Film Analysis: Texas Tech QB Target Terry Wilson

After Texas Tech was blindsided by the December de-commitment of its star quarterback recruit in 2014, it’s not focusing on only one or two quarterback prospects for the 2016 recruiting class. The latest signal-caller to receive an offer from Kliff Kingsbury is three-star prospect Terry Wilson from Del City, Oklahoma, which is just outside of Oklahoma City.

As a junior in 2014, Wilson passed for 2,850 yards and 24 touchdowns, while adding four more scores on the ground. Let’s take a look at Wilson’s film to see what the 6’3”, 190-pound dual-threat quarterback does well.

All of our analysis will be based off of the video below:

Watch the first minute of the video and see if you notice a trend.

In almost every play, Wilson is put on the move by design, and appears to be comfortable throwing on the run. His accuracy is excellent no matter what side he rolls to. However, the propensity of the coaches to have Wilson move out of the pocket makes one wonder if he is less comfortable standing in the pocket, despite his plus height.

Also, notice that when he rolls out, his eyes remain down field. Wilson has meager rushing totals, which is actually a positive. Instead of looking to run as soon as the pocket is broken — like most young athletic quarterbacks do — Wilson looks to pass first which reminds one of current Tech quarterback, Pat Mahomes.

The next minute of the video is a series of plays in which Wilson throws from a massive pocket. This gives the viewer no look at how Wilson handles pressure in his face, which is always important to evaluate when looking at young quarterbacks.

At the 1:56 mark, we finally see Wilson face pressure and rather than standing in the pocket, Wilson uses his athleticism to move away from the rusher. But he throws off his back leg and the ball goes up for grabs until it falls into the hands of the receiver, due in large part to terrible secondary play. A similar pass would likely be intercepted in college.

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I would like to see Wilson stay in the pocket, drive the pass downfield and absorb the hit. He is big enough to take a hit and he will have to learn the art of staying in the pocket to be effective at the next level.

One of Wilson’s strengths is his touch on his passes. At the 2:46 mark of the video, Wilson shows perfect accuracy on a pass route similar to the type of route Tech loves to run in the red zone.

The receiver runs a flag route (breaking towards the pylon in the corner of the end zone), and Wilson hits him in stride despite fairly decent coverage as far as high school defenses go.

Another nice aspect of Wilson’s game is his polished footwork. For a great example, look at the play at the 3:14 mark. Wilson initially looks to the right but his first option is covered. Then, watch as his feet moves in complete unison with his head and shoulders as he looks down the middle of the field to draw the safety away from his target before turning back to the right and delivering the ball. This small, but important fundamental element ensures that Wilson has a wide base to throw from, no matter where he delivers the ball.

At 3:32 into the video, Wilson delivers strikes on back-to-back slant routes. As you know, the slant route is a critical aspect of the Air Raid offense, especially on third and short, or medium.

Finally, Wilson will have to learn when to give up on a play. Pat Mahomes had to learn this as well. Wilson is the best athlete on the field so he can run away from pass rushers as he does in plays at the 2:22 and 3:22 mark. He will be taught how to know when to take a sack or throw the ball away once he experiences the speed of the college game.

Watching the remainder of the highlight film is interesting. Wilson throws fantastic deep routes on a number of occasions and appears to be a big-time prospect with all the talent necessary. At the 7:44 mark, you will be able to watch Wilson run the read option. Spoiler alert: he’s faster than all of the non-college prospects he faces.

Though this is a highlight video and not a full game, Texas Tech fans should still be impressed by what we see. If Wilson decides to play in Lubbock, Tech will be in a good position at quarterback moving forward despite not taking a quarterback in the 2015 class.

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