I have this friend. He's a die hard Coug, and he knows his sports. Whenever WSU gets a commitment from a player, he gets super excited, regardless of whether or not the player is good. With news coming via Cougfan.com that Austin Apodaca, a QB from Longmont, Colo., has gone Crimson, my buddy is pretty excited, thinking we've got our QB of the future. To be honest with you guys, though, I don't see this signing as anything more than depth.
Apodaca is 6'3 and 185 pounds. While he certainly needs to gain some weight, size isn't really an issue with him. The issue is talent. I'm not saying the kid isn't good, because clearly Wulff and Co. think he's good enough to garner an offer. What I am saying, however, is there are simply better QBs on the roster at this point. Now, I've only seen a few poor quality YouTube videos, so I could wind up with egg on my face. However, when I took this position at CougCenter, I wanted to tell you guys the truth. I didn't want to sugar coat things and say every single recruit we get is a diamond in the rough and a future Coug legend. There are other websites that do that.
When I look at Apodaca, he comes off as a solid QB, but nothing about his tape makes me say "wow". The QB we signed in the 2011 class, Cody Clements, makes me say wow. Apodaca will likely redshirt, meaning that when he's a redshirt Freshman in 2014, Jeff Tuel will have already graduated, Connor Halliday will be a RS Junior, and Cody Clements will be a RS Sophomore. I do not see him overtaking either of those guys, meaning his chance to shine will either come from injury or during his RS Senior season.
I'm not an expert, so you guys can tell me I'm an idiot in the comment section if you want. However, watching his tape, he doesn't have ideal footwork. He doesn't have terrible footwork, but he gets happy feet in the pocket, and often runs before making his secondary reads. A few times he threw the ball into double coverage, relying on arm strength. His receiver came down with the ball, but I think that says more about his competition than his arm strength.
Now, there are a few positives to take away. When he takes the time to set and throw, he is textbook. He throws a pretty ball, and he doesn't stare down his receivers. The problem is, he hardly stays in the pocket long enough to make these kinds of throws.
So make your own decision about the kid, but just know that I think this is nothing more than adding depth.
Also, anyone that has a Jesus themed rap song play during their highlight video should make you raise an eyebrow. (Only kidding. Sort of.) Make sure to check out the 2012 Recruiting Central for all of the up-to-date commits.