Yes, and they would be right about that. These posters keep trying to compare Scalzo to Mayfield, Tua, Manziel, Jackson. But all of those guys are taller and 25-30 pounds heavier than Scalzo. So it’s a flawed argument. I’m sure some people just viscerally feel a life bond kind of thing with smaller athletes. But there are not any 5-10 180 pound starting quarterbacks in the SEC. Why would that be? If Scalzo turns into a great quarterback at UK, so much the better. I still like Danny Clark.
Scalzo commits to Kentucky
- Thread starter wildcatman26
- Start date
To anyone saying size is what will hinder him from being great, just no. Weight matters as it's an indicator of how well they can take a hit, but height is the least of my concerns when it comes to a QB prospect in today's age. What concerns me is does he do a good job going thru his progressions and making the right play? Is he accurate with his throws? Does he have a good feel in the pocket and is he able to avoid pressure/extend plays? does he have a strong arm? Is he a leader? I'm 100% positive if all these things check out just fine, then he WILL be great and could end up being an absolute legend here regardless of his height.
If he excels in those areas then height couldn't be more irrelevant. And btw from what I can tell, he appears to be great in all the areas I just mentioned. Just because he doesn't have great offers now doesn't mean he won't. We are always the first to offer before the big boys come calling and a recruit blows up. Randall cobb was a damn good QB for us btw when he played behind center. Height doesn't matter at all, if the kid can ball, then he'll do great things here.
If he excels in those areas then height couldn't be more irrelevant. And btw from what I can tell, he appears to be great in all the areas I just mentioned. Just because he doesn't have great offers now doesn't mean he won't. We are always the first to offer before the big boys come calling and a recruit blows up. Randall cobb was a damn good QB for us btw when he played behind center. Height doesn't matter at all, if the kid can ball, then he'll do great things here.
Step back and accept that your conclusions may be wrong and that Hinshaw and Gran also know a little something about the position. Doug Flutie was 5’10”. Drew B and Vick are listed as 6’. Your concerns may not be worth all of this discussion.
I don't get the DC argument/comparison/ comment/whatever given there's two years separation & experience with NS (oops!).
Last edited:
What you are not grasping is that the guys in the size comparisons were Sclazos size at the same age.
Be like saying Josh Allen didn't compare to Bud Dupree out of High School because Dupree played at 260 lbs as a college senior and Allen was 205 as a HS Jr.
I had a lot of respect for his game.
Let him trod the Bluegrass for 30 months, and then bring out the tape measure!
So I guess he won't put any weight on during his senior season and probably a RS season. We are only comparing his current size and not projecting possible weight gain like every other HS player. Got it.
Yes I did. Furthermore I started to use bold italics but cut you some correction slack at the last moment. FWIW, I did not consider the triple dog correction of bold underscored italics.
Peace
506 "Likes." Maybe Jbapp has figured out a way to "Like" himself.
UL fans love his posts!!!
Not you @WildCard, real UL fans.
Cobb was a very different type of player. And he did struggle throwing the ball. He worked out only because we just ran wildcat with him. Scalzo isn't a wildcat type of QB.
Also we moved Cobb to WR for a reason. Height does matter or they wouldn't bother measuring it at the NFL combine.
I don't think you would put Flutie or Vick in the pro style catagory. Flutie came alone before DT QB was even a term and Vick was about as dual threat as you can get. Drew B. is an exception, looking at other NFL QBs show that. Being 6'2"+ isn't absolutely required, but any smaller than that limits him seeing the field and he has to find a lane to get the ball through DL with their arms up.
This kid can play and put up some big numbers against everyone but American Hertiage which may have had the best secondary in the country with 2 5* CB and several other players who signed P5 scholarships. 1 of their WR just ran a 10;06 100m, one of the fastest times ever run by a 19 and under guy, he signed with AU. That's the kind of talent he played against. I think American Hertiage is one of those football magnet schools, they have several kids very highly rated every year and send multiple kids to P5 schools, which was the only school to be this kids team.
A bud of mine once saw my agile hound dog "liking" himself. He said he wished he could do that.
I told him it was my dog, and if the dog didn't give a sh!t, neither did I.
Just a theoretical question....in the RPO is being 6'4, whatever as essential? I would say as a pure drop back pocket passer height would be more necessary.
Who said this recruit is a pro style QB at the college level? For better or worse, we have broad terms that describe QBs. Don’t get caught up in them. This kid plays like Flutie, Mayfield and LeFors. Those were awesome winning college QBs.
To answer your question, Rivals. Of course Flutie and Mayfield were great college QBs, both where Heisman winners, I don't know who Lefors is. He looks as thick as Johnny Football who was also a heck of a QB and did less running around than he does. But watching his film he was very accurate, good enough arm, but didn't look like he was reading the defense or running through a progression. But his arm talent gives him a chance, he can learn the rest.
Not exactly sure what facts have to do with an agenda? Lol I was just correcting you. You made a false statement, I corrected you and it means I have an agenda?
This forum amazes me at times.
1. Many have given you a handful of 6'0-ish QBs that played in SEC are were very dominate players in other p5 conferences and those same kids lit up scoreboards vs. SEC teams (Mayfield had a game vs. UGA in Rose Bowl, Lamar Jackson ate up any team in his path)
2. Why can't you see the 25 pound size comparison is a HS Jr vs. college QBs in their Jr/Sr years (roughly a 4 year differential)? As mentioned...like comparing Josh Allen in HS to Bud Dupree in college. All players get a chance to add strength in college S&C programs do they not?
Dude it says nowhere he is rated 35th. On this very site he is rated the 13th pro style.
OK my bad he's the 13th pro style qb. There is not 22 dt qbs rated higher than scalzo. So he is somewhere between 23 and 30 overall.
What if Scalzo is the only QB we take in this class?
Don't quite understand your point? At all....
If he is the only QB we take then I will support him, but history is not on his side. Actually it's miles from him. My point is that those guys are more likely to succeed in the SEC. Do you think that is incorrect?
Not to mention it's not like he will be the only QB on the team to work with.
I used 24/7 rankings and there are 34 QBs rated higher than he. He is rated the #13th Dual Threat QB.
Just because they're taller?
Yes, I think that is incorrect. You seem to be making the argument that since he is short he's less likely to succeed, ergo taller guys are more likely to succeed.
Your error is not factoring in talent and opportunity. IOW, shorter QBs, as a whole don't even get the opportunity to fail if they don't show a lot of good characteristics so therefore you assume that all short QBs don't have much of a chance. If he is talented enough, he will succeed regardless of size.
My contention is that a QB showing the requisite characteristics to actually get to major college football will succeed at a much higher rate than the tall QBs percentage-wise.
How many kids that are taller than 6-2 flame out in college? I'm betting it's a really high percentage, much higher than short ones because the short ones don't even get a shot unless they really have a shot.
So you literally admit a short QB is less likely to succeed?
You are completely contradicting yourself.
If you truly believe a coach won't play the better QB, because he is shorter, then that is simply an opinion. One that very few will buy into.
"because the short ones don't even get a shot unless they really have a shot" you are literally agreeing with me. That literally means they aren't getting a shot because they aren't good enough. A short guy may light up HS football, but may not adjust well to the MUCH taller o-linemen in D-1 football.
I would just like to see what would have happened if Scalzo went to UofL. What I am saying would be pointed out be every person on this board and receive unanimous agreement. I am just looking at it without the blue glasses on.
I hope Scalzo becomes huge. But it is unlikely.
I think Scacalzo can be good in the right packages, but there is no doubting that shorter QBs just rarely succeed in P5 football, especially the SEC.
Being short is a real concern, because you simply do not see as much and unless you can learn to have a high release point, it is a struggle to to make a throw in the pocket surrounded by SEC giant. I am a short guy, so I get the concerns 100%. I think he can do okay if we can run an RPO successful and he rolls out of the pocket most plays. But if defenses can contain him and keep him in the pocket, it is hard to see him doing much. That's where having the extra 5 inches comes in handy.
Gosh, maybe Gran, Hinshaw and Stoops don’t realize how short he is. Maybe they always saw him standing next to middle school students or little people and were deceived? Perhaps, they were always downhill from him when they saw him. Or, maybe they don’t know this rule about QBs shorter than 6’? They must not realize the impossibility of success for this recruit. Another mark against this staff!!! They don’t know the rules about shorter QBs!!!
Well, why can’t you understand that I DO see those things, have described some of the mitigating factors, and am offering an opinion based on the known SEC history this issue? Some on this board still have to learn that disagreeing on the substance of a discussion is not justification for making the thread personal.
You keep stating multiple times "there are no SEC QBs 5'10 - 180 lbs" is why the handful of QBs in college that were shorter have been brought up. That point has been re-butted that there are some shorter QBs (admittedly not many) but you've been unfair comparing a HS Jr to College Jr/Sr in terms of putting on strength. Scalzo won't be 180 lbs if/when he plays QB at UK. He has to be given time as all QBs in college get to put in time in weight room.
It isn’t just about height. Weight, strength, durability, vision, motivation are important. A smaller quarterback CAN succeed. Can this particular small quarterback beat out other quarterbacks on UK’s roster in 2020-23? Anything is possible. The best predictor is the known performance history of quarterbacks of various body types. Typically, successful quarterbacks are 6-1 to 6-5 in height, and weigh 200-240 pounds. A quarterback with a different body type can be successful, but there haven’t been as many of those. Why? It’s explained by physics, and isn’t hard to understand. Will a particular physical outlier have unusual or special qualities that allow him to buck the trend? Maybe. Scalzo was personally recruited by Eddie Gran. It’s possible that Scalzo is Eddie Gran’s favorite quarterback prospect on UK’s board this year. But it’s also possible that UK will sign 2 quarterbacks this year. Or, that Gran believes most of the other quarterback prospects don’t want to sit for 3-4 years beyond Hoak, Wilson, Clark, Wood. Or, that losses of Mac Jones and Jarren Williams have changed Gran’s recruiting approach. Another possibility occurred to me this morning. It’s possible that UK, through Gran’s connections, may have so much recruiting momentum in the Ft. Lauderdale area and in south FL right now that Gran and Stoops are going with the flow, so to say. All of this will reveal itself over time.
