USC Football: Is Sam Darnold a sure-fire franchise quarterback?
Scouting Report
According to Danial Jeremiah, NFL scouts are already raving about Sam Darnold’s rare skill set, and it not surprising why.
In addition to having the ideal physique that NFL teams desire in a starting quarterback, Darnold also has a very strong arm.
On this play, USC running-back Justin Davis attempts to set up a flee flicker, but tosses an errant ball back to Darnold. While some quarterbacks would simply fall on the ball to prevent a turnover, Sam instead scoops up the ball and precedes to throw a 40 yard pass on the run with a defender in his face.
While this pass doesn’t result in a touchdown, it does show Darnold’s pure arm talent. When evaluating his game film it is not uncommon to see Sam launch balls 30, 40 even 50 yards in the air when he is able to set his feet.
In addition to his arm strength, Darnold is also incredibly poised in the pocket.
With 1:27 left in the Rose Bowl, his team down by 7, Sam Darnold stands unflinching in the pocket. When he finds his first read covered, instead of checking the ball down or taking off and attempting to run for the first, Darnold instead continues to read through his progressions and connects with his slot receiver for a game tying 27-yard touchdown.
According to Pro Football Focus, Darnold maintained a 101 passer rating while under pressure, good for sixth-best in the nation. Additionally, Sam was only sacked on six percent of the snaps he was pressured on. This shows that Darnold not only has great pocket presence and good vision, but also good escapeability.
On this play against Utah, Darnold reads that his receiver, who is set to run a bubble screen, has three defenders around him. Because there is typically only one passing option on a bubble screen, instead of falling into a bad play that could result in a 3rd and goal, Sam instead decided to shift his eyes downfield and score the ball himself.
After making his way around the left tackle, Sam spotted a hole between the hash marks and committed to scoring the touchdown himself. After being taken down from behind, the ball comes loose, but Darnold has the vision and foresight to scramble for the ball, and ensure his team ends up with six points.