Film Don't Lie: Drew Pyne
It’s not 2019 yet, but Notre Dame’s 2020 recruiting class kicked off with a bang after quarterback Drew Pyne (New Canaan, CT) announced his commitment. The Irish coaching staff are still looking for a 2019 signal caller, but the addition of Pyne can make them a bit more picky.
That’s because he has already shown he is an exceptional prospect as a sophomore. There is still plenty of room for him to grow, but there is already a certain amount of polish to Pyne’s game and it should be exciting to watch the player he’s going to become before he becomes a freshman at Notre Dame.
Height: 6’1”
Weight: 170
Projected Position: Quarterback
ISD Grade: 92 (4 star)
National Average Grade: 93.3 (4 star)
What he does best:
Pyne is a mechanically sound player in the pocket. Even though he is not the biggest player, he shows above average arm strength and a lot of that comes from consistency with his balance throwing the football.
I love his release. He is incredibly quick when he decides to let go of the football. It’s out in a hurry like on this particular throw.
He drops that right in the bucket in between the corner and safety in the only spot the receiver can make the play.
That’s a frequent occurrence for Pyne. His accuracy and ball placement is impressive. It gets there quickly and he is smooth out of his fakes as well.
One thing that is very encouraging is that the rush does not seem the rattle him. His focus remains down the field even if he knows he is going to get hit. He shows great patience and can can deliver the football even when he can’t step into a throw or is off platform.
Pyne is a good athlete too. He is a threat to move the chains as a scrambler and if teams don’t account for him, he can take advantage of it. His awareness to escape the rush and then make a play is outstanding as well.
There are plenty of young quarterbacks who get fixated on their initial read and don’t use their eyes well to find other options or look off defenders. Pyne is already good at doing that as you can see from this deep ball where he scans the field and looks off the safety before making this great throw.
This is a very advanced player and that’s a huge reason why he is so highly regarded as a prospect.
What he needs to improve:
One area where I think he can improve is cutting down the risks he takes over the middle of the field. I don’t think anyone should try and stifle him from improvising, but some throws he makes might be picks against defenders that can close quicker than the ones he is playing against.
Clearly he is not the ideal in terms of height and overall size as a pocket passer. The height might not ever change, but he has to get bigger to handle the hits he will take at the college level. This offense will also require him to run the football at times in the zone read and that’s going to be an important part of him holding up physically.
That’s another issue. He’ll have to get used to running the zone read. It’s a skill that has to be learned and his offense in high school doesn’t utilize it.
What’s his ceiling?
There is typically a jump in arm strength from where Pyne is now to where he will be when he reports to Notre Dame. But even if he doesn’t develop a rocket launcher attached to his shoulder, he’ll still be capable of making the throws necessary to succeed in this offense.
On film I see a tough kid who plays without fear and has tremendous patience in the pocket. He’ll have to be a hair quicker with his progressions, but if that comes then I think he can be a fantastic quarterback at the next level.
I’m a big fan of his game and if he continues to progress like he should, I expect him to be end up as one of the top quarterbacks in the 2020 recruiting cycle. The Irish landed a big time player in Pyne.