In the Lab: Building the Perfect QB Recruit

<p>The QB position is the most important position to get right and when you do it can absolutely change a program and a university/school at the college/high school levels. It is so hard to get the position right because so much goes into creating a great QB. It is also difficult because QBs can succeed in so many different ways. They can change the game physically, mentally, with their arm or with their legs. When it comes to building the perfect QB we have so many traits to get right, but luckily for us we have a strong stable of talent to pull from between the Classes of 2025-2028. Let's get into the lab and build our Perfect QB.</p>   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Frame Build</h2>    <p class="text-gray-700">Size is going to be important for our QB. He needs to be sturdy to take hits or get away from a defender. We need him to be able to stand tall and see over the OL so he can scan the field without issue. Elk Mound's [player_tooltip player_id='685849' first='Logan' last='Jerome'] is the man to mold our game after. He has that big frame, but also isn't a statue in the pocket. Our Perfect QB is going to look the part at 6'6" 200 lbs.</p>    <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Arm Strength</h2>    <p class="text-gray-700">When looking for arm talent to build into your Perfect QB recruit it is nice to have an FBS commit among the athletes to choose from. Vance has the arm strength that we need. He is able to attack all three levels of the field. You see him put the ball on a rope to beat tight or closing windows. The arm strength opens up the entire field for his offense to attack and his OC to work with. We need an athlete who can unleash the fastball whenever needed and usually make it look natural. That is [player_tooltip player_id='383716' first='Vance' last='Holtz'].</p>    <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Three Level Accuracy</h2>    <p class="text-gray-700">Most years you won't be building the accuracy of your Perfect QB recruit around the talent of a freshman, but most years don't give us a kid like [player_tooltip player_id='998519' first='JJ' last='Chapman']. Watching him throw live multiple times already has made it very clear that JJ has some of the best command over his ball placement that we have seen from a WI HS product. It doesn't matter if it is a short, intermediate, or deep pass. JJ has pinpoint ball placement. Even when changing between touch passes or firing it to a spot with little air underneath it. JJ understands where to place the ball on every throw and executes at a super high level.</p>    <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Mechanics/Release</h2>    <p class="text-gray-700">This was one of the easier choices to make in building our Perfect QB recruit. Brady is a technician in the pocket. Every rep looks so close to the last. His feet are quick and are able to set or reset and get the ball out quick. The senior seems to always be in a position where he is set to get the ball out at a second's notice. The throwing motion matches the consistency of the feet. It is always over the top to negate odds of tipped passes. It is efficient, and the ball jumps out of his hand as he follows through over the top. I have been a huge fan of the mechanics of Hilgart over the years, so he was the quick choice here.</p>    <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Mobility</h2>    <p class="text-gray-700">The easiest choice of the bunch was [player_tooltip player_id='245969' first='MJ' last='Mitchell'] in our mobility build. MJ is an outstanding athlete who also happens to have an excellent arm. MJ's mobility works in two ways. The first is the most fun. Whether it be designed runs or scrambles off script, MJ is the best WI has when he breaks the pocket and line of scrimmage. He has elite acceleration and his agility and elusive running in tight quarters is the best I have watched. MJ is just as dangerous when he keeps it as when he lets it rip downfield. The other way his mobility is dangerous is that he can stay in the backfield and/or pocket and buy time to give his receivers time to get open. Those are killer scenarios for the defense because MJ is so hard to contain. If you don't get him down quickly he is usually going to make you pay.</p>    <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Decision- Making</h2>    <p class="text-gray-700">There were a lot of QBs and ways we could look at this category. In the end I wanted a signal caller with experience making good decisions and protecting the football. Wade 2nd all time in TD Passes in WI, 3rd in Passing Yards, and has the most completions in State History. Despite the massive production and years upon years of games, Wade's most important stats is that he never had double digit INTs. The most he has ever thrown in a year is 8 and overall he has a 92:24 TD:INT ratio. That is almost 4 TDs for every 1 INT. That type of success while protecting the ball is vastly needed for our Perfect QB Build. I love this addition to our build!</p>    <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Clutch Gene</h2>    <p class="text-gray-700">West De Pere's offense went as Patrick went. Good for WDP because Patrick was always ready to lead the way, produce, and find ways to win games. Greisen handled so much workload on a weekly basis. He averaged almost 30 attempts a game and 320+ yds/game. In the biggest moments and games Patrick was leaned on the most. The junior earned this spot because he delivered. And he delivered while the defense knew he was going to be dropping back. The spotlight is never too bright for the rapidly rising talent and that type of poise is what we need leading the way on offense.</p>    <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Under Pressure/ Off Platform</h2>    <p class="text-gray-700">Tanner was almost our choice for the arm strength category. However, where he is even more impressive is what that strong arm does when he is staring down pressure or throwing off platform. It is so impressive watching Tanner deliver the ball off platform. It doesn't matter which way he is rolling out, as long as he can get his shoulders around most of the field is going to still be in range for him to attack. He has throws throughout his highlights of him ripping it 40+ yards downfield while taking a hit and not only getting the ball there but showing excellent accuracy still. When the play breaks down or pressure gets through this is the type of performance we want built into our perfect QB recruit.</p>    <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Winner</h2>    <p>Joey Kallay out of Franklin HS was the very quick choice for the winner category as I went through each athlete. The Franklin product was a three year varsity starter, took his team to the playoffs every season and even led them to a State Championship appearance as a junior. Overall, Kallay delivered a 31-5 overall record. During that time Joey and Franklin earned 2 conference championships as well. However you want to break it down the senior QB wins, finds ways to wins, and does it consistently. I'm excited to watch him at the next level.</p>

The QB position is the most important position to get right and when you do it can absolutely change a program and a university/school at the college/high school levels. It is so hard to get the position right because so much goes into creating a great QB. It is also difficult because QBs can succeed in so many different ways. They can change the game physically, mentally, with their arm or with their legs. When it comes to building the perfect QB we have so many traits to get right, but luckily for us we have a strong stable of talent to pull from between the Classes of 2025-2028. Let's get into the lab and build our Perfect QB.