It's a rare accomplishment when a team goes into offseason workouts with four QBs who aren't seniors and manages to emerge with only one the next season. But that looks exactly like what's going to happen to UT next year, what with Connor Wood already having transferred, Garrett Gilbert declaring he's going to transfer, and Case McCoy expected to transfer. This, of course, would leave us with true sophomore David Ash, who should be redshirting this season, and true freshman Connor Brewer, who should be redshirting next season. We've also got high school QB's Miles Onyegbule and Mykkele Thompson for emergency duty (and likely for some future trick plays or wildcat action).
So it looks like Texas will definitely pick up another QB in the 2012 class, and, oddly enough, we might need a guy that isn't expecting to be a star here, and thus won't transfer (Jarrett Lee, holla!). Connor Brewer doesn't seem to have a problem with this at all, as the coaches spoke to him about him a few weeks ago. He understands our plight.
The coaches, especially Harsin, have been doing their due diligence in scouring the state for a second potential QB. We'll get to the ones on the radar so far after the jump.
Del Barnes (Henderson)
Barnes is the definition of silky-smooth at QB. He throws a very catchable ball that still has zip on it (instead of pegging it at receviers' knees, like Gilbert) and has beautiful, beautiful touch on his deep throws. Guy can drop it into sand pail from 40 yards away no problem. He's very Russell Wilson in the pocket. By this, I mean that he has excellent pocket presence and primarily scrambles to throw (and scrambles well) while keeping his eyes open for receivers downfield. Like Wilson, he also carries out his playfakes with extreme discipline, an underrated part of the job that I've thought UT QBs have slacked off on in recent years. Unfortunately, also like Wilson, he doesn't have great height— only standing about six feet tall. Could be the perfect under-the-radar recruit to relish a UT offer over playing time, but that's just a guess. Harsin is expected to see Barnes play soon.
Del Barnes Highlights (early senior) (via 247SportsStudio)
TJ Millweard (Forth Worth All Saints)
Former Hokie commit turned Sun Devil, Millweard is the exact opposite of Barnes in that he has perfect measurables as a QB at 6'4", 230 lbs. From grainy Rivals video, he looks to have a very big arm both in velocity and in distance. I was also shocked by his athleticism for such a big guy—very good acceleration, top speed, and fluidity in the run game. After watching his tapes, I'm kind of surprised he isn't a more mainstream recruit. Most 6'4", built, fast QBs with big arms are pretty highly thought of. Maybe competition is a problem? I'm not sure. He also seems to have good pocket presence, though he wasn't pressured much. Only negative I saw at all from him is he crouches down too much when he throws, which makes him at least an inch or two shorter in his release point that he should be. He's already a tall guy, though, so that's not really a big complaint. Harsin has been to one of his games.
Tommy Armstrong (Cibolo Steele)
Malcolm Brown's former teammate was always an incredible athlete for a QB, but in his senior season he's supposedly refined his passing skills and now projects as a QB in college instead of a WR/ATH. Pretty impressive for a guy basically nobody thought would be a QB in college last year when he was running the option with Malcolm Brown. He might be hard to pry away from Nebraska, as his skillset matches perfectly with their offense. He's fast, slinky, strong with the ball, and can throw it a mile. Doesn't seem overly interested in Texas right now, though, per Hookem.com
QB Tommy Armstrong #10 *COMMITTED TO NEBRASKA* Cibolo Steele HS (JR Highlights) (via CountdownCityPreps)
Jalen Overstreet (Tatum)
Overstreet is a dual-threat QB who is very raw at the position. He really need to work on his release, as it is a bit dart-like at the moment (no, that does not make him a star just because Vince Young had a dart-like release as well) and looks to have average arm strength. For a dual-threat QB, I was also underwhelmed with his pure speed, burst through the hole, and lateral quickness. He is well put together and a strong player (a bit Tebow-esque in stature), but I don't think Texas will consider him too seriously because I don't think his athleticism compensates for his mediocre passing ability. He does seem to have decent touch on the ball, though. A bigger version of Reggie Ball to me.
Jalen Overstreet (early senior highlights) (via 247SportsStudio)
Ford Childress (Kinkaid)
A West Virginia commit that would be difficult to pull away from the Mountaineers with his family connection to WVU Oliver Luck (yes, Andrew's dad), Childress has been lighting up the private school scene so far this year. Hard to get a read on his skills from his highlight tape, as the camera is zoomed in so far it's difficult to tell how long a lot of the passes are. He basically looks like he's standing tall and delivering to his first read every single play with zero pressure. Hey, it is private school football. He's 6'4" and has the problem I referenced earlier that Gilbert has—throwing a downward-angled ball that is almost impossible to catch and run with because of the trajectory. Seems to have a bit above average arm strength, but again it's difficult to tell how far he's throwing the ball from the film. Sub-par athlete for a QB. Slow, ungraceful, and we're not talking Denton Ryan or Desoto level athletes here.
Ford Childress - Quarterback - Class of 2012 - Kinkaid High School (via KHSFootball2010)
Final Analysis:
It will be fascinating to see how the coaching staff tries to sell this one. From all the attrition, it's going to be pretty obvious the staff is trying to establish a hierarchy with whomever they bring in here, so they need to find a guy who's burnt orange through and through. Millweard looks like a big-time player to me and he'll put up huge numbers in that sick ASU offense modeled after Oklahoma State. I don't think he'll want to play second fiddle to anybody. Barnes, on the other hand, won't get the same level of offers due to his measurables and could be content to play in a back-up capacity for the Horns while eventually challenging for the job later in his career. Hell, if he's as much like Russell Wilson as he looks on film, I'd take him in a heartbeat. That guy should probably be the Heisman frontrunner right now, if RGIII didn't exist. Your thoughts, BONizens?