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'13 CO QB Ryan Novak

Ouch. He's better than that. Coach needs to call some high percentage short passes to get him into a rhythm (.381 completion percentage is brutal so far). I wonder what's going on.

I'm guessing his team isn't the greatest so there might be some issues with dropsies. The 2-13 game was won 29-0 so the coaches probably just went to the run after a start like that. + he had an away game in Florida. We can't even get college kids to play well on the road, I imagine it's a hell of a task to get high school kids to do so across the country.

I thought he threw a hell of a ball in his videos as a sophomore, so I'm not worried.
 
Ryan's junior highlights just posted to youtube a couple weeks ago.

[video=youtube;-neZ_2IyEDw]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-neZ_2IyEDw&feature=player_embedded[/video]
 
Hopefully some of you will add your thoughts on Novak's film. I probably know just enough about the position to be dangerous :lol:, but there are some things that stood out to me.

Positives:
Stands tall in the pocket, recognizes pressure, and knows to step up to avoid pressure
Good arm speed on his release
Makes quick decisions
Great touch on deep balls and screen passes
Knows when to use touch and when to fire the ball (based on route or who he's throwing to)
Big dude. He's a load. Gonna be huge once he gets a bit older and into a college S&C program.

Areas for improvement:
More comfortable with his footwork out of the shotgun than from under center. Needs to be quicker in his drop and be in a throwing position (without an extra hop step) when he hits 3, 5 or 7.
Sometimes throws off his back foot instead of stepping into every throw.
While he has a quick release based on arm action and decision making, it could get quite a bit quicker if he makes some improvement with footwork and also by carrying the ball a bit closer to shoulder height. Holding the ball a bit higher would also help make that throwing motion a bit more compact, which would also reduce some variability with delivery and improve accuracy.

All the things I see for him to work on are definitely coachables. I don't see limitations on the physical side or "getting it" as far as playing QB. If Novak can focus on his drops and do a small tweak to his ball position, he can be special. The other thing is that he can improve throwing power by focusing on weight training on his lower body and core.

Thoughts?
 
Sometimes when you get a kid who is with an established program that has a lot of talent around him and good coaching to take advantage of it, it makes it look like the kid is better than he is. We have seen this with some of the Mullen kids who have dissapeared at the college level. On the other hand if a kid plays for a team that doesn't have much around him to work with, especially if they are playing more talented teams, it is easy to underestimate the kid.
 
Heard that he had a really rough year and regressed. Thoughts Nik?

Even in highlights, there was a ton of quick pressure up the middle. If that was something that happened consistently, it can create some bad habits while also messing with a QB's head. His coaches need to fix that issue. Novak looks like the real deal to me.
 
Heritage is certainly no powerhouse either., I doubt he has much help. The best player on the squads when I was there only ended up at SDSU.

I love this kid. He has all the measurables, and I expect he is going to be really special when he gets some proper coaching. Rip has a good track record of developing QBs, and I think Ryan would be an awesome addition to the BnG
 
Having Dillon and Wood and even Hirsch ahead of him on the eligiblility chart also means that he won't have pressure to jump in right away. Ideally Rip will have at least three years to develop him before he ends up high on the depth chart as a jr.
 
Pros
-Arm strength
-Size
-Pretty good accuracy

Cons
-Really laborious in his drop back
-Athleticism seems a bit limited
 
Hope he ends up a Buff when it´s all said and done. Would love to see him in the BnG.
 
Looks like his team is pretty awful, lots of drops in those highlights. I'd say that there are QBs from 2013 in Texas and Cali that I prefer at this point, but if Scherer decides this guy has the tools and he can work with him, I'd be fine with that. There's not much questioning his arm. Throwing motion looks pretty good for an unrefined high school kid, but mobility will never be a strong suite for him.
 
247 has him as a 3* (86 grade) and rates him the #21 pro-style QB in the country. They also do not show CU interest (I know it's REALLY early).
 
No expert here, but I liked what I see in his film. He seems to be able to make all the throws. Doesn't panic in the pocket. Just needs more 'seasoning' I guess. Hopefully Rip is on him.
 
I realize that Luke del Rio has been getting all the hype since transferring into the state, but every list I've seen still has Novak ranked slightly ahead of him in the running for the top CO quarterback prospect of 2013. I've also seen Forrest Wetterstrom (Longmont HS) mentioned with them, but that seems to be an outlier with Novak and del Rio as the consensus top guys.
 
I like Novak quite a bit. Sounds like we've been in on him early.
 
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