Q&A: Andover's Connor Wilkie Has a Strong Arm, and Gophers Interest

Donate To GopherHole
Impressive passing and physical size. It appears like he has good vision, a quick release and he can thread it. He will garner interest from more than just Minnesota next year I predict.
 

Can really move in the pocket. Gophers will have a lot of competition for his duties. Gophers need a good QB recruit in every class.
 

He's a big kid, with a strong arm, but is it just me or is his motion a little wonky (short-arm it?)? Maybe it could be called a quick release - I don't know.

If he is recruited at the Big Ten level, it'll be interesting to see how Kill and Co handle his recruitment. He doesn't seem to be a fit for their offense.
 

TCF=UnitedWeStand said:
He's a big kid, with a strong arm, but is it just me or is his motion a little wonky (short-arm it?)? Maybe it could be called a quick release - I don't know.
Click to expand...
I was thinking the same thing. Big, strong arm kid though with decent mobility for someone that size, those kids don't grow on trees.
 

Is he very mobile? In Kill's offense, you need to be able to run.

Carries per start by Gophers QBs:
Nelson: 9.86
Shortell: 7.25
Gray: 16

Kirkwood averaged less than 4 yards per carry when Shortell was the QB. The defense knew Shortell was going to hand off nearly every zone read.
 


Andover runs a spread pistol so I'm sure he can take off. But watching that video he reminds me more of an Aaron Rodgers-style QB; a pocket passer that picks apart the D and will take off into the blitz.

That's correct though, we like to run our QBs. Might need to develop some wheels. However, every coach changes their offense to adapt with the strengths of their players. Say we pick up a big bodied receivers, now we're a pass first offense. So who knows.
 

If you spent some time watching film on Wilkie, you would see that he makes great decisions and reads coverage very well. He throws the ball extremely well to all areas of the field with tremendous accuracy, which I attribute to his mechanics. The only downside that I can see, is that he isn't as fleet of foot as some of the other top tier QB's, although, at 6'5 and 200lbs, he might be faster than he looks. In my opinion, he will see many offers from D-1 schools and will be a top tier D-1AA recruit.
<iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/lWbgHEDrSFs" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
 

And I thought Taylor Martinez had a messed-up delivery...
 

dpodoll68, could you explain your qualifications as a QB coach and teaching mechanics of throwing a football? I would like to hear your take on how you would improve his throwing mechanics. In my opinion, he has some of the best throwing mechanics I have seen in recent years for a high school QB. At this point, I have him in my top 3 2014 QB's across MN,SD,ND,WI and IA.
 



EliteHSscout said:
dpodoll68, could you explain your qualifications as a QB coach and teaching mechanics of throwing a football? I would like to hear your take on how you would improve his throwing mechanics. In my opinion, he has some of the best throwing mechanics I have seen in recent years for a high school QB. At this point, I have him in my top 3 2014 QB's across MN,SD,ND,WI and IA.
Click to expand...

Give me a break, Mr. Wilkie. Just because I'm not an "Elite" "scout", doesn't mean I can't have an opinion. I've watched a hell of a lot of football over the last 3 decades. His throwing motion sucks. Period. He looks like he's executing a basketball chest pass. It doesn't mean he can't be good and/or successful, it just means that his throwing motion is terrible. If he has "some of the best throwing mechanics [you] have seen in recent years for a high school QB", I'd say you need to get out and watch a few more QBs. I'm sure that's tough to do while being the head coach at Andover. And as for your last sentence, damning with faint praise isn't exactly a ringing endorsement.
 

I am not the head coach of Andover or of any other high school football program.
 

I agree with DPO, it should be obvious to everyone that his throwing motion needs some serious work. But that can easily be changed with hard work and the right coaching, he's still only only in high school and clearly has some legit potential.
 

I didn't say that he has a perfect throwing motion and do agree that it needs some work (not "serious work"). Regardless of whom the Gophers or any other school are recruiting, I would never trash a potential player in a public forum.
 




EliteHSscout said:
In my opinion, he has some of the best throwing mechanics I have seen in recent years for a high school QB.
Click to expand...
You are either very biased here, or don't know what you're talking about. There are a lot of positives that stand out about this kid on tape, but there's also no doubt that his throwing motion is clunky (it almost looks like he's pushing the ball out of his hands). If you want to draw attention to a local player, that's fine (I love it when Minnesota kids get offers), but don't get upset when someone calls you out on a clear bias.
 

I would never trash a potential player in a public forum.

what? I hope you didn't take my saying his throwing motion needs work as trashing him. I'm no expert and was just observing, in no way was I trying to trash him. Saying he has legit potential is a compliment in my mind or at least was my intention.
 

My only bias comes in the fact that I was impressed with his arm strength and accuracy. I watched him play in person on 2 different occasions, along with watching him on film. I am not trying to draw any attention to this or any other player, I just noticed this article on this website and wanted to state my opinion. Obviously a few of you are experts in the throwing mechanics of QB's, so I will not comment further, but I will stick by my opinion that he is a top tier QB in the upper mid west.
 

EliteHSscout said:
My only bias comes in the fact that I was impressed with his arm strength and accuracy. I watched him play in person on 2 different occasions, along with watching him on film. I am not trying to draw any attention to this or any other player, I just noticed this article on this website and wanted to state my opinion. Obviously a few of you are experts in the throwing mechanics of QB's, so I will not comment further, but I will stick by my opinion that he is a top tier QB in the upper mid west.
Click to expand...

I have learned that it is best not to use the term "experts" on this blog. You might want to use a more neutral term such as Monday morning quarterback. Nah, that won't work either, but in all seriousness I wouldn't worry about it. It winter and there is a lot of pent up testosterone here.
 

Ok....

dpodoll68 said:
Give me a break, Mr. Wilkie. Just because I'm not an "Elite" "scout", doesn't mean I can't have an opinion. I've watched a hell of a lot of football over the last 3 decades. His throwing motion sucks. Period. He looks like he's executing a basketball chest pass. It doesn't mean he can't be good and/or successful, it just means that his throwing motion is terrible. If he has "some of the best throwing mechanics [you] have seen in recent years for a high school QB", I'd say you need to get out and watch a few more QBs. I'm sure that's tough to do while being the head coach at Andover. And as for your last sentence, damning with faint praise isn't exactly a ringing endorsement.
Click to expand...


I don't know coach Wilkie personally, but I'm sure he wouldn't be wasting his time talking up his son on here. I'm guessing "Elite Hs Scout" is a friend or relative.

To the throwing motion, I'm not a coach but he seems to short arm some passes. Big 10 schools must not mind it if they're recruiting him as a junior though. Time will tell on him.
 

You must log in or register to reply here.



Top Bottom