The 2016 Senior Bowl takes place January 30, and players have slowly been accepting invitations to the game. 11 players recently accepted invitations, and that group includes three quarterbacks. They are Stanford's Kevin Hogan, Mississippi State's Dak Prescott, and USC's Cody Kessler.
Initially, I had just seen that Hogan was coming to the game. Given his Bay Area presence, I asked Greg Valerio for a few thoughts on Hogan. Once I saw that Kessler and Prescott had also accepted invitations, I asked Greg for his thoughts on those two. I have posted those thoughts further down.
QB Kevin Hogan, No. 8, 6'4 - 225 lbs., 4.86 40
QB Kevin Hogan displays the physical attributes of an NFL caliber quarterback at 6'4" - 225 pounds with a strong arm, great instincts, toughness, and sneaky athleticism. Hogan shows poise in the pocket with good movement and easily feels the pressure around him navigating the pocket with great awareness and patience making the subtle movements away from pressure and climbing the pocket standing tall in the face of pressure. Outside of the pocket, he shows impressive mobility and displays toughness as a runner with a mindset of a running back showcasing his sneaky and unexpected athleticism. He is adept at making aggressive throws in very tight windows with excellent ball placement, and shows sound vision throwing his receivers open with great anticipation. Moreover, Hogan also shows the toughness in durability starting every single game since the end of his freshman year.
Hogan will need to continue to improve on his mechanics. Furthermore, although he has a quick release, Hogan's funky delivery, sporadic accuracy, and spurts of inconsistency could be an issue at the next level. However, he has shown the capacity to improve, where his efficiency has been steadily rising throughout the year along with his consistency; moreover, he comes from a pro-style offense with solid coaching. In time, and with further development, at worst Hogan is a quality backup, and at best, a functional starting quarterback managing the game with good decision making and putting his playmakers in a position where they win.
Projection: 4th-5th
Hogan's stats 13 games in: 194/283 with a 68.6% completion percentage, 2,644 yards, 24/7 touchdown to interception ratio, 79 rushes, 312 yards, averaging 3.9 yards per carry, and 5 rushing touchdowns.
On Hogan vs. Prescott and Kessler
I think Hogan fits in the middle between them with Prescott ahead of Hogan, and Kessler right behind him.
Prescott is a solid mobile quarterback with an improved game in the pocket. He shows good awareness and the capability to go through his progressions, but also explodes out of the pocket using his agility and athleticism to be a playmaker on the field. Prescott displays a good strong arm, nice touch on his throws, patience in the pocket, and is a dual-threat playmaker. His capacity to improve is what has impressed me.
Kessler is a bit undersized at 6'1" - 215 pounds, but he is an efficient accurate quarterback easily capable of reading the entire field and shows consistency in the pocket as well as patience. Kessler is a very intelligent prospect with great vision, pocket awareness, and instincts, and has experience operating in a pro-style system. An area of concern with Kessler is his lackluster height, foot speed, and arm strength (struggles to push the ball downfield). Kessler may not have the desirable traits and physical skills needed for the next level and seems to me a product of the system.