The Football Brainiacs

Hansen Image from Newsok.com (Nate Billings), Thomas Image from Dallas Morning News, Cornwell Image from Scout.com

The Blind Tape Test (like the blind taste test that was popular in the 80s with Coke and Pepsi) is where we give a former player or scout film to watch on certain high school recruits that Oklahoma may be interested in and we ask them to give us an evaluation of those players. We do not give the evaluator any information about the players in terms of their offers or recruiting background or anything of the sort. In fact we don’t even tell them what state they are from or what school they play for. They know little more than the size of the player. It’s all about the tape and what they see. We don’t offer our thoughts on the player prior to them viewing the tape. Our goal with these are to continue giving our readers the opinion of football guys on football players.

In our fourth edition of the Blind Tape test we asked Chris Trulove, former NFL scout and coordinator of pro scouting for the Denver Broncos and former Oklahoma QB, Landry Jones, to take a look at the following quarterbacks and rate them based on our scale: Justice Hansen, David Cornwell and Cody Thomas. Unfortunately we didn’t get a detailed breakdown from Landry but he was kind enough to watch the film and rate each of the QBs. Below is Chris Trulove’s analysis and ratings followed by Landy Jones’ ratings:

David Cornwell – QB with excellent size and body build. He’s a good athlete and will be very durable. Experienced in the shotgun and the spread offense. Stands tall in the pocket. Holds the ball up above the numbers ready to throw quickly. Can flick it without much wasted body motion – no wind up needed. Gets the ball out quickly under the heavy rush. Sees the field well under pressure. Is not at all a speed demon on the run but has good agility in the pocket. He can escape to buy a second chance and he does have strength to break tackles. He does a good job of keeping his eyes downfield even on the move. From the pocket he has the arm to make all the throws with ease. He can zip the ball in tight spots and he has the feel to take pace off and drop in short passes. He puts very good air under his deep balls and it looks easy for him. He’ll make an occasional high pass or use a little too much steam on short crossing routes. Overall, he has all the tools to be a excellent passer as a collegiate and beyond. Not a read option dual threat but there is no reason that in the right situation this guy will not have excellent passing production. 4.0

Cody Thomas – Lean QB with good height and room to add bulk. Holds the ball low in the pocket but he secures it well and he still has quick snap release. He has quick hands to ready the ball to throw, makes quick reads, and gets the ball out quickly. Defenders have little time to react. He is light on his feet in the pocket and slides around well while still ready to throw. He will step up in the pocket with his eyes downfield and he does have good pocket feel for pressure. Once out of the pocket he is fluid on the move and does have good speed to make sizable plays. He can throw on the move with good agility and accuracy. He will not be a one trick pony – he can pocket pass, throw on the move, and run for yardage. His passes have nice zip and a tight spiral. He has the arm to make all the throws and his passes do not stay in the air long. He will have to hone deep accuracy as many do at this age. With focus he should be able to bulk his frame and and become a very well rounded big school QB. Focus and poise will be key, and with them, he will have a bright future. 3.8

Justice Hansen – Big, athletic dual threat QB. He is strong and agile with good (but not great) speed. More agile than fast. Run first, pass second kind of guy. Not a lot of complex passing schemes and routes to read. Had a lot of designed runs but also looks more comfortable on the move than standing in the pocket. Still needs work on the timing game at the next level and he shows tendencies to tuck it and run too early at times and to hold the ball too long at times. He has a slower release as he curls the ball behind his ear a bit. He does not throw it with a lot of zip and while he can throw far, there is not a lot of velocity on most throws. He is a tough, hard nosed player that will be able to make plays with his feet at the next level. Teammates will likely rally around his physical play. This guy has some on-field Tim Tebow like play in terms of his combination of strength and toughness with the ball in his hands while not having great passing form. Needs some time to become a reliable power conference passer but could play early as a redzone and change of pace QB. 3.3

As mentioned above Landry Jones was kind of enough to watch the film and these were the ratings he gave each QB:

Cody Thomas – Good combination of athleticism and arm talent. Sits in the pocket well. 3.8

David Cornwell – Big guy that moves well for this size. He has the big arm but also throws well on the move. 3.5

Justice Hansen – Solid athlete that can create a lot with his feet. Does a good job of making decisions once a play breaks down. 3.3