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Nick Hirschman - Could he be a future star?

Prediction for Hirschman

  • Future All-American

    Votes: 8 11.4%
  • Future All-Conference

    Votes: 13 18.6%
  • Future Starter

    Votes: 39 55.7%
  • Career Backup

    Votes: 10 14.3%

  • Total voters
    70

Buffnik

Real name isn't Nik
Club Member
Junta Member
ESPN rated him as the 26th best QB in the 2010 class with a 78 grade (just below a 4*).

Here's what they said about him:

Hirschman is a pocket passer with prototypical size, bulk and arm strength. In an era of the spread offense and quarterbacks rarely having to work from under center, it is refreshing to see a guy work entirely from under center and possess sound footwork and excellent ball handling skills. He has a thick, sturdy build and is capable of standing in the face of the rush and delivering strikes. Primarily works out of the three and five step passing game as well as short rolls to both sides and a heavy dose of play-action. Is often asked to turn his back to the defense, flip his hips around off play pass, plant and throw. Does an excellent job setting his feet and is a balanced guy in the pocket. Drop speed is adequate and consistent and he has proven he can plant and throw off his 5th step and also reset when necessary without over-striding or throwing off balance. Possesses an excellent intermediate range arm to make all the necessary throws to the sideline and down the middle of the field including the skinny post, hash seam and comeback along the sideline. Is very crisp off play-action throwing deeper posts and drag routes with good timing and anticipation. He shows very good command of this scheme, knows where to go with the ball and can throw to a spot with confidence his target will be in stride.

Hirschman is not going to be a dual-threat guy that creates a lot of plays with his legs, but he shows very good pocket presence, awareness and the feet to sidestep and avoid the rush to buy a second passing chance. Keeps his eyes downfield when rush or flushed and makes a lot of plays in the passing game at the last second as a result. He has a very strong, over-the-top release that at times can appear to be a bit rigid or robotic, but he consistently delivers the ball with power and good overall velocity-- particularly in the underneath and intermediate passing game. He does not play in a wide-open scheme and this offense requires him to develop timing, anticipation and rely upon progressions to be successful which will better prepare him for the collegiate level than many guys who are now playing in the spread offense. As mentioned, there are times when Hirschman's methods can be mechanical in nature and he will show some tension as a passer, but is sharp nonetheless.

Overall, Hirschman possesses both the necessary tools and measurables to be a very successful pocket passer at the next level in the right situation. We feel he needs to be protected to be at his finest and improve overall footwork, but he is a well-groomed guy that displays good command, leadership knowledge of the game.


Scout had Hirschman as a 3* prospect and its #42 QB in the 2010 class. Here was their opinion of him:

STRENGTHS
  • Arm Strength
  • Pocket Awareness
  • Size

AREAS FOR IMPROVEMENT
  • Speed

Solid in the pocket, good in the deep passing game and excels in the short and intermediate routes. Physical presence, he looks like a linebacker. Very accurate passers, had an 11-to-1 TD/INT ratio.


Rivals had Hirschman as a 3* prospect with a 5.6 grade (middle of the 3* range) and its #48 QB.

He's a winner, having led his high school team, Los Gatos, to the CIF medium school state championship.

He drew favorable comparisons from coaches to former Los Gatos HS star QB Trent Edwards, who made it to the NFL.

He's a Rob Johnson prospect, one of the nation's elite QB coaches, and was recruited to CU largely based on his recommendation.

We've only seen Hirschman once in live action. In the 2010 Spring Game, he got opportunities to run all of two pass plays. On one he scrambled for 21 yards. On the other, he completed an 83 yard touchdown pass.

All evidence we have points to him being a prototype QB for a pro style offense and a guy who makes plays and wins in game situations.

What does your crystal ball say about Hirschman's future as a Buff?
 
I think he exactly fits the mold of what the coaches want to do here. A lot like Bobby Pesavento, who was a freak on the play action.
 
The little bit I saw at the Spring game was impressive, but not that much to form an opinion on. He's got the size and the arm, and he is more of a classic QB than the spread hybrid you see at other schools. I am just excited to see TH, Hirsch and Burnette get in there and have a real competition as opposed to the "we'll see" shenanigans that seemed to usually favor a certain player....
 
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I can't honestly answer the poll. I have no clue. I've never seen him as much as take a snap from center.
 
I'll say this - I'm really glad we didn't burn his redshirt last year. I might have stabbed Hawkins in the ear right on the spot if he'd done that.
 
Not sure he ever starts a game for us.

If he doesn't, it will be because Dorman or somebody we recruit next year is clearly the better choice. I think Hirschman's game fits in perfectly with what the coaches want from their quarterback.
 
Difficult to get any accurate assessment of his true skill unless you were up there watching practices yourself, since it was quite obvious that picking/coaching/recruiting QB's or recognizing QB talent was piss poor on a good day with the previous staff
 
I went to Los Gatos and played for their football team during the Trent Edwards days. Trent and I were actually good boys and I would have to catch passes for him over the weekends under the coaching of Rob Johnson. The point of my story is our head coach, Butch Cottalico (sp?), has gone on record saying that Hirschman is an even better QB than Trent and expects him to reach the NFL as well. Butch is no idiot and pretty much every varsity starter from the last 20 years has gone on to play for a BCS school. I expect big things from this kid and hope he is our starter come week 1.
 
You heard it here first, he will be the starter at Hawaii week 1.

I went to Los Gatos and played for their football team during the Trent Edwards days. Trent and I were actually good boys and I would have to catch passes for him over the weekends under the coaching of Rob Johnson. The point of my story is our head coach, Butch Cottalico (sp?), has gone on record saying that Hirschman is an even better QB than Trent and expects him to reach the NFL as well. Butch is no idiot and pretty much every varsity starter from the last 20 years has gone on to play for a BCS school. I expect big things from this kid and hope he is our starter come week 1.


I told you muthakas!
 
You heard it here first, he will be the starter at Hawaii week 1.

I also believe that Hirschman bleeds black and gold as much as any poster here. (I got this from conversations with his mom.) He is going to do everything he can to make this team great.
 
You heard it here first, he will be the starter at Hawaii week 1.

Certainly would not be surprised and am secretly rooting for him just for the sheer comfort of knowing we have a more talented option out there going into the season (not to knock the current guys, but TH hasn't exactly proven himself a must start in any gamve over his career)....We know the coaches will definitely play the best talent with no hidden agendas so think almost any position is wide open
 
I also believe that Hirschman bleeds black and gold as much as any poster here. (I got this from conversations with his mom.) He is going to do everything he can to make this team great.

Now that's what I like to hear...
 
I don't think anybody has seen enough to have any real idea about where he is at right now.

From the high school reviews and the videos we saw on his recruiting thread back when, he certainly has the physical talents. With what Embree has indicated about what our offense will be he would certainly look to be a good fit. From there it all depends on if he lives up to what we hope and the prior coaching staff and recruiting sites thought he could be.

I expect that our opening day QB will be TH but that isn't a lock. If NH comes on and/or TH doesn't adapt quickly to the new system I don't see Embree and EB waiting to pull the trigger and see what they have in Nick for the future.

Under DH our offense was so disjointed and out of focus that I think a number of guys may step up and surprise us this year just because of having a cohesive system in which to play. I also am glad that they didn't burn his RS last year since my gut (certainly biased as a Buff fan) tells me that this kid just might be the real deal.

That all said I also don't think that Embree and EB will force him into something he isn't ready for (what a refreshing concept) so it may be a while before we end up seeing him. Not neccessarily a bad thing if the end result is a quality QB that will win us some games in the future.
 
He needs to make his presence felt at the spring game and show TH he's not going to be handed the QB job. If the O line can give him a little protection and he makes good reads, he could be money.
 
First of all, yes, Los Gatos is full of MILFs. Secondly, I think we all pushed for TH because anything was better than Hawkins. It's a new world friends, a world full of endless possibilities and Pac 12 championships. I have complete faith in JE and EB and I truly believe that the best QB will start from week one.
 
First of all, yes, Los Gatos is full of MILFs. Secondly, I think we all pushed for TH because anything was better than Hawkins. It's a new world friends, a world full of endless possibilities and Pac 12 championships. I have complete faith in JE and EB and I truly believe that the best QB will start from week one.

Winner!! I'll take your word for the MILFs thing, but the rest is dead on balls accurate.
 
I tend to agree, his hype reminds me of Matt Ballenger. Hope I'm wrong.

Speaking of Matt Ballenger.

Here's what he did in game action:

8 Completions on 12 Attempts (66.7%) for 118 yards (9.8 per attempt) and 1 touchdown against 0 interceptions.

QB rating of 176.76 (Cody's career best year = 125.6; Tyler's career best year = 129.5).

How did the coaching staff handle Ballenger? When Cody went down in '08 they burned Tyler's redshirt from the scout team even though he obviously wasn't ready, thereby burying Ballenger on the depth chart and sending a clear message. The following spring, they gave him few reps and made it pretty clear he wasn't in the plan so he transferred out of this toxic situation.

Was he good enough to be a good QB here? We'll never know.
 
we'll mos def never know. the fact that Hanson had his RS burned twice is a strange thing. i'm not so huge in the Cody nepotism thing....but you put Hanson's RS in multiple and Ballanger in the mix...looks pretty bad in retrospect.
 
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