How Hidden Qbs Like Drew Mestemaker With No Film Or Offers Became Playoff Contenders

Two years ago, Eric Morris sewage a regular telephone from a friend asking if nan North Texas caput coach had an unfastened walk-on spot for a quarterback. 

The Mean Green happened to person 1 free that outpouring and didn’t mind bringing successful personification who could fundamentally service arsenic a campy limb nan adjacent fewer seasons to thief tally nan scout squad and get receivers further activity during practice. Morris asked for nan movie to cheque nan subordinate retired arsenic they were considering a number of options crossed a authorities that is overly productive astatine nan position.

“The feline conscionable started laughing,” recalls Morris. “He’s like, ‘Yeah, that’s nan thing. He doesn’t person any film. But conscionable spot me, this kid’s going to beryllium special.’ ”

Normally that would person been nan extremity of immoderate conversation, moreover astatine a Group of 5 programme for illustration North Texas trying to maximize each assets disposable and time off nary chromatic unturned. But nan spot facet ran precocious betwixt nan two, truthful Morris was intrigued capable to spot nan player, Drew Mestemaker, propulsion successful personification arsenic he narrowed down nan team’s options.

That made sense. The backmost position is nan astir important 1 connected nan section but besides nan astir enigmatic. NFL teams walk millions trying to fig retired which QB tin beryllium nan look of nan franchise and often millions much connected caller coaching staffs and beforehand offices erstwhile it doesn’t activity out. A bully assemblage signal-caller tin beryllium nan quality betwixt getting fired aft 3 seasons aliases contending for convention titles and moving connected up nan coaching ladder for those pinch hands connected a prima player’s development.

Despite being a erstwhile receiver nether Mike Leach astatine Texas Tech, Morris has a well-earned estimation arsenic 1 of nan champion backmost whisperers around. He recruited and coached Patrick Mahomes and Heisman Trophy victor Baker Mayfield arsenic an adjunct successful Lubbock, plucked eventual No. 1 prime Cam Ward from nan obscurity of moving nan helping T arsenic Incarnate Word’s caput coach and made 1 of nan fewer FBS offers for existent Oklahoma prima John Mateer erstwhile he signed retired of precocious schoolhouse pinch Washington State. Virginia’s Chandler Morris, who has nan Cavaliers successful nan heavy of nan College Football Playoff title aft spending past twelvemonth successful Denton, Texas, is different protégé. 

The coaching Morris (no narration to Chandler) has definite nonnegotiables erstwhile he initially sets eyes connected a QB, peculiarly a speedy release. He dislikes having to tweak aliases coach a player’s throwing mobility truthful having a precocious baseline to activity pinch is different container to tick earlier diving into footwork, wide limb talent, accuracy and more. Figuring retired really quickly precocious schoolers aliases transfers tin process and clasp accusation is besides paramount. 

Then there’s nan matter of seeing it each travel together up close.

“We want to spot these kids propulsion successful person. I mean, we won’t ever return a kid if I haven’t seen him propulsion successful personification live—to spot nan measurement they react, spot nan measurement they return coaching. We emotion them to play different sports, too,” Morris says. “We saw Mahomes play basketball. We saw Cam Ward connected nan hoops court. We saw Baker Mayfield connected nan shot diamond. We saw John Mateer connected nan diamond.

“Because there’s nary helmet on, you tin spot their facial expressions and spot immoderate activity styles that are difficult to show during nan people of a shot crippled pinch a helmet connected from truthful acold away.”

Still, moreover for a seasoned astatine navigating nan creation of uncovering a quarterback, nan presence of Mestemaker connected field was thing practically unheard of astatine immoderate level—more nan worldly of Rudy than existent life. He did not commencement a crippled astatine nan position for Vandegrift High successful northwest Austin (hence, nary film) and played mostly information and punter astatine nan varsity level anterior to looking for an opportunity to locomotion connected location successful college. The 6' 4" Mestemaker’s past full-time starting duties astatine backmost came backmost erstwhile he was a scrawny freshman connected nan school’s inferior varsity “B” team. 

“We saw nan earthy talent there. Big, strong, athletic, could make each nan throws. Obviously that was connected aerial and there’s nary videotape of him, but he makes decisions and processes accusation successful a hurry—which is 1 of his biggest strengths, successful my opinion,” says Morris of nan first workout. “We didn’t cognize if he was going to beryllium capable to put it each together. Quite frankly, we weren’t expecting him to. He benignant of conscionable brought him into campy arsenic a task and a campy arm.”

It didn’t return agelong for Mestemaker to spell from task to building artifact past season. He began autumn campy arsenic a existent freshman successful 2024 throwing pinch nan 5th drawstring but quickly progressed to beryllium nan team’s superior backup by their last scrimmage up of Week 1. After Chandler Morris near for nan portal successful December, Mestemaker was fixed his first commencement down halfway since ninth grade. By now a danasiwa subordinate connected nan team, he promptly group a schoolhouse grounds for passing yards successful a vessel crippled and showcased his wheels astatine nan position, too, rushing for a chaotic 70-yard touchdown that whitethorn person earned him a small much societal media attention than expected pursuing a consequent detour to a sideline trash can. 

Mestemaker played a large domiciled this twelvemonth successful helping North Texas to a 7–1 record, nan program’s champion since 1977. Last Friday against Charlotte, nan kid who couldn’t moreover commencement for his precocious schoolhouse squad coiled up throwing for 4 touchdowns positive a school- and conference-record 608 yards—the astir by immoderate FBS subordinate successful 5 years and nan 16th astir each time. The schoolhouse says it was nan astir yards passing successful a crippled by a freshman successful nan past 3 decades. 

What stands retired astir Mestemaker’s emergence from being nan rarest of overlooked gems astatine nan astir captious of positions is that he’s really not nan only backmost impressing from retired of obscurity this season. 

Vanderbilt backmost Diego Pavia is nan poster kid for nan creation of uncovering a standout passer. / Denny Simmons / The Tennessean / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The banner bearer for this inclination is people Diego Pavia, who has Vanderbilt improbably positioned to make nan CFP retired of nan SEC aft opening his profession astatine nan New Mexico Military Institute. According to search information supplied by Teamworks Intelligence, nan swaggering signal-caller ranks successful nan 97th percentile of each FBS passers for pouch consciousness successful 2025, a measurement of a player’s expertise to consciousness unit and flight sacks. He’s connected gait to group a number of profession highs and has accrued his completion percent astir 10% while besides raising his yards per attempt. 

While Pavia has go much of a known commodity nationally nan further into his profession he’s gone, others are jumping correct onto nan large shape moreover if they began nan play good disconnected of it. Pitt has besides joined nan Commodores, astatine slightest connected nan fringes, of nan playoff chat aft it switched to existent freshman Mason Heintschel down halfway pursuing 2 September losses nether incumbent starter Eli Holstein.

Heintschel has gone 4–0 since being handed nan starting reins and led nan Panthers to 3rd successful nan ACC’s standings down undefeated Georgia Tech and Virginia. He’s averaged complete 300 yards per crippled while throwing for 9 touchdowns and fixed life to a squad that has gone from acheronian equine to disappointing backmost to a threat to make it to nan ACC title game. 

That’s not bad considering Pitt was Heintschel’s only power-conference connection coming retired of precocious school, wherever he led Clay High School successful Northeast Ohio to its first convention title successful 42 years arsenic a senior.

“Part of maine wants to opportunity I don’t know. But portion of it is wherever I’m from successful Oregon, Ohio,” Heintschel said this week astir being overlooked successful nan recruiting process. “I show group I’m from Oregon and they deliberation it’s nan state. I deliberation it’s partially that … but I’m appreciative of what Pitt has done for maine and what they’re doing correct now. That’s a testament to nan coaching staff, particularly Coach [Kade] Bell and Coach [Pat Narduzzi], having that spot and belief successful maine to travel find maine and return a kid from a mini municipality successful Ohio.”

“I deliberation it’s recruiting evaluation, I deliberation it’s improvement and getting nan champion retired of our kids,” added Narduzzi. “That’s what we do arsenic coaches. Our occupation is to return nan players we get and make them productive connected nan field.”  

That’s what is besides transpiring astatine Mississippi, which mislaid a first-round backmost successful Jaxson Dart complete nan offseason, saw its prized starter Austin Simmons suffer an ankle wounded successful September and had to move to little-known backup Trinidad Chambliss to support nan Rebels alive—and thriving—in nan playoff chase. 

Safe to opportunity it has really each worked retired for nan Rebels, who whitethorn good person pulled nan retrospective coup of nan play successful snagging Chambliss from nan portal pursuing a standout four-year profession which culminated successful starring Ferris State to different Division II title successful 2024. In Oxford, Miss., nan dual-threat has passed for astatine slightest 250 yards and a touchdown successful each of his six starts while signaling 40-plus yards connected nan crushed successful each but 1 game. 

Even successful nan team’s lone loss, connected nan roadworthy astatine Georgia, Chambliss was masterful successful frustrating Kirby Smart and diced up nan Bulldogs defense for 3 scores arsenic portion of 5 consecutive touchdown drives to unfastened nan game. He followed that up by throwing for 315 yards to hit Oklahoma past week successful Norman, Okla. 

The truth that Chambliss is moreover astatine Ole Miss and performing for illustration has been successful nan SEC is singular fixed nan jump successful competition—he was ticketed to sojourn Temple earlier nan Rebels swooped in—as good arsenic a testament to his coach’s adaptability astatine nan position. Though Lane Kiffin has a rich | history of uncovering talented quarterbacks complete nan years, making love backmost to nan likes of Matt Leinart during his clip arsenic an adjunct astatine USC, lately that has included much players for illustration Chambliss who are arsenic vulnerable scrambling arsenic they are throwing darts extracurricular nan numbers.

“Maybe complete a batch of years it’s evolved, conscionable because of our violative strategy now and really we worth nan expertise to get retired of problem being really significant. Especially successful assemblage versus a agelong clip agone pinch nan really big, pro-style quarterbacks,” says Kiffin of his information process. “We saw [Chambliss’s] expertise to make plays and tally pinch nan ball. And he won a nationalist championship, you know? That’s a large deal.” 

That’s nan extremity now, nary matter nan level and nary matter wherever nan signal-callers travel from. 

It is often said that uncovering a backmost is much creation than subject successful trying to decipher a multitude of factors that abstracted nan awesome ones from nan types that upwind up arsenic recruiting whiffs aliases NFL busts. This play successful assemblage football, a fistful of programs person managed to unearth immoderate existent diamonds from nan unsmooth to find occurrence down center, adding a unsocial furniture to an already difficult task.

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