Louisville football: Is Blaze McKibbin the right guy for the Cards at QB?

With National Signing Day near, Louisville football was set for a big recruiting weekend. One intriguing prospect was West Coast QB, Blaze McKibbin. Could he be the “right guy?” 

Coach Satterfield and his staff are equipped with the tough task of trying to plug a lot of holes on this football roster. As Coach Satterfield has stated publicly, there’s a lot of imbalance for one reason or another involving the Louisville football roster.

There’s immediate help needed at the quarterback, tight end and offensive line positions. With approximately only 10-12 scholarships left to give, it’s imperative the staff be selective, yet land the “right guy.”

I keep putting the emphasis on the “right guy”  because Coach Satterfield has been adamant when speaking with the media about getting the “right guys” here in place to represent the University of Louisville. Enter West Coast QB Prospect, Blaze McKibbin.

McKibbin, a 3 star QB ut of Anaheim, California, has a lot of tools and promise and really is one of the biggest “sleeper” recruits in the country at his poisition. He has the solid, big frame you like to see at QB. A strong kid with a nice release, his arm strength will transition to the college game nicely. The question is does QB coach Frank Ponce and Head Coach Scott Satterfield think he’s a take?

Standing at 6’5, he has a really nice throwing motion. Looks very natural. McKibbin does a nice job of getting his feet under him before he throws. Your foundation and feet have to be right. That’s essential for accuracy and putting zip on the ball to drive the ball where you want it to go. It always starts with your base. At the foundation.

You can work on a player’s release, whether or not they have a hitch in their throwing motion; it’s all a moot point if you don’t fix a player’s base. All the other stuff from their feet up is never going to be consistently right if you don’t start there first.

McKibbin shows the ability to consistently drive the ball into windows downfield where only his receiver can catch it. He also shows great knowledge of how to set and work from within the pocket.

https://twitter.com/_dannyh131/status/1086011719216881667

His pocket awareness and ability to climb the pocket when necessary stands out on tape. A pro-style QB, McKibbin has made it a point of emphasis to work on his athleticism this past season.

You can catch Blaze McKibbin’s full highlights here.

As a point of emphasis, McKibbin has worked on improving his athleticism in the last year. He shows the ability to scramble at times, but he’s not someone a defense is going to key in on and scheme to take away his ability to run.

It’s evident by the game tape at Appalachian State and from his few interviews with the Louisville media that Coach Satterfield likes a mobile quarterback. He feels it’s essential to what they like to do not only offensively, but the challenges a mobile QB presents opposing defenses both on the field and game preparation.

Whether or not Ponce and Satterfield saw McKibbin as a fit within their system hasn’t been made official with any offer. Word I got Monday afternoon from someone close to the situation and what we at Big Red Louie are reporting is McKibbin left his official visit without an offer.

What you, or I see has zero effect on the Cards recruitment of McKibbin. With that being the case, I was told McKibbin “is a great kid!” It just sounds like a numbers game. With scholarships limited, Coach Satterfield and the staff are waiting to see what happens with some other guys and my assumption is they felt Blaze wasn’t the “right guy” at this time.

Stay tuned to BigRedLouie.com for updates on Blaze McKibbin and all football recruiting as we draw ever closer to National Signing Day.      – GO CARDS!