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NCAA QB Stock Watch: Kenny Pickett stays hot, Spencer Rattler looks shaky

This was, by any measure, a strange weekend of college football.

We saw one of the top-ten teams in the nation lose in overtime. We saw a senior linebacker from another top-ten team walk off the field, seemingly quitting the team, during the first half and then fire off some quickly-deleted tweets about his school from the locker room. A third top-ten team lost to the upstart Arkansas Razorbacks, who might be worth paying attention to over the next few weeks. Auburn turned to their backup quarterback to pull off a win over Georgia State that was 1-2 coming into the game. Bowling Green, 30-point underdogs to Minnesota, won on the road over the Golden Gophers.

There…there was a lot.

There were also some interesting quarterback performances to examine. Now, maybe it was a function of a beautiful weather in the Washington D.C. area this weekend, or maybe it was the craziness we saw in college football on Saturday, but Stock Watch this week is generally positive.

With two exceptions.

Stock Up: Kenny Pickett, Pittsburgh

(Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports)

At this rate, we might need a different designation for Pittsburgh quarterback Kenny Pickett each week, as “stock up” might be underselling things.

Pickett continued his scorching September with an impressive outing Saturday against New Hampshire. He completed 24 of 28 passes for 403 yards and five touchdowns, without an interception, as the Panthers rolled 77-7 over the FCS-level Wildcats.

Here’s how his September ended up:

Perhaps the standout throw of the day from Pickett came early in the third quarter, on this deep shot to Jordan Addison on the post route:

As we mentioned in an earlier edition of Stock Watch, the month of October could truly propel Pickett’s draft stock into the stratosphere. The Panthers have road games at Georgia Tech and Virginia Tech to start the month, then finish with Clemson, and Miami, at home. If he performs nearly as well as he has to start the season as the Panthers kick off their conference slate, we could be talking about a Mac Jones-style rise.

 

Stock Up: Malik Willis, Liberty

(Mark Konezny-USA TODAY Sports)

Malik Willis’ week began with this from Pro Football Focus:

It ended with Willis nearly leading the Liberty Flames to a road win over ACC-opponent Syracuse.

Willis’ outing against the Orange was not perfect by any means, as there were moments where he bailed from clean pockets and perhaps failed to trust his protection. Yet, he put up solid numbers, completing 14 of 19 passes for 203 yards and three touchdowns, while adding another 49 rushing yards. He delivered some wow moments for sure, such as this scramble:

Or this late throw on a vertical route to tie the game:

So yes, there might be growth and development needed for Willis to be a well-rounded quarterback, but there is no denying the talent and ability. Book your tickets for Liberty at Mississippi, in early November, now before they sell out. That game, with Willis and Mississippi’s Matt Corral, squaring off will be a hell of a game to watch.

Stock Up: Devin Leary, N.C. State

(Photo by Grant Halverson/Getty Images)

It took a few overtimes, but unranked N.C. State upset Clemson 27-21, dealing the ninth-ranked team in the country their second loss of the season.

That gives us a chance to talk about N.C. State quarterback Devin Leary.

After redshirting in the 2018 season, Leary became the first redshirt freshman to start for the Wolfpack since a name you might recognize: Russell Wilson. Leary started five games in 2019, and played in eight, completing just 48.1 percent of his passes for 1,219 yards and eight touchdowns.

Leary played in four games last year, but his season was cut short when he suffered a fractured fibula against Duke. He returned for the start of this year and after guiding the Wolfpack to a 2-1 record to start the year, Leary was critical in the upset over Clemson. Leary completed 32 of 44 passes for 238 yards and four touchdowns, the fourth the game-winner in overtime:

There is a lot to like about this play, from the way Leary works the full-field progression to the velocity and placement. But do not forget the situation. This is a huge throw in a big spot, and the redshirt sophomore delivered.

If you beat the number nine team in the country, and throw four touchdowns doing it, your stock goes up.

Stock Up: Jake Haener, Fresno State

(Cary Edmondson-USA TODAY Sports)

Let’s show some, perhaps overdue, love for Fresno State passer Jake Haener. We probably should have included Haener in last week’s Stock Watch, as he and the Bulldogs went into the Rose Bowl and knocked off the UCLA Bruins, thanks to a late touchdown throw from Haener to Jalen Cropper:

What makes this play all the more impressive is that Haener was playing through the pain of a big hit taken earlier in the game, that hobbled him and left him unable to rotate his hips.

So what does one do for an encore?

Friday night against UNLV Haener put up some more big numbers, completing 30 of 42 passes for 378 yards and five touchdowns with a single interception. Perhaps his best throw of the night was this touchdown connection with Cropper on the wheel route, thrown with anticipation and placement in the front corner of the end zone:

Quarterbacks that rise up boards often have statement games. Performances that put them on the map. Haener already might have two. Earlier in the season the Bulldogs went on the road and lost by a score to Oregon, and then they went on the road again to knock off UCLA. But with more big games like Friday night’s, Haener might just end up letting his play speak for itself.

Stock Shaky: Spencer Rattler, Oklahoma

Speaking of statement games, Oklahoma quarterback Spencer Rattler had a chance for one such moment of his own. The Sooners opened up conference play at home on Saturday night, and Rattler had a chance to put up a big night in front of a raucous home crowd and a national television audience.

By the second quarter that raucous home crowd was chanting for his backup.

There was more football to be played, but it was this interception in the second quarter that had the home crowd looking for a change:

Rattler also made some impressive throws in the fourth quarter, including one early in the final frame on a deep curl route to the right side of the field that was delivered with good velocity and placement. In the end he might have delivered on a statement moment, as Rattler and the Sooners offense drove nearly the length of the field late in the game to put kicker Gabe Brkic in position for the game-winning field goal. The kicker split the uprights, and the Sooners and Rattler survived.

Still, even in victory this game from Rattler might have raised more questions rather than answering them. He finished the night having completed 26 of 36 passes for 256 yards, a touchdown and the interception, and he led his team on the game-winning drive. So it might be too much to say that his stock is “down,” but his body of work this season, including tonight, has not been overly inspiring.

Stock Shaky: Sam Howell, UNC

(Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports)

Spencer Rattler and Sam Howell were among the quarterbacks in contention for the coveted “QB1” spot coming into this college football season. While both struggled in the opening week of the year, both seemed to bounce-back in recent weeks.

Then tonight happened.

While Rattler was battling with West Virginia, Howell and the UNC Tar Heels were losing on the road to Georgia Tech. While the Tar Heels had issues beyond quarterback play Saturday night — unless you consider the play of Georgia Tech quarterback Jeff Sims — Howell failed to deliver in a key conference game for UNC.

Howell put the ball on the ground early in the second quarter, while the Tar Heels had a 7-3 lead. The Yellow Jackets converted that to a field goal. Then later in the first half Howell put the ball on the turf again, and on the ensuing possession Georgia Tech punched it into the end zone to take a 13-7 lead, and they would not look back.

Howell was not done putting the football on the turf, however. With the Tar Heels trying to pull off the comeback, UNC had the football in Georgia Tech territory with a chance to make it a one-score game. But Howell was sacked and coughed up the ball, and the Yellow Jackets took over possession.

Howell’s passing numbers ended up solid, as he finished the night having completed 25 of 39 passes for 306 yards and a pair of touchdowns. In a vacuum, that is a good night for a quarterback. But the fumbles, two of which led to ten points from Georgia Tech while the other erased the slim comeback chances, changed the complexion of the game. More than that, they will likely be leading scouts to look back at the film on Howell to see if there are ball security issues to be wary of.

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