Lane Kiffin has been in the news as much for his antics on the sidelines and off, but this time he’s really gone too far when he referred to a player as ‘it.’
Lane Kiffin is a former football coach and current college football analyst. He was the head coach of the Oakland Raiders, Tennessee Volunteers, USC Trojans, and University of Alabama Crimson Tide. Recently he was hired as the head coach of the University of Florida Gators. However, on September 22nd, 2018 it was announced that he had been fired from his position at Florida after only one game. Read more in detail here: lane kiffin nebraska.
It’s draft season in the NFL, which means quarterback chatter is all over the press. This year’s class isn’t the most talented, but if a club can get a superstar, it won’t matter. Matt Corral of Ole Miss is one of the most divisive players in this year’s draft. Some believe he has the potential to be a better Baker Mayfield. Others, like one unknown AFC coach, believe he is purely a fabrication of Lane Kiffin, his college coach.
Matt Corral’s time with Lane Kiffin was fruitful.
During the 2019 season, Ole Miss quarterback Matt Corral appeared in ten games for head coach Matt Luke. He passed 105 out of 178 times, for a 59 percent success rate. He threw six touchdown passes and three interceptions.
During the offseason, the school dismissed Luke and hired Lane Kiffin, who had previously worked at Florida Atlantic.
Coaches like Mike Leach of Texas Tech and Art Briles of Baylor have pioneered spread offense principles, which Kiffin has improved on. The playbook is a straightforward, fast-paced approach that depends on vertical passing and check-downs to create space for the rushing and vertical passing games.
In this method, quarterbacks must swiftly get the ball out of their hands. Either they throw a fast screen pass or they read the whole field. They check down to a high-percentage completion near the line of scrimmage if the long ball isn’t available on the initial route.
During Corral’s two seasons with Kiffin, this strategy boosted his numbers. In 2020, he completed 231 of 326 passes for 3,337 yards and a 70.9 percent completion percentage. That season, he threw 29 touchdowns and 14 interceptions. The 6-foot-2, 212-pound NFL prospect completed 262-of-386 passes for 3,349 yards and a 67.9% completion percentage a year later. In 2021, Corral threw 20 touchdowns and just five interceptions.
Now, when pro organizations assess Corral’s pro potential, they must determine if his spectacular numbers are a result of his passing ability or a Kiffin construct. It’s the latter, according to at least one unidentified AFC coach.
In Kiffin’s offense, an anonymous AFC Coach destroys Corral’s numbers.
“This is the definition of a boom-or-bust investment.”
Through the perspective of coaches, scouts, and executives, here’s how I see Malik Willis, Kenny Pickett, and the rest of the 2022 NFL Draft quarterback class: https://t.co/gWz8HQ5WMo
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) April 21, 2022
Tom Pelissero of NFL Network recently released an article on NFL.com in which a group of NFL coaches, talent evaluators, and executives discussed each of the top 16 quarterbacks in the 2022 NFL Draft.
Pelissero requested anonymity from the pro football movers and shakers in order to get their unfiltered, forthright assessment on each of these prospective franchise quarterbacks.
An unidentified AFC quarterbacks coach believes that Ole Miss’ Matt Corral’s numbers are more from the coach than the quarterback:
Lane Kiffin’s schtick is s—. I know the stats, and the completion rate is high – it’s similar to bubbles and other small tiny things. I can see you saying, “Man, [Corral] can look very lovely throwing it, both technically and aesthetically.” He flips the ball over in a great tight spiral. And, look, guy, he’s athletic. Running for it, he gains yards. However, he has several inaccuracies. Even the ones that are completions are a bit off or back-hipped. He’s the sort of guy who, after seeing 25 plays, you’d say, “Well s***, let’s sign him.” And you’d say no f***ing way if I put another 50 plays together.
Matt Corral, an NFL draft hopeful, is being coached by an anonymous AFC coach.
It’s also worth mentioning that Pelissero’s criticism seems to have influenced the QB rankings in this piece. Behind Pittsburgh’s Kenny Pickett and Liberty’s Malik Willis, Corral is often ranked as the No. 3 quarterback in the class. He’s rated No. 5 here, behind Desmond Ridder of Cincinnati and Sam Howell of North Carolina.
In the NFL draft of 2022, which club will choose Ole Miss quarterback Nick Fitzgerald?
Matt Corral and Lane Kiffin | Getty Images/Michael Chang
Despite his flaws, and regardless of who is to blame for Matt Corral’s collegiate success, the California native will be selected in the NFL Draft in 2022. He’ll also hear it termed early. Corral will be taken by a team either late on Thursday or early on Friday.
The quarterbacks selected in this year’s NFL draft are some of the most divisive in recent memory. In 2022, around a third of the league’s clubs will be in severe need of a quarterback, while another third will benefit from an improvement or a longer-term solution.
That implies clubs will take chances on quarterbacks in the draft, and they will do so early. As a result, my guess is that Corral will be selected late in the first round.
Malik Willis and Kenny Pickett will be drafted in the top 20. There’s also a potential Desmond Ridder will fall into that category. However, in my mock drafts, I anticipate two quarterbacks being selected in the final two or three selections of the first round.
The Detroit Lions will choose a quarterback at No. 32, and another club in desperate need of a quarterback will jump back into the first round just ahead of them to draft their new QB1.
It makes sense for clubs to choose a quarterback in the first round of the NFL draft. While utilizing a first-round choice on a second- or third-round player has an opportunity cost, having a fifth-year option for a first-round quarterback is worth its weight in gold.
That’s why, after dealing with the Kansas City Chiefs, I have Matt Corral going to the Seattle Seahawks at No. 30.
Sports Reference provided all stats.
Cynthia Frelund of NFL Network describes one NFL Draft quarterback prospect as a “modernized Drew Brees.”
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