Is Sam Houston State QB Jeremiah Briscoe the Next Carson Wentz?

PHILADELPHIA, PA – APRIL 27: A view of the stage prior to the first round of the 2017 NFL Draft at the Philadelphia Museum of Art on April 27, 2017 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images) /

As soon as football season ends and draft season swings into full gear, player comparisons start to pop up all over the place. While many comparisons are reasonable, the inevitable “next Tom Brady” or “next Lawrence Taylor” mentions hopelessly begin to flood the Internet.

The following comparison is a little different as Jeremiah Briscoe, the current starting quarterback at Sam Houston State, is not the same type of player former North Dakota State and current Philadelphia Eagles QB Carson Wentz was or is. Instead the two are being compared as the latest and possibly next FCS quarterbacks to be selected in the first round of the NFL Draft.

Unlike Wentz who was an unheralded recruit out of North Dakota with zero FBS offers, Briscoe had multiple offers to play at college football’s highest level. Those offers included power five programs such as Arkansas and Baylor, but Briscoe settled on the University of Alabama at Birmingham.

After a redshirt season and a year as a backup, UAB cut the football program. While the Blazers will return to the gridiron in 2017, Briscoe is long gone. He transferred to Sam Houston State at the FCS level and has dominated opposing defenses. In 2016, his only season as a full-time starter, Briscoe set a new FCS record with 57 touchdown passes in a season. In 13 games he threw for 4,602 yards while completing 62.6 percent of his passes.

The reigning Walter Payton Award winner as the top offensive player at the FCS level, Briscoe will look to conclude his college career with a deep playoff run and enhanced draft profile. Does he have what it takes to join Wentz, Joe Flacco, Steve McNair and Phil Simms among others to be first-round picks from the FCS? Before he begins his final season with the Bearkats, here’s an early scouting report on one of the top FCS prospects for the 2018 NFL Draft.

Overview

Jeremiah Briscoe, a 2013 four-star recruit, has started 15 of 33 career games, compiling a record of 14-1 as a starting quarterback. He underwent shoulder surgery in 2013 to repair a torn rotator cuff on his throwing arm. He would redshirt that season before earning the backup role at UAB as a redshirt sophomore. After the Blazers axed the football program, Briscoe transferred to Sam Houston State.

In his lone season as a starter, Briscoe led the Bearkats to an 11-0 regular season before losing in the quarterfinals of the FCS playoffs. He possesses solid size on a sturdy frame with adequate athletic ability.

Measurements

Height: 6’3″

Weight: 225 lbs.

Games Watched

2016: Chattanooga, Houston Baptist, Incarnate Word, James Madison, Stephen F. Austin

Strengths

Jeremiah Briscoe demonstrates good mental processing skills before the snap as he reads coverages and audibles when necessary. Once the ball is snapped, he diagnoses any coverage changes and pressure quickly as a result of very good football intelligence. Understanding the defense, Briscoe knows when he needs to handoff or keep the ball on a run-pass option, get rid of the ball quickly and when he has time to go through his progressions. When going through progressions, he does a very good job of analyzing the entire field and making good decisions with the football.

Here’s an excellent example of Briscoe’s mental processing skills. He realizes quickly that he has time to read the entire field. After deciding the first read to his right wasn’t a good option, Briscoe shifts his focus back to the middle of the field. The receiver coming across the middle from left to right has a step on his defender and Briscoe finds him for a nine-yard gain. While that doesn’t seem like a play that would stand out, his situational awareness is on full display here as he can’t afford to make a mistake deep in the opponent’s territory. Since this was only first down, he takes what the defense gives him and begins marching his offense downfield.

Love the awareness/decision making from Sam Houston St QB Jeremiah Briscoe. Goes to 2nd read rather than forcing pass deep in opp territory. pic.twitter.com/ayWgsqLDXT
— Shawn Spencer (@Spencer_NFL) July 19, 2017

While Briscoe had all day to throw the pass in the play above, the following play shows he can make quick decisions as well. When pressured he displays solid poise, remaining calm with defenders closing in. Whether he needs to step up in the pocket or scramble in either direction, Briscoe is able to extend the play.

Here, Briscoe faces pressure coming quickly from his right. Knowing he can’t take a sack on third down in the red zone, he takes a couple quick steps to his left and fires an off-balance strike to the receiver in the corner of the end zone. He’s able to get just enough zip on the ball to drive it past the defender trying to break up the pass.

As he did on that play, Briscoe took plenty of hits throughout the season. Even after taking numerous shots in the FCS playoffs to his surgically-repaired throwing shoulder, he displayed very good competitive and physical toughness by staying in the game.

Despite the surgery, Briscoe still has plenty of arm strength. Not only can he throw an accurate deep ball, but he also possesses the arm strength to hit receivers along the sideline from the opposite hash. He does both on this play against Stephen F. Austin in 2016. Briscoe finds his receiver one-on-one outside the numbers and delivers a perfectly placed ball just over the outstretched arms of the defensive back and into the hands of his receiver for one of his seven touchdown passes in the game.

Briscoe does a very good job of combining aggressiveness with good decision making. As a result, he excelled in critical situations such as third downs and in the red zone. He completed nearly 58 percent of his passes on third down, converting over 42 percent of those attempts into first downs. Even more impressive, he took only four sacks on third down all season. In the red zone he did a solid job of protecting the football, throwing 28 touchdown passes compared to just two interceptions. When he did make a mistake and turn the ball over (he threw 10 interceptions and lost one fumble as a junior), he bounced back quickly, leading his team to an average of 3.18 points on the following drive. In comparison, potential number one overall pick in the 2018 NFL Draft, Josh Allen of Wyoming, averaged just 1.75 points per drive following a turnover.

Weaknesses

Jeremiah Briscoe is listed at 6-foot-3, yet a slight drop in his delivery causes the ball to be released too low. This creates opportunities for the defense to knock down the pass at the line of scrimmage. The arm action in his delivery isn’t as noticeable as say Philip Rivers of the San Diego Chargers, however the release point is something that will need to improve at the next level.

Even when he has plenty of time to throw the ball, Briscoe does have a tendency to rush screen passes. The same is true when on the run as his adequate athletic ability hampers his accuracy on the move. In both cases, the end result is too often a ball in the dirt.

The biggest weakness Briscoe has displayed over the course of his college career is accuracy over the middle of the field. His completion percentage on such throws is solid, however ball placement is marginal leading to receivers having to adjust to his passes. Once this happens, the receivers are unable to maintain full speed and maximize yards after the catch.

Two examples of this are shown below. While the passes result in completions at the FCS level, this is how turnovers occur in the NFL. In the first example, the receiver has an easy touchdown if Briscoe places the ball out in front. Instead, the ball is thrown well behind the receiver and very easily could have been picked off. The receiver does a very good job of adjusting to the pass and finding the end zone.

In the second example, Briscoe has a wide open receiver running down the middle of the field. Without a defender in the area, he has plenty of space to place the ball, but the pass sails high and almost out of his target’s reach. The receiver is forced to spin around to make the catch, significantly slowing his ability to maximize yardage.

As a runner, Briscoe will take off when given an open field, however his mobility is adequate and he isn’t much of a running threat.

Overall

Overall, Jeremiah Briscoe is a developmental quarterback who can be a future starter at the next level. He wins with arm strength and very good decision making skills. He’s not someone who can consistently hit receivers in stride to maximize yards after the catch.

More from NFL Mocks

Although Briscoe isn’t rated as a top prospect at this time, a lot can change over the course of his final season. Carson Wentz wasn’t projected as an early-round pick at this time either and he ended up missing significant time due to injury as a senior as well. While there are a few aspects of his game that Briscoe must show improvement on in 2017, the offseason is when he’ll have the opportunity to make a giant leap on draft boards.

If Briscoe can stand out like Wentz did at the Senior Bowl and continue to gain momentum through the Scouting Combine and his pro day, an early selection isn’t out of the question. He likely won’t be chosen as early as Wentz, but day two, which has seen FCS quarterbacks such as Jimmy Garoppolo and Tarvaris Jackson come off the board, would be a logical time for Briscoe to be selected in the 2018 NFL Draft.

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