Kentucky OC appears to be trying to create a narrative that makes Vols QB Hendon Hooker look bad
Kentucky Wildcats offensive coordinator Rich Scangarello appears to be trying to create a narrative that makes Tennessee Vols quarterback Hendon Hooker not look like a viable NFL draft prospect. Scangarello, a former NFL offensive coordinator who was fired after just one season with the Denver Broncos (Denver had one of the worst scoring offenses in […]
Kentucky Wildcats offensive coordinator Rich Scangarello appears to be trying to create a narrative that makes Tennessee Vols quarterback Hendon Hooker not look like a viable NFL draft prospect.
Scangarello, a former NFL offensive coordinator who was fired after just one season with the Denver Broncos (Denver had one of the worst scoring offenses in the NFL that season), was asked by reporters this week about Kentucky's offense and how it better prepares quarterbacks (not my words) for the NFL.
"It's a big deal, it's a huge deal," said Scangarello when asked about Kentucky's offense better preparing Will Levis for the NFL. "Knowing the guys I've talked to and knowing the why and having done every draft for the last five years, I know how it works. And I know it's hard for people to evaluate spread quarterbacks in college. In the NFL, there's a learning curve of things that's too long to list that does make it hard for those guys."
"Patrick Mahomes [is] a generational player, but he also sat for a year and it was helpful. That's the difference. Will (Levis) will be ready day one. He'll walk in and he'll own it. He can call a play, he can visualize it, he knows protections, he knows the run game, he knows coverages, he knows fronts, he knows it all. That part of the game comes with playing in this kind of offense, which does help the developmental process with those types of quarterbacks. So yeah, in the big picture, it's why he will be one of the first guys picked. It's why people will respect that and see that."
This might be one of the most ignorant things I've heard from a coach.
For starters, Scangarello comes off as incredibly smug. I can see why he's failed in the NFL (though he loves to reference his time in the NFL, despite the fact that he destroyed the Broncos' offense in 2019).
This old way of thinking that only quarterbacks who play in a pro-style offense in college (those are becoming more and more obsolete by the way) can excel in the NFL is absurd.
We've seen plenty of quarterbacks make the jump from a non-pro system to the NFL just fine. Scangarello mentioned Mahomes, which is obviously one of the best examples. Mahomes played in the Air Raid offense in college and made the jump just fine to the NFL. Sure, he sat a year — a fact that Scangarello mentioned trying to discount Mahomes' success — but I always think that's the best idea for a rookie quarterback in general.
Future NFL Hall of Famer Drew Brees famously played in a wide-open spread system at Purdue in college. I'd say he worked out just fine.
Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow also came from a spread system at LSU under Steve Ensminger and Joe Brady and he started from day one in the NFL.
Beyond those examples, there's also the fact that Hooker is having to quickly read defenses, process information, make the correct reads, and execute, all while moving at an extremely fast pace.
If you're an NFL team, who would you want running your two-minute drill right now? Hooker or Levis?
Because we have evidence that Hooker can do things that we've seen Mahomes do.
Hooker is smart, accurate, has a strong arm, and is a great leader. And he's generating first-round buzz already.
Sorry, Scangarello, your narrative isn't going to work. No one is buying what a failed NFL assistant is trying to sell to SEC fans.
Featured image via Saul Young/News Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK
