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[mmqb.si.com]
THE QB: Carson Wentz, North Dakota State
THE COACH: Tim Polasek, offensive coordinator, NDSU
OFFENSE: Multi-spread
Polasek, 36, returned to North Dakota State to lead the offense in 2014 after a short stint at Northern Illinois. Carson Wentz passed for 3,111 yards and 25 touchdowns with 10 interceptions in his first season as a starter in 2014, utilizing vertical passing concepts popular in pro football and foreign to many college spread offenses.
During the pre-draft process, Polasek was quizzed on Wentz’s mastery of the offense and his pre-snap responsibilities. Like Goff, Wentz had the ability in an injury-shortened 2015 season to check to a prescribed run or pass play with an additional check the coaches simply called “Carson.” If Wentz recognized a trouble situation, he could spout any play in the book. Additionally, Wentz was required to call out the protection on every pass play, a job for most NFL centers.
“The NFL people have been blown away with what he’s had to handle protection wise,” Polasek says. “The quarterbacks he’s being compared to are not necessarily allowed to make checks or the right protection call. There’s going to be multiple times in a game where he checks from run to pass. He’s got situations that he has to get us out of otherwise I look really bad as a play-caller.”
However, the most popular questions Polasek faced concerned the level of competition: How good is the FCS, really? What has this kid really been exposed to?
NDSU has won the last five FCS titles and has never had a losing season, and they currently boast five active NFL players, including Jets cornerback Marcus Williams, who picked off six passes in 2015. The same cannot be said for conference opponents like Missouri State and Southern Illinois. NDSU coaches have been using variations of the same anecdote to defend the level of play: Wentz schooled the best defense in the FCS on a daily basis in practice.
“He torched our defense in practice since he walked on campus,” Polasek says. “The corner he picked on when he was a redshirt freshman was Marcus Williams.”
From a physical standpoint, at 6-5, 237, Wentz checks all the boxes, but scouts have wondered about his mechanics. Several have noted Wentz’s tendency to hold the ball longer than necessary or hold the ball for a split-second too long when the open man appears.
Says Polasek: “Can he play faster? Yes. And I think he’s ready for that. There are so many times when he was like, can we make that five steps instead of seven?”
The truly thorough NFL teams, including one whose entire offensive staff has already worked out Wentz privately in Fargo in advance of his pro day today, have quizzed Polasek on Wentz’s character. Can he really be the consummate leader he’s being described as?
“They say, guys, there’s got to be something with his character. This guy can’t be perfect. But those questions have gone away,” Polasek says. “Carson does his best work while we’re not watching, and he’s not a nightlife guy. This is a kid who would be in his truck by 4 p.m. on Saturday and go hunt geese all weekend, and be in the office by 7 a.m. Monday morning and still get a 4.0 GPA.”
THE QB: Carson Wentz, North Dakota State
THE COACH: Tim Polasek, offensive coordinator, NDSU
OFFENSE: Multi-spread
Polasek, 36, returned to North Dakota State to lead the offense in 2014 after a short stint at Northern Illinois. Carson Wentz passed for 3,111 yards and 25 touchdowns with 10 interceptions in his first season as a starter in 2014, utilizing vertical passing concepts popular in pro football and foreign to many college spread offenses.
During the pre-draft process, Polasek was quizzed on Wentz’s mastery of the offense and his pre-snap responsibilities. Like Goff, Wentz had the ability in an injury-shortened 2015 season to check to a prescribed run or pass play with an additional check the coaches simply called “Carson.” If Wentz recognized a trouble situation, he could spout any play in the book. Additionally, Wentz was required to call out the protection on every pass play, a job for most NFL centers.
“The NFL people have been blown away with what he’s had to handle protection wise,” Polasek says. “The quarterbacks he’s being compared to are not necessarily allowed to make checks or the right protection call. There’s going to be multiple times in a game where he checks from run to pass. He’s got situations that he has to get us out of otherwise I look really bad as a play-caller.”
However, the most popular questions Polasek faced concerned the level of competition: How good is the FCS, really? What has this kid really been exposed to?
NDSU has won the last five FCS titles and has never had a losing season, and they currently boast five active NFL players, including Jets cornerback Marcus Williams, who picked off six passes in 2015. The same cannot be said for conference opponents like Missouri State and Southern Illinois. NDSU coaches have been using variations of the same anecdote to defend the level of play: Wentz schooled the best defense in the FCS on a daily basis in practice.
“He torched our defense in practice since he walked on campus,” Polasek says. “The corner he picked on when he was a redshirt freshman was Marcus Williams.”
From a physical standpoint, at 6-5, 237, Wentz checks all the boxes, but scouts have wondered about his mechanics. Several have noted Wentz’s tendency to hold the ball longer than necessary or hold the ball for a split-second too long when the open man appears.
Says Polasek: “Can he play faster? Yes. And I think he’s ready for that. There are so many times when he was like, can we make that five steps instead of seven?”
The truly thorough NFL teams, including one whose entire offensive staff has already worked out Wentz privately in Fargo in advance of his pro day today, have quizzed Polasek on Wentz’s character. Can he really be the consummate leader he’s being described as?
“They say, guys, there’s got to be something with his character. This guy can’t be perfect. But those questions have gone away,” Polasek says. “Carson does his best work while we’re not watching, and he’s not a nightlife guy. This is a kid who would be in his truck by 4 p.m. on Saturday and go hunt geese all weekend, and be in the office by 7 a.m. Monday morning and still get a 4.0 GPA.”
