Jake Waters Announces Personal Pro Day, QB Aims to Prove He's NFL-Worthy

With less than three weeks remaining before the NFL draft, Kansas State's Jake Waters is the last quarterback prospect with something left to prove. 

After injuring his right shoulder Oct. 18 against the Oklahoma Sooners, the quarterback required surgery in the offseason. He's now ready to prove himself in front of NFL scouts and decision-makers. 

Waters will hold an individual pro day Friday for NFL teams to see him throw prior to the draft. The event will take place at 11 a.m. CT at the Kansas State Indoor Facility in Manhattan, Kansas. 

It's an important step for a quarterback prospect with the potential to be selected in the latter rounds. But teams have taken a wait-and-see approach regarding his progress before showing any real interest.  

"It was a Grade 3 AC sprain," Waters said. "I had shoulder surgery where they took a hamstring graft and tied it down. I had surgery Jan. 15, and I've been going to therapy and doing treatment twice a day basically since I was allowed to do anything. I started throwing a Nerf ball a couple of weeks ago. I'm now ready to throw a little bit and show my progress.

“At Kansas State's pro day (held on March 10), I talked with all of the scouts. They were saying, 'Let us know when you're healthy and good to go. Then we'll start talking more.' I've obviously been pretty limited with what I can do. Now, we're going to show everyone where I'm at, and then whatever teams want to do from there, that's up to them. Some teams preferred to see me when I was completely healthy."

Where Waters currently stands is somewhere less than 100 percent. 

While the decision was made to hold a throwing session due to Waters' rapid progress in rehabilitation, the overall workout will still be limited. 

“We're still figuring out what type of throws I can make at a high level," Waters said. "A 50- or 60-yard post is probably out of the question right now. We'll stick to more quick-game stuff. If we do a skinny post or something along those lines, I'll make sure to hit it early in the workout. Things like that. We won't keep it super long and concentrate on intermediate to short quick-game stuff.

“I'm still working to get everything where it was and even stronger. I'm getting there, and I feel great. We're just going to focus on the stuff I can do at a high level."

In only two seasons at Kansas State after transferring from Iowa Western Community College, Waters "broke the school's career records for completion percentage, passing efficiency, total offensive yards per game (260.2) and passing yards per attempt among QBs with 500 or more attempts (9.09)," per the team's website. 

That's an impressive feat when you consider the quarterback followed in the footsteps of Heisman Trophy finalist Collin Klein and former first-round pick Josh Freeman. 

But the offense Waters operated was completely different than the one orchestrated by the previously mentioned signal-callers. 

Player	Year	Comp. %	Yards	TDs	Interceptions	Rushing Yards	TDs
Waters	2014	66.0	3,501	22	7	484	9
Klein	2012	64.8	2,641	16	9	920	23
Freeman	2008	58.6	2,945	20	8	404	14

In fact, the Council Bluffs, Iowa, native was a maestro behind center.  

"What I really liked about K-State's offense was that I had complete control," Waters said. "I could change the play at any time to any play in the playbook. If we had a run on, and it was 2nd-and-5 but I saw a one-on-one situation with Tyler (Lockett), I could change the play to throw it to him. Or if we were in a situation where a play wasn't good against a certain coverage, it was my job to change it to a better play. The total freedom is what I loved about that offense."

That freedom extended beyond changing plays. 

Even with a veteran center in B.J. Finney, who was a four-year starter for the Wildcats, Waters owned final say over the offensive line and its protection calls. 

Scott Sewell-USA TODAY Sports

“Whenever I would change a call or play, it was on me to change the protection," Waters said. "B.J. knew where he was going, but if we had one more guy to one side, then I would point him out to B.J. and make sure he got him. We worked together, but I had final say on pretty much all protection calls. If he was telling me one thing but I saw something else, I had the final say."

In today's spread world of college football, this experience should prove to be advantageous for the two-year starter. 

So many offensive systems are based on hand signals or signs from the sidelines that quarterback prospects from these schemes usually find it difficult picking up NFL verbiage, relaying it in the huddle and making the reads at the line of scrimmage. Instead, Waters carried a heavy burden in Kansas State's offense, and it's beneficial when scouts assess his strengths and weaknesses. 

Unlike Klein, Waters wasn't asked to be a true dual-threat quarterback. His responsibilities started from the pocket. 

"It was more I had to go through multiple layers of progression," Waters said. "But the coaching staff also said, 'When you do take off and scramble, look at the yards you can get. If you see a lane or something you like, don't be afraid to take it.'"

There are concerns within Waters' game, which start with the lack of size he presents compared to his previous Kansas State counterparts.  

The quarterback is listed at 6'1" and 210 pounds, which is less than ideal for the position. There isn't anything Waters can do about his overall stature at this point in the process, though. 

He did identify key areas where he wanted to improve during the predraft process, even after his shoulder surgery.

"You always need to get better at everything," Waters said. "But when I looked at film, my feet were everywhere at times. I would throw with a lot of arm. My feet would be pointing the other way sometimes. This injury wasn't exactly a blessing in disguise, but I've only been able to work on my footwork. Hopefully, I've shored that up to get my eyes and feet tied together toward my target. It will only help with my power and accuracy.

"I've also focused on eventually having to learn a new system. Kansas State's offense is definitely unique. I'm trying to get myself familiar with all the new things that I'll be asked to do."

Below is an example of Waters' issues with footwork: 

Credit: NFLDraftBreakdown.com

Clearly, the quarterback's front foot is not pointed toward his intended target. While Waters completed this particular 3rd-and-3 pass, inconsistent or even improper footwork tends to affect accuracy.

When the Kansas State quarterback has his feet set and lets the ball rip, he can make tremendous throws.  

“I see a little Tony Romo in him, because he's very creative and he can throw on the run," Waters' agent, Craig Domann, said. "I've seen him make some passes into very tight windows. There are a lot of quarterbacks who can look good when the pocket doesn't break down.

"Statistics show over a 10-year period that the pocket breaks down 52 percent of the time. Half of the time, you have to be able to move. A quarterback doesn't have to be like Russell Wilson or Colin Kaepernick to run out of the pocket, but you have to be able to move in the pocket. And you have to be able to throw the ball at different arm angles. Jake can do that."

While the tweet below doesn't show Waters making a throw when pressured, it provides an example of an anticipatory toss into a tight window, as Domann discussed: 

Kansas State featured two crossers in the end zone during this particular play. Oklahoma countered with three defenders. 

When Waters released the ball, the first crosser had yet to even clear the window. Instead, the quarterback targeted the back-side crosser and threw a dart that resulted in a touchdown toss. 

It was a tremendous throw in a tightly contested conference game. 

A quarterback can't change a lack of ideal height, but he can certainly improve mechanics. And Waters showed enough as a natural passer to potentially warrant a draft selection if teams are comfortable with his recovering shoulder. 

“Best-case scenario is definitely Day 3 (of the draft)," Domann said. "He's not going to get into Day 1 or Day 2. With all the compensatory picks, Jake could go in the seventh (round), or he could go higher than that. From an agent's perspective, any team that likes him and goes back to the good things he does wouldn't consider it too early to take the kid in the fifth round."

The fact Waters played in the final seven games of his senior campaign with a shoulder injury and is still ready to throw for teams three months after surgery is encouraging. It's also a testament to his toughness.

"I'm a winner with a winner's attitude (with two high school state championships and a JUCO national championship)," Waters said. "I'm super competitive and have won everywhere I've been. I think I'm a winner who makes my teammates better. I also remain even keel, and that's what a quarterback has to be able to do. I was even named captain at K-State after only being there a short time. I've always prided myself on being the hardest worker.”

Treatment twice per day for five or six days each week certainly proves Waters' final point. This Friday's workout even came as somewhat of a surprise since Waters is so far ahead of schedule in regard to his rehabilitation that he's expected to be ready for training camp. 

“His progression through his surgery has been phenomenal," Domann said. "He can already throw the ball 45 yards, just not quite with the zip he had prior to injury or with as much velocity as he will have once he's completely healed. It's just an opportunity to see him make some throws, see his improved footwork and mechanics and just be the best he can be prior to the draft." 

When the workout is over, teams will have a better idea of how to evaluate Waters as a prospect. 

Upon closer review of the Kansas State product, those decision-makers will quickly discover Waters owns as much potential as any other quarterback being considered for the third day of the draft. 

All quotes obtained firsthand by Bleacher Report. All GIFs were made at Gfycat using videos from Draft Breakdown.

Brent Sobleski covers the NFL draft for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Twitter @brentsobleski.