Notre Dame Irish Invasion Recap: Quarterbacks Shine

Notre Dame held its annual Irish Invasion Camp yesterday and there were a number of very talented quarterbacks in attendance. Irish Breakdown was also there and below is a breakout of what we saw at the camp.

I'll begin with the 2027 quarterbacks first, but the 2028 unit was loaded as well.

2027 QUARTERBACKS

*** Louisiana star Malachi Ziegler (2027) was everything I hoped he would be today. Loved what I saw from him on film, and seeing him in person cemented my thoughts on him as a passer. He has a quick release that is repeatable and he’s able to change arm angles. He’s a natural passer with very clean mechanics. The ball flies out of his hand and he gets a lot of zip, but he doesn’t throw a real heavy ball, which is good because receivers like that, very catchable passes. Good downfield passing skills and accuracy, ball gets up and down in a hurry. Ball placement is top notch, and it was so during drills and during the final accuracy drills they did with the “top five” quarterbacks there. They had to hit tackling dummies and then throw into a ball crate that was deep downfield. Ziegler had the most hits on the dummies of all the QBs, and his only miss during that part was about 2 inches off. His deep throws were a touch long. His footwork is a bit inconsistent but it’s not major and easily correctable. There were also a few throws where he held the ball a bit too long, but again, not consistent and very correctable.

*** Ziegler was in my top three 2027 quarterbacks that I want in this class based on film and he absolutely locked that spot in. I’m also impressed that of the top 2027 QB on the board he’s the only one that came to throw today. Very happy about that. Teddy Jarrard also visited and threw in another workout session, but Ziegler actually competed in the Irish Invasion portion. That told me something. I’d be perfectly happy if Notre Dame decided to make him the 2027 QB they went after. Really like this kid.

*** One of the most intriguing players I saw today was Derrick Baker. He’s built like a linebacker and is about 6-1 and 220 pounds. Really thick lower body. So he was a backup QB at St. Thomas Aquinas (Fla.) last season so he hasn’t started yet. He’s transferring to a school in Georgia. Baker has an absolute cannon for an arm. Very natural throwing motion and a very powerful throwing motion. My only critique is everything he throws is hard, so he’ll need to learn to throw with more touch on short throws, but he has tremendous arm strength. Ball really jumps out of his hand on intermediate throws and he was very good and accurate on deep throws today as well. Very intrigued with what he’ll do as a starter this season. Big time sleeper.

*** Shaun and Trevor saw Jameson Purcell during warm ups and liked what they saw. Said he had some nice mechanics and zip on his throws. I wasn’t as impressed during the 1-on-1 periods. I felt he struggled to really get the necessary power on throws beyond 10 yards. Good accuracy just didn’t really drive the ball as well as I hoped. Emmett Queen was really good in a lot of areas as well. He’s accurate, has good height and he throws with good timing. Good zip on short throws but when he has to push past 10 yards the ball just doesn’t come out with the power/velocity you want in a top level quarterback.

*** The kid with arguably the best arm of the day was Coldwater (Mich.) quarterback Dracyn Foster. Let’s get the issue out of the way now. He’s 5-11 and 170 pounds. He doesn’t look like a Division I quarterback and I think that’s going to scare off some teams. But goodness this kid has a howitzer connected to his right shoulder. Very quick and powerful release, accuracy was impressive and he threw with good timing. But the power he got on his throws today really stood out. The ball really exploded out of his hands, both when throwing the intermediate 15-20 yard in cuts and also when throwing the ball deep. Not only did he throw it far, but the ball got up and down in a hurry and his deep ball accuracy was as good as there was today along with Ziegler.

2028 QUARTERBACKS

*** Really liked what I saw today from both Neimann Lawrence of Miami Northwestern and Treyvone Towns Jr. of Oaks Christian (Calif.). Towns is bigger than Lawrence but their games are very, very similar based on what I saw today.

*** Lawrence has a really clean release and despite being thin he gets plenty of juice on the ball. Some guys are just natural throwers of the football, and Lawrence is certainly that way. Throwing motion reminded me a bit of Everett Golson. Just really fast, really clean and just looks like he was born to throw a football. He’ll rush things a bit but overall his mechanics are pretty pure for such a young quarterback. Ball placement was solid but not spectacular, so that’s something he can work on. Threw a number of really good deep balls. Keeps the ball outside for the most part and could drop it over the top on post routes. Could drive the comebacks and deep in/dig cuts.

*** Towns is a bit more mechanical with his release compared to Lawrence, but it’s still a pretty compact and clean. He had a few of the best deep balls of the day. When he snaps off his release his deep balls don’t float, and they come down with good velocity. Towns gets really good velocity on the ball when he wants to and it comes out with some juice. His ball placement was good and I was impressed with how well he could change speeds. A lot of younger QBs with arms like his throw gas all the time, but Towns showed a really nice feel for when to power the ball and when to throw with some touch. His ball placement was good all game and he’s a nimble athlete that moves his feet well when working through his drop, gather and throw.

*** Michigan standout Donald Tabron is another very talented 2028 passer that impressed me today. He’s tall and skinny but throws a really nice ball. His throwing motion is a bit long and causes some inconsistency with his release point, but his arm speed is really good and the ball jumps out nicely. He drove the ball on out cuts really well, threw with good timing over the middle and also had some really impressive deep balls. That’s the thing a lot of the QBs showed today, really good touch and skill throwing go balls and posts.

*** Lawrence, Towns and Tabron are all big time talents. I’m talking Top 100 type of players at the very least, and I don’t say that often for sophomore quarterbacks. Let me be more clear, rising sophomore quarterbacks. This is a very, very talented group.

*** New Jersey quarterback Carson Schoen had a good day as well. Power isn’t on the same level as Lawrence, Towns and Tabron but the ball comes out nicely. Very compact, quick and clean release with really good footwork. Threw a couple of really nice deep balls (post, go) and showed good timing and accuracy on throws over the middle. He’s a young player to keep an eye on. Had an impressive day today. He’s a bit undersized but has nice footwork. If he can get some more velocity on throws he could see a jump. Would like to see him snap the ball off a bit more, but showed some really nice tools.

*** Hunter Fujikawa is a kid I want to see more of. I only saw a few throws today so can’t really offer much of an evaluation. He has a long and awkward release but the ball really jumps out of his hand with some juice and he was accurate in the few throws I saw. He’s from Punahou, which is where Manti Te’o and Marist Liufau are from.

*** The same is true for 2028 QB JJ Chapman. Only saw a few throws from him today but I liked what I saw. On the shorter side but he’s built well and throws with a really compact release with a consistent release point. Got some good revolutions on the ball and was accurate on the few throws I saw. Will do some more film study on him after I saw a few impressive throws from him.