Matt Corral: Scouting Report. Everything You Need To Know

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CARSON STRONG	MALIK WILLIS	KENNY PICKETT
BAILEY ZAPPE	SAM HOWELL	DESMOND RIDDER

BACKGROUND

Born in Ventura, California, Matt Corral originally attended Oaks Christian High School. He was involved in a well documented and high profile fall out which ended with Corral transferring to Long Beach Polytechnic High School, ending his 4 year high school spell with over 11,000 yards and 123 touchdowns.

He was a 4 star rated prospect, a top 100 recruit by all recruitment services and was the 60th overall player by 247 sports, but Corral’s college commitment was chaotic.

Corral had begun by committing to USC in 2016, but by the summer of 2017, had decommited before deciding his future lay as a Florida Gator. 6 months later, Corral had another change of heart and officially committed to Ole Miss to become a Rebel.

At Ole Miss, Matt Corral has been able to put up phenomenal stats. With 8287 passing yards with 57 touchdowns to combine with his 1338 rushing yards and 18 rushing touchdowns, Corral has been one of college football’s most dynamic quarterbacks. 

Corral leaves Ole Miss winning the Conerly Trophy in 2021. As well as twice being named a Manning Award Finalist and a two time Davey O’Brien Award semifinalist.

Leading Ole Miss to their first ever 10 win regular season, Matt Corral enters the 2022 NFL Draft as one of the top quarterback prospects.

Watch the video below which shows why Matt Corral will be one of the top quarterbacks drafted.

STRENGTHS

• Decision Making
• Arm Strength
• Scrambling
• Athleticism
• Awareness

Matt Corral has excellent decision making. He plays with good anticipation and awareness. He processes the field quickly and has the arm strength, mobility and athleticism to improvise when needed. In 2021, Corral has shown more maturity as a passer. He hasn’t forced throws as much as previous seasons and has taken his checkdown and thrown the ball away when the splash play is not on.

That awareness means he is able to give defenders ‘the eyes’ and manipulate them, causing them to bite. This opens up space for receivers to create separation.

Mobility has almost become an essential trait for quarterbacks entering the NFL and Corral is no exception. He has the athleticism to extend plays and has the arm to throw on the run. When the play breaks down he is a good scrambler and has the escapability to get the job done with his legs.

When used in designed runs Corral is patient at the runner, waiting for blocks and using his athleticism for extra yardage. Corral projects as a pocket passer, but his ability to create out of structure and his mobility to extend plays translate well at the next level

As for his arm, Matt Corral possesses an enormous amount of arm strength and playmaking ability. He throws the ball with zip and velocity which is good enough to make almost any throw. Corral is able to drive the ball with power into tight windows and through coverage.

He has great touch and control to drop the ball in between coverages, placing the ball in the receivers basket. Combine this with Corral’s ability to throw lasers on short and intermediate routes and you have a quarterback who can take over any game.

WEAKNESSES

• Consistency
• Placement
• Taking Contact

While Corral possesses great touch, he does sometimes under and over thrown receivers. His accuracy can be sporadic and he will need to become more consistent when he takes to the field in an NFL game. His ball placement, particularly when throwing the ball outside the numbers, is erratic. 

Corral had a lot of time to create plays at Ole Miss, being able to hold on to the ball for 5 seconds on some plays. He won’t get so much time in the NFL and you would like to see the ball come out quicker on some plays. His decision making in these situations is usually good, but as the game speeds up, so will Corral’s reads.

Another thing Corral will have to clean up as he adapts to the NFL is taking contact when on the run. He will need to recognise when to give himself up and slide to avoid contact as the game steps up and becomes quicker at the next level. He can make too much contact at times when it is unnecessary and it puts him in harm’s way.

It has already caused him injury and Corral will likely have to put a stop to that. He has the toughness and physicality to take the hits, but he cannot expose himself to hits in the NFL which would leave him more vulnerable.

SUMMARY

Matt Corral will firmly be in the discussion for QB1 and to be the first quarterback off the board in the 2022 NFL Draft. 

He displays fundamental traits which NFL evaluators and staff now require. He checks the boxes on arm strength and mobility, he just needs to become more consistent. 

Corral took huge steps forward in 2021, cleaning up issues and competitions well against top opposition. He has the nuts and bolts and there will be a team out there that feel they can secure them together to make a quarterback that can thrive in the NFL. 

How good of a prospect is Matt Corral? Let us know over on Twitter @NinetynineYards and @Owain_Jones_