Recruit Breakdown: Stephen Collier

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Ceiling: 7               Ranking: 5               Floor: 3


School: Lee County (Leesburg, GA)

Size: 6'4" - 210 lbs.

Composite: 3 Star, 0.8461, #24 Dual, #891 Overall

247: 3 Star, 89, #10 Dual

Rivals: 2 Star, 5.4, Pro

Scout: 3 Star, #57 QB

Favorites: Ohio State (Commit)
Other Notable Offers: Boston College, Cincinnati, Wake Forest

Strengths

  • Great size for the QB position
  • Shows flashes of potential when technique improves
  • Strong runner that breaks arm tackles and keeps legs moving on contact

Great size for a QB. Sees the field pretty well. Has the capability of putting some air under the ball and going deep. Shows flashes of potential. When he gets proper technique he can deliver the ball better and more on a line. When he delivers the ball over top of his shoulder and finishes toward the target and combines some lower body torque he can add ball velocity. Even flashes it at times when moving the pocket. When he cleans up his technique he can get the ball out quicker. He can be more accurate and he can put better touch on it, dropping the ball in on corner patterns or on fades.

Strong runner that keeps legs moving on contact and can break arm tackles for people who don't complete the take down.

Weaknesses

  • Little to no consistent technique at this point
  • Doesn't have great arm strength and struggles to put velocity on the ball
  • Not a great pure running threat

At this point has no technique in his drop, just kind of steps backwards with his body facing the LOS. When throwing, there's very little weight transfer. Doesn't have good natural arm strength. All throwing mechanics are inconsistent, from footwork to arm motion. This causes inconsistent accuracy on all passes. Doesn't have good feel for depth or touch deep, and while he can get flight trajectory and put some air on the ball to push it long, doesn't put it on receivers in stride. Most common throwing motion is to push the ball from his chest, forward, and finish with his hand across his body. Get little good wrist or elbow snap and therefore his ball spin could use improvement. Passes tend to float and don't get on receivers as fast as other prospects. Not good technique throwing on the run, gets very little extra strength into his throws outside of his arm.

Not particularly fast running, can gain some ground and escape the pocket a little bit, could potentially be used on designed runs, but doesn't have great acceleration or initial burst and would require being used as a secondary threat. Lacks agility and vision in the run game, more of a straight line runner.

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Comments
Collier is a difficult prospect to evaluate. He really lacks any technique is all aspects of being a QB. His drop has bad form, his footwork is inconsistent, and his arm angle goes anywhere from bad to alright. I don't believe he has great pure arm strength, and while he is capable of pushing the ball deep, the ball does tend to hang in the air longer than necessary because it lacks ideal spin. He's a guy that can hit all the areas of the field, but the ball will take a long time to get there and won't necessarily drop in the spot he's looking for it to drop. But he does show flashes of potential. Occasionally he'll step into throws and release over the top and finish to the target, and when he does his ball speed improves and the ball cuts through the air much nicer. On top of that, if he can do that his accuracy will improve as well.

As a runner he can get some yards in short yardage situations. He's a big body that knows he's a big body and runs like a big body. Churns his legs well, breaks arm tackles, but doesn't dance a whole lot. I don't see a guy with great speed or acceleration, he's not very elusive and he doesn't stand out in the way he sets up blockers. So while he's not a natural runner, and likely won't be the number one run threat in an offense, he can improve and become a solid runner in his own right. He's a prospect that needs a lot of time and reps to become what fans of his will want him to be.

 Projection 

  • Start at QB, could end up being a TE or outside WR in OSU's system if a position change happens
  • Will need time and patience to be molded into a viable QB option
  • Fits in a spread system that allows him to be a secondary run threat and attack defenses over the top, rather than in short and intermediate zones with a quick passing attack.
If Collier is to become a viable option for OSU, he'll need some time to develop his consistency. Even then, he simply doesn't have the physical tools in my mind to be great. He doesn't possess elite athleticism, and he doesn't have a good enough pure arm to likely be great at the next level. But he does show the ability to be good at both passing and running, and maybe that will be enough. Right now, he's a secondary run threat that can pick up yards on his own in short situations and displays some ability to put the ball over top of a defense. With improved mechanics, should be able to work the ball around a bit more, hit some corner routes and such, but he'll need to work on throwing on the run to be comfortable hitting shot passes in tight winders and out routes to slot receivers.

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