Scout’s Notebook – Quarterbacks from PRZ Next’s New Jersey Camp

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Last weekend I was able to link up with my old colleague and friend, the one-man industry himself <a href="https://twitter.com/AlPopsFootball">Al Pops</a>. Being what I consider at least, the nation's savant of identifying middle school football talent, Pops did not disappoint. As the event went on I got a pretty good look at all position groups. Here are a few notes I took from what I saw out of the day's quarterback group.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Quarterback Notes</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The first quarterback I happen to catch was [player_tooltip player_id='1165645' first='Justin' last='Spellman']. Spellman had, in my opinion, plus arm strength for an 8th grader. Additionally, Spellman throw a spellbinding out route, getting enough air on it so his target can catch it, turn up field, and run...... Tall (6'1") and slender (145lb) [player_tooltip player_id='972082' first='Gavin' last='Gilardi'] was a quarterback who seemed like he is comfortable being in total command of an offense. Gilardi had excellent footwork, moving in each direction of the pocket. He rare at this age, he also utilizes the pump fake, hoping to entice defenders to jump on his throwing motion...... [player_tooltip player_id='1160098' first='Vincent' last='Rossi'] threw the ball with some good old fashion John Madden mustard on the ball. This arm strength allowed him to deliver the ball with plenty of zip. This came to light when Rossi absolutely blasted the ball on an out route to the sideline where there was very little breathing room. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>If there is one thing I realized about [player_tooltip player_id='1131848' first='Anthony' last='Smith'], is that the 8th grader from Pennsylvania loves to stretch the ball vertically. It was almost as if Smith demanded his targets run fades, posts, flags, gos, and benders. Smith has the requisite arm strength to deliver the ball that deep and sufficient accuracy to give his target a chance to make a play. I imagine that he has better timing with his teammates than fellow camp goers...... The last signal caller I saw had the note "good arm strength if young." If [player_tooltip player_id='1277979' first='Austin' last='Marchetti'] was a 2028 I would not have bothered writing about him. However, the current 6th grader, and likely youngest camper of the day, had tremendous arm strength. I caught him at the very tail-end throwing deep wheels in 1on1's between the linebackers and running backs. Marchetti led his target's nicely where they were in position to extend and catch the ball. The boundary was a bit ambiguous given the playing surface, but Marchetti might be a name worth keeping tabs on in the very near future. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->