6/12/2017 football Edit

Scouting report: NC State football quarterback commit Devin Leary

NC State quarterback commitment and four-star Leary. (Nick Lucero/Rivals.com)

Matt Carter • TheWolfpackCentral

Editor

Over the weekend, Rivals.com held its annual 5-Star Challenge in Indianapolis, Ind., and one of the attendees was four-star NC State quarterback commitment Devin Leary from Sicklerville (N.J.) Timber Creek High.

The Wolfpacker asked Bryan Driskell, a former college receiver and quarterbacks coach who now works as an analyst for Blue and Gold Illustrated, which covers Notre Dame for Rivals.com, to observe Leary and offer a scouting report.

Here is what Driskell wrote:

STRENGTHS

The first thing that jumps out about Leary is how fast and powerfully the ball leaves his hand. It explodes out and gets on wide receivers in a hurry. He has a nice downward throwing motion so the ball rarely sails on him, and that motion allowed him to drive several balls low and away from defenders and into extremely tight windows. His understanding of ball placement was as good as any quarterback at the Rivals 5-star Challenge. Obviously continued development will be key here, but the natural feel for the game and throwing the ball away from defenders instead of trying to always get the ball into the chest of a receiver was something you want to see from a young quarterback.

Leary gets tremendously fast rotations on the ball, which means the elements (wind, rain, etc.) will have less of an impact on him. Unlike some other strong-armed quarterbacks, Leary has a relatively short and compact throwing motion. He can get the ball out quickly and does not need to wind up to get top velocity on the football. Not only does this help with timing, it also helps with accuracy. Quarterbacks are like pitchers in that being able to have a nice, easy, fluid and repeatable delivery helps to place the ball with greater ease. He can just snap the ball off and get it where he wants it to go accurately and very quickly.

Athletically, Leary impressed. He has quick feet, he’s smooth in the pocket and he stays light on his feet. With some coaching that will result in him being able to handle pressures and help him learn to always be in ready position. Players like Leary are able to quickly avoid pressure, immediately reset their feet and be ready to get the ball out.

Leary threw the outside go routes extremely well at the event. Obviously he can power the ball downfield, but he got good drop on his balls and when he missed he missed long and outside. Too many quarterbacks at the event were missing inside, which is fine in one-on-one’s but when it becomes 11-on-11 those throws become interceptions. Leary’s ball travels downfield quickly, and he did not get the hang that others got, which is what coaches want.

Overall Leary showed as much arm talent as any quarterback at the event, and that includes five-stars Trevor Lawrence and Justin Fields, who are both top-10 players in the class of 2018. He lacks their size and he has to shore up some things mechanically, but in regards to pure arm strength and the ability to make all the throws he stood out just as much as those two elite quarterbacks.

AREAS FOR IMPROVEMENT

Sometimes Leary’s arm strength got him in trouble. He will have to learn that not every throw has to be 100 mph. Part of that will had to do with timing. Leary waited on receivers to get open instead of anticipating them getting open. Because of that he seemed to feel the need to power the ball instead of being able to place it in an open area with the receiver getting out of his break. This happens a lot at camp settings when quarterbacks aren’t familiar with receivers, and Leary certainly wasn’t alone. But it remains something he can continue to work on.

The one throw Leary struggled with at times were deep throws over the middle, both seam routes and the post. He tried to aim both throws, which meant he slowed his arm speed down and tried to ease it into a spot. Quarterbacks should keep their arm speed up on those types of throws. What changes is the release point and velocity that goes on the pass, but the arm speed still needs to be quick and he needs to snap those throws off. Aiming also tends to do the exact opposite of what a quarterback wants, and it usually creates a less-accurate pass.

Leary isn’t the tallest or biggest quarterback. His height won’t be an issue in NC State’s offense, but obviously he’ll need to continue adding more size to his frame.