Luke Falk*, QB, Washington State Height: 6-4. Weight: 205. Projected 40 Time: 4.79. Projected Round (2017): 2-4. 7/29/16: Falk plays in a college spread offense, but he puts up big totals of yards and points. In 2015, Falk completed 69 percent of his passes for 4,561 yards with 38 touchdowns and eight interceptions. As a freshman, he completed 64 percent of his throw for 1,859 yards with 13 touchdowns and seven interceptions. Falk should continue to have big stat lines playing in Mike Leach's offense.
Gunner Kiel, QB, Cincinnati Height: 6-4. Weight: 208. Projected 40 Time: 4.81. Projected Round (2016): 4-6. 7/29/16: There were big expectations for Kiel in 2015, but it turned into a disappointing season. Kiel completed 65 percent of his passes for 2,777 yards with 19 touchdowns and 11 interceptions on the year. He also dealt with injuries that cost him two games. Kiel has a good arm but must cut down on his interceptions as he can throw them in bunches.
After years of hype, Kiel finally stepped onto the field in 2014 and flashed some arm talent. He completed 59.7 percent of his passes for the Bearcats with 31 touchdowns and 13 interceptions. Kiel struggled with interceptions when he went against good competition like Miami (FL), East Carolina and Virginia Tech though, throwing eight picks across those three games.
These would be the three I would look at. I wouldn't mind a smaller run and gun ala Wilson, but not w/the Chicago turf the way it is, and b/c of the wind that can whip into SF I'm not 100% sold on Kaaya. I'd perfer any qb to have at least 65% passing percentage and at least 6'4" since SF isn't very maneuver friendly for a qb.
Pat Mahomes*, QB, Texas Tech Height: 6-3. Weight: 219. Projected 40 Time: 4.70. Projected Round (2017): 4-6. 7/29/16: Mahomes plays in a gimmick college offense that produces a lot of points, but Mahomes has shown potential to get NFL consideration. In 2015, he completed 64 percent for 4,653 yards with 36 touchdowns and 15 interceptions. It was a big improvement over his freshman season when he completed 57 percent of his passes for 1,547 yards with 16 touchdowns and four interceptions.
Read more at walterfootball.com/draft2017QB.php#BDxkFv3fWFmZXawU.99
Brad Kaaya*, QB, Miami Height: 6-4. Weight: 209. Projected 40 Time: 4.72. Projected Round (2017): 1-3. 7/29/16: 2015 was a rough year for Miami and Kaaya had to battle through with a weak supporting cast. He completed 61 percent of his passes for 3,242 yards with 16 touchdowns and five interceptions on the season. Kaaya didn't develop significantly over his freshman-year performance.
Kaaya has a good physical skill set with a strong arm that can make all the throws. At times, he has displayed some pocket-passing ability to go along with poise. In 2014, Kaaya completed 59 percent of his passes for 3,198 yards with 26 touchdowns and 12 interceptions. Kaaya had a ton of talent around him as a freshman in the form of a stud left tackle (Ereck Flowers), wide receiver (Phillip Dorsett) and running back (Duke Johnson). Read more at walterfootball.com/draft2017QB.php#BDxkFv3fWFmZXawU.99
but both have to up there comp% a little to a lot imo. Going into the pro's the window's will be much smaller and if your accuracy isn't spot on you'll get picked apart.
9. C.J. Beathard, redshirt senior, Iowa: Matt Millen compared him to Joe Montana. Sure, hype abounds, but the results reflected Beathard’s talent. The Hawkeyes won a school-record 12. Kirk Ferentz was a national coach of the year. Beathard has “it.” At a place starved for playmakers for years, Beathard made enough plays to lead the Hawks to the Rose Bowl. A repeat isn’t out of the question.
One thing I do like in a college qb, is one that can succeed w/out a lot of talent around him, he's only completed 61% of his passes, and his td's are low for college, but again this is someone not paying w/nfl talent, and in the big 10 he's playing against some nfl talent. IMO always be wary of the big school qb who can put up huge #'s, but has more NFL caliber talent surrounding him more then he's facing.
I remember after his sophomore season everyone talked about Christian Hackenberg as a guy who'd probably go in the top 5 and maybe even #1 when he went into the NFL. Here was his stat line last night:
11/31, 54 yards, INT (pick 6). He did run for 15 yards I guess...
Glad you posted this. Today, Lovie Smith's Illini will face one of the best "small school" quarterbacks in the nation, KD Humphries. He is 6'2" 225 pounds, so he's not a tall prototypical QB, but he's a smart, gifted QB.
I'm going to watch the game and see what he can do against a major college defense.
"01/18/16 - 2015 ALL-OHIO VALLEY CONFERENCE SECOND-TEAM (COACHES): QB - KD Humphries, Murray State...Humphries put together arguably the one of the best seasons under center of any Murray State quarterback in program history, setting new single-season marks for passing yards and attempts. The Montgomery, Alabama native was 330-for-552 for 3778 yards with 22 touchdowns and just seven interceptions and currently leads the nation in passing yards, passing yards per game and completions per game. He passed for at least 300 yards for in eight of 11 games with a career high of 491 against Tennessee Tech. - Murray State Football"
Deshaun Watson looks like he'll be awesome but I don't think we'll be drafting high enough to get him ... which ain't no big deal cuz I like Baker Mayfield a little better ( kid has winner and 'it factor' written into his DNA ) . I'd be ecstatic if we drafted this guy .
Here's an article from last week that came out about KD Humphries. Strong arm. Smart kid. Classy kid too.
Anyone else going to watch the game today? I'm hoping Lovie Smith does well at Illinois. I was fine with us letting him go from the Chicago Bears. But I also watched some great games during his tenure here. He couldn't win a Super Bowl here. But he's better than most of the coaches I've watched lead the Bears over the past 50 or so seasons. He also seems like a good guy. I wish him the best.
"Montgomery's KD Humphries elite QB at Murray State" LINK
Keon Humphries saw it in his younger brother at a young age.
He’d be grinding on the grassy Sidney Lanier High fields under the sweltering Montgomery sun for an upcoming season at Mississippi State and have then 13-year-old KD Humphries throwing him passes.
“I’m telling him, ‘Listen, I’m running this comeback route at 18 years. You’ve got to take five steps and you got to get rid of it and I want it there’ and he’s putting them on the money,” Keon Humphries said. “He understood the timing then. We knew something right there. This cat’s got it.”
KD Humphries is still delivering the ball on target.
The difference now is he’s doing it at the highest level in NCAA Football Championship Subdivision play for Murray State and is considered one of nation’s top quarterbacks while becoming a pro prospect.
“It’s coming in there and it isn’t a soft, lay it in your hands throw,” Racers senior tight end Jesse Blackburn said. “Now he’ll put some air under it every now and then, but he’s not taking anything off the ball. He’s trying to put it somewhere. It helps him out a lot with defenses because they don’t have time to react to the ball because it’s moving so fast.”
Humphries led the FCS last season in passing yards, passing yards per game and completions per game. Once ignored by schools coming out of Jefferson Davis High, the two-star recruit was invited to the Manning Passing Academy in Louisiana earlier this summer to work as a counselor.
The list included 2015 Heisman Trophy finalist Deshaun Watson (Clemson), Chad Kelly (Ole Miss), Baker Mayfield (Oklahoma), Joshua Dobbs (Tennessee) and Josh Rosen (UCLA).
“I felt I was in the right place,” Humphries said. “Just being around those guys, it was very exciting. Just to be a sponge and soak up all the knowledge that was floating around in Thibodaux. It was a great experience. A blessing."
Murray State quarterback KD Humphries led the NCAA Murray State quarterback KD Humphries led the NCAA FCS in passing yards last season. (Photo: Tab Brockman/MSU Athletics) Why not him?
Many have left the Manning camp and wound up in the NFL. Of the 15 players taken in the 2016 draft, nine served as Manning counselors last year, including Jared Goff, the top overall pick.
Humphries is ranked sixth among FCS QBs for the 2017 NFL Draft. Like Humphries, Carson Wentz, the second overall pick in the 2016 draft, played at an FCS school while with the national champions at North Dakota State.
Combine those factors with Humphries’ talent and work ethic, his shot to reach the NFL isn’t a long one.
“The only drawback I’d think he’d have is convincing people he can play under the center when he hasn’t done it in his college career, but here’s the thing that will allow him to do so,” said Richard Moncrief, a Montgomery native who has worked with Humphries in Moncrief’s quarterback institute.
“In high school, KD played under center the majority of the time. He’s familiar with timing and footwork. So it gives him a distinct advantage because this is something that wouldn’t come out of left field trying to learn.”
Racers senior linebacker Jonathan Jackson compares Humphries to Aaron Rodgers and Tony Romo.
“He's similar to Romo is because of his quick release,” Jackson said. “Most times, he already knows what the defense is giving him even before the snap. He's really good at taking what the defense is giving him and getting the ball to his playmakers. He's similar to Aaron Rogers because he doesn't just stay in the pocket. KD is mobile enough to move around and still be able to make the throws needed to be made.”
Humphries certainly wants to play at the next level, but he’s solely focused on leading Murray State back to respectability in his fifth and final year. Finishing 3-8 last season and picked to finish next to last in the Ohio Valley Conference, the Racers open this season Sept. 3 at Big Ten opponent Illinois.
“It’s lit a fire up under us,” Humphries said about the 2016 preseason prediction.
KD Humphries is looking to get the call from an NFL KD Humphries is looking to get the call from an NFL team next spring as he was invited to the Manning Passing Academy this summer. (Photo: Tab Brockman/MSU Athletics) If all that isn’t motivation enough, the OVC voted Jacksonville State’s Eli Jenkins, not Humphries, preseason offensive player of the year and quarterback of its preseason team.
The 2015 OVC offensive player of the year, Jenkins led the Gamecocks to last year’s FCS title game. He’s a dual-threat dynamo who nearly lifted JSU past Auburn before losing in overtime at Jordan-Hare Stadium, but Humphries led the FCS in three major passing categories.
“I think it motivates him,” Blackburn said. “Everybody wants to be the best and everybody is striving to be the best and I guess when you’re not considered the best in the conference, then that does leave a little chip on your shoulder to try to prove people wrong. To be honest, I was surprised he wasn’t (the OVC preseason QB pick), either, but he’s a great quarterback and he’s bounces off of stuff like that.”
When asked if he should have been the OVC’s preseason quarterback selection, Humphries said: “I feel like it could have been me,” but he gave props to Jenkins.
“It is what it is,” said Humphries, who HERO Sports named to its first-team preseason All-American squad. “Those guys were the conference champions and we’re coming off not one of our better years. A guy goes undefeated in conference, especially at the quarterback position. Just much respect to him.”
That doesn’t mean the league’s head coaches and sports information directors that voted got it right.
“We’re talking about a quarterback,” said Keon Humphries, who is an assistant coach at Hillgrove High in Powder Springs, Georgia. “From a quarterback standpoint, my eyes say that KD is hands down the best in the OVC. No doubt about that.”
KD Humphries threw for 3,778 yards, 22 touchdowns and KD Humphries threw for 3,778 yards, 22 touchdowns and seven interceptions last season. (Photo: Tab Brockman/MSU Athetics) No FCS love
Humphries is coming off a stellar season in which he threw for a school record 3,778 yards, 22 touchdowns and just seven interceptions on 532 passing attempts. He led the FCS in passing yards, passing yards per game (343.5) and completions per game (30.0).
“KD can make all the throws, has a high football IQ and excellent leadership skills,” Eastern Illinois coach Kim Dameron said. “He has good mobility, pocket presence and can throw from many platforms. These are just a few of his attributes that make him hard to defend.”
Despite Humphries’ success and national notoriety on the FCS level, there are those in Montgomery today who believe he’s still in some ways underappreciated as a player.
“He’s flying under the radar right now as far as people who follow Montgomery football,” Jeff Davis coach Lee Carter said. “Not one of those guys that people talk about a lot, but he’s an excellent ball player. Probably one of the best to come out of here in the last five to 10 years.”
The name recognition part of Carter’s commentary is debatable, but that certainly was the case for Humphries in high school.
Humphries displayed great arm talent, but FBS schools were showing little, if any, interest in him – much to the surprise of Murray State coach Mitch Stewart.
“We made a lot of phone calls when we started recruiting him. We were trying to figure out, quote unquote, what is wrong with him,” said Stewart, who recruited Humphries when he was Murray State’s offensive coordinator. “Everybody wanted to figure out what was wrong with him.”
Family tree should have erased several doubts.
Humphries’ dad, Paul, played at Chattanooga, his uncle, Marvin, went to Alabama, his cousin, John Humphries III, attended UAB while his brother, Keon, played at Mississippi State.
KD Humphries, right, comes from an athletic family. KD Humphries, right, comes from an athletic family. His dad Paul, left, played at Tennessee Chattanooga, and his brother, Keon, center, played at Mississippi State. His mom, Pat, said she let her sons choose whatever sport they wanted, but football is the family sport for the Humphries. (Photo: Humphries family submitted photo) “As far as football knowledge and athleticism, it’s dripping out of their family,” Moncrief said.
So imagine how the family felt when no FBS offers were recruiting KD Humphries.
Mom chose to keep that to herself.
“That’s probably an off-flag conversation,” said Pat Humphries, with a laugh. “We’re going to stay on high ground.”
Her older son didn’t.
“That dude went through I’d say five offensive coordinators in three years and at least three head coaches and acting coaches to include myself,” Keon Humphries said. “He went through one system and then another guy and another guy and another guy and another guy. It was system after system.”
Humphries spent two years at Sidney Lanier before transferring to Jeff Davis for his senior season. Playing for Vincent Wiggins, Humphries had his best year as a senior, but the PR damage had been done.
“You had all these backdoor deals and bringing in these coaches who don’t know the kids,” Keon Humphries said. “There was even one cat that he played for that didn’t think he was a quarterback.”
Not good.
That just baffled me,” Humphries continued. “So you had coaches coming in there looking for him, but when you got a guy saying he’s not really a quarterback and then that coach is telling us behind closed doors, hey, he’s saying he’s not really a quarterback. They don’t realize how much they hurt the kids off that.”
KD Humphries played his final year of high school ballBuy Photo KD Humphries played his final year of high school ball at Jeff Davis High as he previously attended Sidney Lanier High. (Photo: Montgomery Advertiser) Right school, right time
Stewart believes at that time, Humphries wasn’t the dual-threat quarterback schools really wanted. He remembers watching film and seeing Humphries having room to take off and choosing not to do so.
“A big question on his high school film was always he throws too much,” he said. “There are times when he’s got a lot of green grass in front of him and he never runs. Why doesn’t he ever run?”
Humphries wasn’t afraid to run. He was playing quarterback in the traditional sense.
“He’s not a guy who is out there solely to run a football,” Keon Humphries said. “He is a true quarterback. Plain and simple. That’s why he can do what he do because the guy understands football.”
Humphries played for different coaches in different systems at different schools, but there was one constant.
Film. It didn’t lie.
“When I got a chance to see him throw in person, I was going, man, it’s just like it looks on the film,” Stewart said
Mrs. Humphries thought Murray State might not be the right school for her son because it was six hours away from Montgomery, but he was set on going there.
“I was telling Keon, we got to find him somewhere else,” she said. “This is just too far. He kept tell me, ‘Mom, I like this place’ and I’m like, ‘KD, are you sure?’ Murray, Kentucky? I’m like, ‘Are you sure?’ ”
The decision turned out to be the right one.
Humphries has not only become one of the nation’s top quarterbacks, but will graduate in December with a degree in advertising. He has aspirations to be a coach.
“I’m just happy about the young man he’s become,” Mrs. Humphries said. “I really am. I feel blessed.”
Things didn’t start off great at Murray State for him, though. Humphries arrived on campus with the skill set, but lacked the strength to make an immediate impact.
KD Humphries redshirted his second year at Murray State KD Humphries redshirted his second year at Murray State after playing five games as a true freshman. (Photo: Dave Winder/MSU Athletics) Humphries played five games as a true freshman, but was redshirted his second year.
“He was weak as pond water when he first got here,” Stewart said. “You’d go in that weight room and he’d try to put 135 pounds on there and bench press it and I don’t know think he could.”
Humphries had already rode through a rough patch in high school. Then he watched his first two years in college believing in his heart of hearts he should have been playing.
“He’d let me know every day pretty much that, ‘Look, I’m better than all of them,’ ” Keon Humphries said. “‘I know this versus that.’ The things he knew and the things he could do out there, he was like, ‘The other cats may have this or that, but they can’t run the offense the way I can.’ That was his whole deal. He could run the offense. He could move the ball. He could make some things happen.”
Perseverance and patience eventually paid dividends for Humphries. He started his last 10 games as a third-year sophomore and finished the 2014 season with 3,483 passing yards and 27 touchdowns.
“He’s a very heady player,” Tennessee State coach Rod Reed said. “He has a big arm. He can make all the throws. Anytime you get a quarterback like that and you give him a little bit of protection, you’ve got a weapon. He’s proven that he can throw the ball in this league or any other league. He’s a tremendous talent.”
Humphries also ran for seven touchdowns that season.
So he can run – a little bit.
“Don’t let him fool you,” Stewart said. “He can wear all those gloves and wristbands and towels and all that kind of stuff, but he’s still not very mobile. He likes to throw that rock, but at least he can extend plays now and kind of move around in the pocket.”
KD Humphries will face FCS power Jacksonville State KD Humphries will face FCS power Jacksonville State late in the 2016 season. (Photo: Tab Brockman/MSU Athletics) Never surrender
Humphries plays in a shotgun spread offense Reed calls “quarterback-friendly.” Last season, Humphries attempted at least 51 passes in six games as he threw the ball 169 more times than Murray State ran it as a team (532 to 363).
“A lot of quarterbacks have come into that system and really put up big numbers,” Reed said. “They throw the ball around the field a lot, but obviously we know he can make all the throws. They try to spread you out and get you in a lot of 1-on-1 matchups and a lot of times, if he gets the ball to the right person and they make a person miss, it turns into a big play.”
Humphries set a school record for attempts, but completed 62 percent of them, which shows remarkable accuracy considering how often he threw it and that defenses were geared to stop him.
“The best thing you can try to do to him is give him different looks and try to take away his first read and things of that nature, but he’s good at getting off his first read and throwing it to his check down or whatever the case may be,” Reed said.
While he’s shown more mobility over the years, Humphries still displays that same courage and patience in the pocket he did in high school. Defenses sacked Humphries 33 times last season, hit him many more times than that, but he took their best shot and keep coming.
“Against EKU (Eastern Kentucky) last year, he was getting beat up pretty good,” Jackson said. “They had Noah Spence (2015 OVC co-defensive player of the year) on their defense so he was causing us fits. Even with being hit in the mouth all game, KD still stood tall in the pocket the entire game and led our team to have a chance to win against one of the top teams in the OVC.”
KD Humphries has always shown the ability to thrown KD Humphries has always shown the ability to thrown out of the pocket and stand in there in the face of the pass rush (Photo: Tab Brockman/MSU Athletics) Humphries will remain a top target for defenses, but he’ll be without his top three receivers from a year ago as Paul Rice, Jeremy Harness and Janawski were all seniors last season.
So Humphries’ greatest challenge this year may be getting his young and inexperienced receivers on the same page. Murray State has nine listed on its online roster as being either freshmen or sophomores.
“If his guys do what they’re supposed to do and be where they’re supposed to be, I can assure you he’s going to get the ball where it’s supposed to be,” Keon Humphries said.
Humphries has always been considered a leader in part because of his friendly personality. That smile lights up the room and puts everyone at ease.
“KD is a laid back guy,” Jackson said. “He's a natural leader and those two qualities are good ones to have in a quarterback. In tough situations, we could be down, but he's still poised. It's really hard not to like KD. If you don't, that probably says something about yourself.”
That leadership and poise will be tested this season. Murray State is coming off a bad year, lost its top receivers and Humphries knows this is final opportunity to win a conference title.
He sounds up for the challenge.
“We have a lot of new faces, younger guys looking for somebody to show them the rope,” Humphries said. “To show them how things are ran around here in Murray, Kentucky. I just want to be that guy they can look to and lead them in the right direction.”
KD Humphries is all smiles going to his final season KD Humphries is all smiles going to his final season at Murray State (Photo: Dave Winder/MSU Athletics) Manning Family Matters
Humphries can lean on the lessons learned at the Manning Passing Academy to help him this season.
“Peyton talked about as a quarterback, there’s always something you can get better at,” Humphries said. “There’s really no time for standing around during practice, during the games.”
Humphries said the recently retired Manning told a story to drive that point home.
“I think it was the third quarter of a preseason game,” he said. “He was done playing and it started pouring down raining. Peyton, he grabbed his center, and just started taking wet snaps under center. Just something in a quarterback to always be working. It’s the little things you can always get better at.”
Humphries can improve his draft stock with a banner senior season, but is taking heed to another piece of advice from football’s first family on how to approach his final year of college ball.
“In talking with Eli and Peyton and Cooper and also Archie, they said to have fun,” Humphries said. “All the quarterbacks there had one or two years of college football left. They told us just to enjoy our senior season and everything else will fall into place.”
Keon Humphries has served as a big brother, role model Keon Humphries has served as a big brother, role model and father figure for his younger brother, KD. (Photo: Submitted photo Humphries family) Keon Humphries was a huge part of KD Humphries’ development as a quarterback. Over the years, he’s become his brother’s go-to target for questions, advice and help.
“That’s the first person he’s going to call,” Mrs. Humphries said. “He’s going to call Keon to get his opinion on any and every thing and I’m so glad they have that relationship.”
Keon Humphries is also part of his brother’s dream, admitting he lives through him in some ways, but he saw early what KD could be and believed in him way before he became of the nation’s top quarterbacks.
He’s even the one who started calling him KD instead of his real name – KeDarius.
“I don’t know what it was, but I was like, ‘You’re going to be KD. You KD. KD. KD,’ ” Keon Humphries said. “He may have been two or three when he could really start to talk.”
So when KD Humphries is preparing for the draft next spring, Keon wants to be there doing the same thing he did when the two worked out a Lanier during those hot Montgomery summers.
“Right now, I’m running and working out cause hell, I’m trying to get ready to run routes on Pro Day for him,” Keon Humphries said laughing. “That’s how I’m feeling. Hey look, one more time for the road.”
As it’s always been, KD Humphries’ passes are sure to be on target.
KD Humphries will lead Murray State into its season KD Humphries will lead Murray State into its season opener at Illinois. (Photo: Dave Winder/MSU Athletics) TOP FCS PASSER
Murray State senior quarterback KD Humphries lead the NCAA FCS last season in three major passing categories and threw just seven interceptions on 532 pass attempts.
Passing yards – 3,778 (1)
Passing yards per game – 343.5 (1)
Completions per game – 30.0 (1)
Total offense per game – 348.3 (2)
Passing TDs – 22 (T14th)
Completion percentage – 62.0 (22)
(FCS ranking in brackets)
300 club: Humphries threw for 300-plus yards in eight of Murray State’s 11 games that includes a career-high 491-yard effort in a 46-43 overtime win at Tennessee State.
Here is a great interview with him and some highlights: