Carson Strong: Scouting Report. Everything You Need to Know.

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KENNY PICKETT	MALIK WILLIS	MATT CORRAL
BAILEY ZAPPE	DESMOND RIDDER	SAM HOWELL

• Height: 6’4”
• Weight: 215 Lbs
• College: Nevada
• Year: Junior
• Position: Quarterback

BACKGROUND

Looking for the model fit for the big, classic, pocket Quarterback? Look no further than Carson Strong.

Strong has shot up in expectations since starting for Nevada. Joining the Wolfpack following an impressive high school career where he played both football and basketball for Wood High School in California.

Making his first start for the Wolfpack in 2019, Strong flew out of the blocks with 3 touchdowns and 295 yards in a 34-31 win over Purdue. He then failed to score in his following 5 games, but impressed in his final 5 with 8 touchdowns and only 1 interception. Finishing his Freshman season completing 63.4% of his passes with 11 touchdowns and 7 interceptions.

Continuing this fine late season 2019 form, he dazzled throughout the entirety of 2020; completing 70.1% of his passes and with 27 touchdowns to only 4 interceptions leading the Wolfpack to a 7-2 record. Finishing the season leading the Mountain West Conference in both touchdowns and yards (2858). Strong only had one game without multiply touchdowns and one with fewer than 260 yards.

Watch the video below which shows Strong’s absolute cannon of an arm!

STRENGTHS

• Strong Arm
• Accurate
• More Room for Improvement
• Nice Size
• Good Pre-Snap Awareness
• He can punt too

There’s one word which describes Carson Strong’s technique, textbook. Any young quarterback of the future should check out Strong’s tape, it’s a pleasure to watch. His arm strength is super impressive, making 50+ yard throws look easy. Add that to his accuracy and it’s no surprise why some are talking him up as a potential first round pick.

As all good pocket quarterbacks do, Strong makes great reads before the snap. Adjusting his protection efficiently to maximise the time he has before letting lose and giving his receivers the best chance of getting open.

With at least one year left in college, Strong has the opportunity to add to his impressive CV. He’s taken big steps in his second year as a starter and if he can continue on his current trajectory he should easily be a first round pick next spring.

WEAKNESSES

• Lack of Competition
• Doesn’t run the ball
• Need to further through his progressions

This isn’t really Strong’s fault, but playing in the Mountain West Conference, Strong hasn’t faced the most difficult opponents. In Strong’s two years as a starter, only 6 defensive players have been drafted from his conference. None earlier than the 3rd round. Of those 6, Strong only played against 4.

It’s not that Strong can’t run, he does a good job of moving around the pocket, but he rarely uses his legs other than to avoid pass rush; which is fine if it’s not something in the playbook. However, it would be nice to see him make something happen with his legs when things breakdown. That or the odd quarterback sneak. He’s yet to score a rushing touchdown.

When your top receiver is the conference leader in touchdowns (9) and receiving yards (1002) AKA. 6’2″, 200lb receiving monster Romeo Doubs, it can occasionally be understandably why you’d lock onto your number one receiver. But, that won’t cut it in the pros. Far too often, Strong would go straight to his check down receiver rather than fully going through his progression. Even for a second year starter half field, 3 target reads should be part of their repertoire. He’ll need to work on that this year.

SUMMARY

If this was Strong’s report before the draft, we’re talking about a mid round pick. Anyone with his arm strength and prototypical quarterback size will always catch scouts’ eyes. Currently, Strong is far from the complete package, he’ll need to add to his game. A chat with his coordinator to include some planned runs will definitely help tick boxes for NFL teams.

If he can learn to read the field better, which typically comes with more experience, Strong has every chance of making a career in the NFL. Strong has at least one year left at Nevada and if he can keep improving he’ll no doubt be flying up draft boards.

How good of a prospect is Carson Strong? Let us know over on Twitter @NinetynineYards and @I_Am_Beej

Image Credit: 247Sports

Video Credit; Thanks to Sport Productions & ESPN College Football on YouTube.