Max Brosmer is underrated

One thing you notice scouting college quarterbacks is the total lack of snaps taken under center. They are operating 100% from the shotgun. It’s not necessarily a huge issue. It was reported last year that 83% of all NFL offensive snaps are from the shotgun, with Joe Burrow and Jalen Hurts operating almost entirely from the gun. Recently, we’ve seen the Seahawks use a high percentage of snaps from the shotgun.

However, you do need to still operate under center. One of the bigger problems with college scouting is you don’t even know even know if these quarterbacks can take a snap under center. It’s very different having to turn your back to the defense, set and throw. This isn’t easy. You can’t project how good they are at this at a scripted pro-day. It’s why the Senior Bowl can be so useful and why seeing clear evidence on tape is vital.

Garrett Nussmeier, Cam Ward, Quinn Ewers, Shedeur Sanders, Kurtis Rourke. It’s all shotgun. Then you watch Max Brosmer and you finally see effective under-center snaps.

That’s not the only positive though. We talked about Brosmer over the summer as a player with real potential. He impressed at New Hampshire and transferring to the BIG-10 was a good opportunity to take his game to the next level. I think a few people overreacted to a so-so start where he didn’t immediately set the conference on fire. He has gradually improved, which is what you want to see. This culminated in a superb performance against Maryland on Saturday.

Look at this redzone touchdown. He’s under center. You can clearly see he’s eyeing up the receiver he eventually throws to. I don’t know what his instruction is here but you could arguably make a case he’s open on the slant very early in the route and Brosmer makes life harder by hesitating. However, how can you be critical when you see what happens next? He lets the receiver run through to the back of the end zone and then, off balance and under pressure, he delivers a perfectly accurate, lofted pass into the only area he can throw it to score a touchdown:

It’s a fantastic little flick of the wrist and the ball placement is spot on. He might’ve made the throw harder by waiting on the route but he still executes that throw brilliantly.

The next clip shows Brosmer under center again. It’s a play-action pass thrown 35-yards downfield on a dime.

Look at the anticipation on this throw. The graphic below highlights the direction of the pass. The receiver is off-screen in the TV copy tape so I’ve circled where he is. When this ball is released, he is behind the covering defender. Brosmer guides him to the perfect opening and he runs underneath the pass. This is a NFL throw:

Not only that, the velocity and touch is spot on.

The next clip shows off excellent poise in the red zone. This time he’s in the shotgun. Watch how he initially reads to the right, comes back to the receiver running across the middle and he adjusts his arm angle to deliver a perfect pass, keeping the ball away from harm’s way. It might seem simple as the receiver is open — but the adjustment with the angle of the throw never gives the defender a chance to recover:

Here’s another example of the anticipation he showed in this game. A lot of quarterbacks can execute a back-shoulder throw. Look at the clip and keep an eye on when Brosmer releases the football. The receiver is reaching the line to gain and is still sprinting through his route. He then turns at the 20-yard-line to track the ball, seeing it’s already on its way, and adjusts to make the catch. This is excellent timing:

The final clip highlights the kind of throw I like to see when I’m watching a quarterback. It’s a throw over the middle for approximately 30 air-yards, exploiting a physical mismatch, thrown in an area where only the receiver — in this case a tight end — can make the catch. Look at the ball placement and velocity here. You can’t defend this:

It should be mentioned that Minnesota got on top of Maryland early and there was very little pressure on Brosmer either in terms of game-situation or pass rush. He didn’t have to scramble once in the game — the first time that has happened this season. He wasn’t sacked and was only pressured seven times — the third fewest pressures he’s faced this season (Nevada & USC created fewer pressure vs Minnesota).

I don’t think Brosmer has fantastic physical upside. He’s about 6-2 and 225lbs. He doesn’t have a difference making arm, although it doesn’t look weak. He isn’t an escape artist and is more of a ‘decent’ athlete than an X-factor player on the move. I’m not convinced he’s a special player and will probably require a suitable scheme to make the most of his talents.

However, there is evidence on tape of NFL throws. He seems to be improving every week. His ceiling might be Kirk Cousins — and Cousins has had a very productive NFL career.

I think Brosmer deserves more attention from the scouting community.

Garrett Nussmeier has a weird day

The first half against Texas A&M was a continuation of Nussmeier at his best. He was delivering challenging NFL throws to all areas of the field. People like Jim Nagy and Todd McShay were tweeting about how impressive he looked. I joined in. Social media was buzzing with talk of Nussmeier potentially being QB1 in the 2025 draft.

He carries a confident, dude-like demeanour in the huddle. He’s good on third downs. He made big throws under pressure. He used creative arm angles to get the ball out. His anticipation was mostly spot-on. It was a terrific first two quarters.

Look at this throw (note the rare snap under center):

That’s a perfectly executed play-action pass in the red zone.

Here’s another example of a NFL-level throw that should’ve been caught:

Upside isn’t always about being able to run around or throw the furthest downfield, sometimes it’s about having the raw natural gifts to deliver high quality throws consistently. Everything was going extremely well for Nussmeier.

Then the second half happened.

LSU completely collapsed and he started to make the kind of occasional errors we’ve seen in prior games (eg South Carolina).

It’s worth saying that overall LSU chucked this away. They had missed field goals in the first half and could easily have been home and hosed by half-time. They allowed Texas A&M to stick around. When their opponents swapped quarterbacks and went with a runner instead, they had no idea what to do. The game-plan for Connor Weigman that worked so effectively was now redundant with Marcel Reed.

Suddenly the pressure was ramped up to 11 for Nussmeier to keep scoring and keep his team in the game. He struggled to do this and made unforced errors, with a touch of misfortune on two of the three picks he threw, I thought. However — this is where I think the inexperience shows. He might have been in college football for years but this is his first season as a starter. Frankly, it’s impressive how well he’s performed given the circumstances. He has delivered more NFL-level throws than probably the rest of the 2025 quarterback prospects combined. Yet he is still susceptible to ‘oh no what have you done’ errors.

He’s thrown 15 ‘big time throws’ compared to 10 ‘turnover worthy plays’ this year and the tape checks out with that. What is more problematic, however, is when you look at his numbers under pressure. He’s only thrown two BTT’s and six TWP’s. Compare that to Shedeur Sanders (6/3 ratio), Kurtis Rourke (5/2) or Cam Ward (8/4).

This might be why he ultimately returns to LSU next year. He’d benefit from another year of starting and his team would have a shot to be a playoff threat. I’ve always thought he wouldn’t declare unless LSU had a great playoff run and that feels less likely after their second defeat of the season.

Nussmeier has a ton of NFL potential and is a very intriguing player for the next level. There’s no substitute for playing experience though and working out the issues in your game. He does need to cut out the mistakes and I’d imagine he’ll try to do that in 2025.

A final point on this game — can commentators please stop assuming things? Chris Fowler, who is excellent mostly, said at the end of the game that it was unusual to see Nussmeier face pressure because he’s been protected well all season by ‘two NFL tackles’. Will Campbell and Emery Jones have been average or poor all year. They might not have given up a bunch of sacks but Nussmeier faced a whopping 17 pressures against Texas A&M. That wasn’t even his most pressured outing — he was pressured 21 times against Ole Miss. In comparison, Max Brosmer has only been pressured 13 times all season.

It was the same on Sunday when Kevin Burkhardt said it was a surprise to see the Seahawks lose three games in a row at home — yet their record in front of their own fans since 2019 is a mediocre 19-19. Lot’s of assumptions.

Some thoughts from Texas’ win against Vanderbilt

Quinn Ewers had a mixed day again. He had a tipped pass interception to start the game which was no fault of his. To his credit, he came roaring back with 17 straight completions — including the throw below for a touchdown:

He would’ve had 18 straight completions but Ryan Wingo the freshman clearly can’t track a football in the air at the moment.

In the first half I thought Ewers generally looked confident and in control. However, things got a bit ragged again later on. He didn’t handle the blitz well, failing to identify unblocked defenders and taking sacks. He appeared hesitant. He had a second interception on another tipped pass due to unblocked pressure jumping into his grill.

He did convert a great 3rd and 20 by buying time in the pocket, stepping up, then delivering a side-arm release to get the ball to the intended target for a key conversion in a one-score game.

I still don’t think he’s close to his best. He’s either still injured, he’s taken a huge confidence hit or both. The player we saw earlier in the season played with a swagger that is missing at the moment. His deep ball is also fluttering more than usual — which hints at some longer lasting health problems from the abdomen injury.

Ewers still possesses a lot of natural talent and potential. The angle on his draft stock will be — at what point do you take a chance on his upside, compared to having concern about his ability to stay healthy, consistent and avoid becoming erratic and hesitant?

On the offensive line, I thought Kelvin Banks Jr the left tackle (who will likely move to left guard) had another iffy day. Jake Majors the center looked great on the pull running into space, landing his block downfield. I thought he looked tremendous again.

Right tackle Cameron Williams had an absolute mare for the second week in a row. He’s given up two sacks and seven pressures in two games and it’s felt like more. His technique is all over the place. He might have the frame and the athletic upside but he can’t block properly at the moment. Williams shouldn’t declare. He needs games to work on his technique. He’d be a major liability in the NFL based on the way he’s playing at the moment.

Quick notes

— Alabama linebacker Jihaad Campbell just looks the part. He might be high-cut but he’s a unit who just looks destined to be a dude in the NFL. He’s a very consistent player and he’s only missed five tackles all season — despite playing on a struggling Alabama defense. His missed tackle percentage (6.8%) is 17th best among college football linebackers. I suspect he’ll be a second round pick.

— Another week, another injury. Drew Allar left Penn State’s win against Wisconsin with a knee problem. It’s unclear how serious it is and he’s being described only as a ‘game-time decision’ at this point — which could mean anything. Teams are not obliged to reveal the status of his injury and give their opponents an advantage. They are saying it’s probably not a long-term issue.

— Add another quality running back to the incredible depth for 2025. Auburn’s Jarquez Hunter looks ready made for the pro’s. He lacks truly dynamic change of direction skills and he’s not a ‘puts his foot in the ground and explodes off the cut’ type. However, he’s physical to run through contact like a lot of the players eligible for the draft (556 yards after contact this season, 11th most in CFB) and when he sees an opening he’s quick to shoot through gaps and make big gains. The NFL is going to see a major influx of running back talent in 2025.

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