The QB recruiting has dramatically improved under Coach Freeman.

Looking at the current QB depth chart, all of the QB's are capable of making throws to all areas of the field, and all of them seem to have the ability to make WR progression reads.

None of our guys can be called "noodle armed" and they're all solidly built, and all of them are at least decently mobile.

No more 5' 9" QB's, no more lead-footed "statue" QB's.



Too many Brian Kelly's QB's were deficient in several aspects.

Tommy Rees - Noodle arm, could only make short range throws. Having Michael Floyd and later, TJ Jones, along with NFL tight ends, prevented the offense from completely stalling. That, plus he couldn't even outrun a police officer he kicked in the junk.

Everett Golson - This is a tough one to list, since he could actually make all of the throws, but his decision making never sped up to the point where he could reliably command the offense, even in 2014. Having Will Fuller covered up a lot of deficiencies in 2014.

Malik Zaire - This is a bit unfair to include him here, due to that freak injury, but he couldn't make WR progression reads. Having Will Fuller available in 2015, along with a very good offensive line, masked this. He looked absolutely lost in the woods in 2016.

Brandon Wimbush - Could make all of the throws, but couldn't make WR progression reads, accuracy was barely mediocre at best (best season was sub 50% passing), and got a bad case of Steve Blass Disease in 2017 as the year progressed.

Ian Book - This is another tough one to list, since he was an amazing competitor, and an extremely smart gunslinger. Couldn't make long range throws, and even throws between medium and long range were questionable.

Drew Pyne - Anything beyond short to medium range throws were out of the question. Couldn't / wouldn't look to the left or over the middle. Having Mike Mayer prevented 2022 from being a disaster. No mobility.

Tyler Buchner - Had the arm to make all of the throws, but decision making was flat-out terrible. Having "studied" under Tommy Rees as his QB coach for two years didn't help his development.


Crist, Kizer, and Coan were the only passers who could exploit all areas of the field, and in Crist's case, Kelly's boneheaded playcalling cost him his other knee, making him become a spread-option running QB, instead of using that strong arm of his as a downfield passer.

Maybe Gunner Kiel or Phil Jurkovec could have been more complete packages, but Kelly never gave them a shot.