change the culture. USC had a tough start to the season, losing 52-6 to Alabama, and losing in week three to Stanford 27-10. Darnold took over, went 9-1 and won the Rose Bowl.

What the Film Says

Sam Darnold has a lot of hype behind him as a prospect, but it is well deserved. He is mentioned as the best quarterback prospect since Andrew Luck, and has teams appearing to tank for him across the NFL. He is a former two sports star and that athleticism shows in his play.

He has excellent command in the pocket. He senses pressure and is able to slide up to avoid it or take off running and make plays with his feet. Pressure doesn’t faze Darnold, as he shows his willingness to step in and take a big hit.

His comfort in the pocket will allow him to have a head start over most young NFL quarterbacks.

Stays in to take the hit and delivers a strike down the field pic.twitter.com/eJo2ZVUSya

— Eliot Crist (@EliotCrist) March 17, 2017

Darnold is able to buy more time in the pocket which is excellent, but it is even more dangerous to opposing defenses because of his ability to go through progressions. Starting in just ten career games, Sam Darnold shows the ability to read a defense like a seasoned vet.

Darnold goes through multiple reads and throws a beautiful touch pass into the hole in the zone pic.twitter.com/xIDCUp1UuW

— Eliot Crist (@EliotCrist) March 17, 2017

He has a very good understanding of zones and can pick them apart. When facing man coverage, he manipulates them with his eyes to open up his other receivers. Sam Darnold looks like he is playing chess while everyone else is playing checkers with his mental aptitude for the game.

Works his way across the field with his progressions stands in to take a hit and throws a dime down the sideline pic.twitter.com/vcPhG5t8OG

— Eliot Crist (@EliotCrist) March 17, 2017

On top of his pocket presence and his ability to read a defense, his arm talent is special. He throws the ball with pin point accuracy and has the arm strength to make every throw on the field. He will leave you in awe watching him, thinking some of his throws just aren’t possible.

He is very comfortable throwing on the run as well. USC will roll Darnold out and he can make throws to any level of the field. He squares his body and drive through the ball to put good velocity on the ball. He can throw lasers on the run which will be a great added dimension to an NFL offense.

Darnold roles out to his left squares his body and throws a dime pic.twitter.com/I2nYjp8Ch9

— Eliot Crist (@EliotCrist) March 17, 2017

Mechanics are Darnold’s biggest weakness at the moment. He is almost exclusively a shotgun quarterback and he will need to improve his footwork under center, though this shouldn’t be an issue. His issue is that he has a long loopy delivery that will need to be shortened. He has said to have made significant improvements in this area this off-season, so it will be something to keep an eye on this season.

His loopy delivery is an issue for two reasons. One is that he holds the ball away from his body and edge rushers will be able to knock it away. The second is that NFL windows close very quickly and a long loopy release makes them even tighter windows. Not many QBs have succeeded with Darnold’s release, but if he can improve on it he can live up to his billing as an elite QB prospect.

Bottom Line

Darnold will be front and center on the college football stage every week. If he handles the pressure and shows he can adjust to defenses as they have studied him over the entire off-season, he is a near lock to go top three overall in the NFL draft. Darnold has only played ten games, but appeared to be NFL-ready last season. Building on last season will make the Andrew Luck comparisons look legitimate.

Projected Round – First Overall pick

Player Comparison – Andrew Luck

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