College Football 2011: The Top Incoming Freshman QBs and Who They Should Study

We're going to take a short break from our "Recruiting Hindsight" series and begin a series on the top 2011 recruits and players at their positions who they should study to get better.

Whether the player be a college star or a Pro Bowler, the great ones always want to improve their craft. Watching tape, taking meticulous notes and molding their games after great players is ideal.

For this series, we will recommend the recruit study a similarly skilled college or NFL star to whom we think the recruit compares favorably. This should be fun to write and read, and today we begin with the quarterbacks. I have picked out several top-flight 2011 studs that we'll take a look at.

Let's get things started, shall we?

6. Jacoby Brissett, Florida

Brissett is a 6'5", 225-pounder who also excels on the hardwood. He is headed to Florida and working with Charlie Weis could work wonders for his game. With a coach like Weis and Brissett's natural talent, the Gators may have struck gold.

Brissett has a great frame, a nice arm and also can beat a defense with his legs.

Player To Study: Josh Freeman, Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Why Freeman

Brissett is already 6'5", 225 pounds, and likely will gain at the very least another 10-15 pounds in Gainesville, thus putting him in the 240-pound range. Freeman is a big QB himself, at 6'6" and in the 250-pound range.

Yet, it is Freeman's work ethic that Brissett must study. You watch Freeman on tape and it is easy to see that he comes into games prepared, showing good decision-making and not relying on his big arm.

Freeman knows when to push the football deep and when to just take a single and get on base. Plus, he has garnered a reputation as a dependable, fourth-quarter clutch QB and that is something Brissett would be wise to add to his game.

5. Max Wittek, USC

Wittek is a big 6'4", 215-pound QB prospect headed to USC where he will fight to replace Matt Barkley either in 2012 or 2013. However, Wittek also replaced Barkley in high school for Bruce Rollinson at Mater Dei (Calif.). Wittek has a big-time arm and he has shown improved accuracy at every event he's been at. He's already at USC as an early enrollee and he is getting reps this spring.

Player To Study: Matt Barkley, USC

Why Barkley

I know this was a selection that was too easy, but hear me out.

Wittek has a reputation as a bit of a gunslinger, since he's big and has a very strong arm. This gets him into trouble sometimes, where he can force a ball every now and then.

Who does that sound like? Barkley? Yep.

But the talk this spring has been that Barkley has shown a big jump and dramatic improvement by not forcing throws. I'm not saying Barkley and Wittek need to be Captain Checkdown like Trent Edwards, but having Barkley learn to take what the defense gives him consistently will help him by leaps and bounds.

If Wittek can learn how Barkley did it himself, it will help the latter when he begins his fight to replace "MB7."

4. Brett Hundley, UCLA

Hundley is deemed as the savior to UCLA football and has a high ceiling. He's a super talent who fits the new Pistol offense in Westwood better than Kevin Prince or Richard Brehaut. At 6'4", 210 pounds, he's a dual-threat QB with a great skill set to make noise as a passer and a runner.

Player To Study: Colin Kaepernick, Nevada

Why Kaepernick

Kaepernick was a one-man wrecking crew at Nevada and now talk is he may see himself in the first round of the draft in a few weeks. Rick Neuheisel is so committed to installing the Pisol offense that he let go of Norm Chow as Bruins offensive chief and went and got Jim Mastro—who helped Chris Ault install the offense at Nevada, where Kaepernick went.

Both Hundley and Kaepernick are tall, long QBs with wiry strength, super-athletic ability and cannon arms.

Watching tape of Kaepernick operate the offense and learning how to find balance between attacking as a runner and beating defenses as a passer will help Hundley master the scheme. Mastro will surely pop in Kaepernick cut-ups in QB meetings in Westwood, and Hundley should be the main Bruins signal-caller with  pen and pad handy.

3. Kiehl Frazier, Auburn

Frazier is 6'3", 215 pounds and is headed to Auburn. He has already shown great leadership, as he became one of the top player-recruiters for any school in the 2011 class, getting Brent Calloway to briefly consider Auburn and helping the Tigers work Christian Westerman.

Player To Study: Cam Newton, Auburn

Why Newton

Again, I know this was an easy pick, but it is not just because he is vying to replace Newton.

Frazier ran a similar scheme in high school to what Gus Malzahn has installed at Auburn. Newton got a firm grasp of things quickly and Malzahn put him in a great position to succeed.

But people forget that Newton was a great passer and not just a runner. What Newton did well was find a balance of when to attack with his feet and be a bully with the ball, but Newton also did a great job hitting receivers in windows.

Watching how Newton did it—along with how Newton was such a focused clutch player at QB—would be a great first step in Frazier developing into a possible Heisman candidate someday.

2. Braxton Miller, Ohio State

Miller is already on campus at Ohio State and will battle Joe Bauserman to see who is the man for the first five games before Terrelle Pryor (and Jim Tressel) is off suspension. 6'2", 190 pounds, Miller has all of the tools to be an immediate starter and is one of the best players to ever play high school football in Ohio.

Player To Study: Donovan McNabb, Redskins

Why McNabb

See, I could have said Pryor–but now we get interesting again.

I also could have went with Pat White, the former West Virginia QB, or even former Buckeye Troy Smith, but I would like Miller to study McNabb.

When McNabb was first emerging as a stud, people claimed he was just a running QB. But I think McNabb may have made one of the best transitions as a QB in recent memory by going from a dual-threat QB to a pocket passer that can also run.

You watch him now and you see McNabb making most of his plays from the pocket, yet he still can buy time, attack the edges, make throws on the run and get upfield on his own. Miller likely won't ever weigh the 240 pounds McNabb is, but he would be smart to sit down and study McNabb beat defenses with his mind, as Miller shows many of the same traits a young McNabb did in his Syracuse and early Eagles days.

1. Jeff Driskel, Florida

Driskel is a 6'3", 225-pounder that enrolled at Florida in January and is taking reps with the Gators this spring. He has every necessary tool to not only be a top-flight starter, but a first-round pick one day.

He's the top incoming QB in the country and I expect big things from him at Florida, especially under the tutelage of Charlie Weis.

Player To Study: Carson Palmer, Bengals

Why Palmer

Driskel has a knock for having a long delivery every now and then, and it would be wise for him to watch Palmer's short stroke. Although Palmer is nearly two inches taller, both players have great athleticism in the pocket. They both have hoses for arms, mobility and good accuracy.

But Palmer learned to shorten his stroke and made it more compact, which is something Driskel needs to do. Also, Driskel needs to work on his mechanics from under center, another specialty of Palmer's. Watch Palmer and you see his solid footwork, quickness in his climbs, quick setup, balance, shoulder positioning and re-setting of his feet within the pocket.

Studying Palmer, a former No.1 overall pick, would be ideal for Driskel.