Matt Scott will try to work his way up from a late-round draft grade. Photo by Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images
Rich Rodriguez hasn’t been known for sending quarterbacks to the NFL, but Arizona Wildcats senior Matt Scott is getting a long enough audition to intrigue pro scouts.
“Not only is Rich Rodriguez throwing the ball more, but a lot of throws I saw were more complicated throws,” said Rob Rang, senior draft analyst for NFLDraftScout.com.
“They are further down field and forcing the quarterback to make more pre- and post-snap adjustments. So I like that. In that regard, Matt Scott is going to have more of an NFL skill set than Rodriguez has had with quarterbacks in the past.”
Scott isn’t majoring in the college-game read-option as did previous Rodriguez star pupils such as West Virginia’s Pat White and Michigan’s Denard Robinson. Arizona is passing about 54 percent of the time and using Scott only sparingly in the run game.
Scott will put plenty of throws on tape for scouts to evaluate as they determine how he might make the transition to the next level. Scott has thrown at least 41 passes in each of his four starts this season against FBS competition. (He threw 36 passes in three quarters vs. lower-division South Carolina State.)
“The mobility, the arm strength, the flashes of accuracy you’re looking for, it’s all interesting,” Rang said.
“At the same time, the accuracy is inconsistent and decision-making is inconsistent. He looks like a quarterback who has talent worthy of developing, but it’s still raw.”
Scott, who had started five games before this season, has completed 141 of 220 passes for 1,608 yards, with 10 touchdowns and six interceptions. By comparison, when Pat White was a senior under Rich Rodriguez in 2008, he threw 274 times for 1,842 yards in 12 games.
NFLDraftScout.com considers Scott a fifth- or sixth-round possibility for now, although there is a lot of football left that could change that rating, one way or another.
“A lot of it is going to be based on when he gets into an all-star game setting,” Rang said. “Playing in a more-traditional offense, he will have to show he make the adjustments.”