I'm pleased to present the second installment of TMI 2008, the series that brings you as much information as possible about the prospects being recruited (at least allegedly) by your University of Georgia football coaching staff.
We're continuing our look at quarterbacks, this time checking in on Charlotte Latin (NC) rising senior Braden Hanson. Hanson had a stellar junior season, completing 172 of 245 passes for an impressive 70.2% completion rate. He also tossed 39 touchdowns versus only 12 interceptions. You can see him on film in this video from the good folks at Rivals.
Pro: Hanson has the prototypical build for a pro-style passer at 6'6 and around 200 pounds. The thing that jumps off the screen first is Hanson's incredibly live arm. The ball just flies. He also has a good high release, that is surprisingly quick for a tall guy (many of whom take some time to get the ball out). He also puts his head down and runs tough on a couple of option plays. This may or may not translate into our offense, but I like quarterbacks who understand that they're actually football players. Another thing that strikes me is that Hanson has uncanny accuracy. There are a several throws in this video that are put where the defensive back has absolutely no chance of making a play on the ball.
Con: There's not a lot to be put in this section. If I had to pick something, I would say that Hanson locks in on his receivers sometimes. Obviously, this video is only a series of highlights. Full game video (which is of course what college coaches prefer to look at) has a way of revealing a lot of warts. But it appears that Hanson threads the needle sometimes when he might be better served to check down to the second or third receiver. This is reinforced by the fact that he threw 1 interception roughly every 20.5 pass attempts. That's more interceptions than optimal, but not that bad. It's nothing that disciplined study under an excellent quarterback mentor (someone like Mike Bobo or Mark Richt, for example) couldn't fix.
Upshot: This kid has a world of potential. He has all the physical tools to play major college football and will only get better. Unfortunately, I'm just not sure that we'll be able to lure a QB like this given our depth chart. Sure would be nice though.