The Elite 11 staff has some damn fine things to say about Matt Corral

Saturday, Ole Miss’ quarterback of the future will compete in the U.S. Army All-American Bowl at noon CST on NBC. He will be looking to boost his stock, recruit some other top prospects while he’s there, but mostly just trying to win a ball game. One of the best features of Corral according to Yogi Roth, an Elite 11 coach.

“I think he’s got this competitiveness that’s so deep inside of him. Things will be really interesting to watch his mind catch up with his arm and the education and his function of football intelligence. When he does, he’s got the ability to be surgical, because he’s so special with his right arm,” Roth shared in an interview with 247Sports David Johnson.

And the high praise didn’t stop there. Several other coaches came in contact with Corral while he was in California and Oregon competing in the Elite 11 semifinals and Nike’s The Opening. Joey Roberts, the head scout for the elite quarterback fraternity certainly feels that the No. 4 pro-style quarterback is something special.

“Matt Corral is a Sportscenter top 10 play waiting to happen,” said Roberts. “He has the confidence to make every throw on the field at anytime.”

But, the top 100 player isn’t all or nothing, he is someone who can do it all. The intermediate throws, the big play, scramble, the proper check down, everything. In fact it’s not just high school and college scouts witnessing. NFL Network analyst and longtime scout Bucky Brooks went so far as to compare Corral to Detroit Lions quarterback and Elite 11 alum Matthew Stafford.

”I looked at him and he reminded me of Stafford in terms of his arm strength, his ability to make unique throws” Brooks said. “You just don’t see guys who can do that. That is going to be something that could set him apart from the rest of the pack.”

And then, to your delight I’m sure, Elite 11 president Brian Stumpf made the comparison that will be music to Ole Miss fans’ ears.

“I think if Ole Miss fans loved Chad Kelly, they’re going to love Matt Corral just the same. Matt Corral might have the strongest arm we’ve seen come through the Elite 11 process,” Stumpf said.

Now, having the strongest arm that they’ve ever seen is definitely something. But, being compared to Swag who, in my opinion, is the best player to ever put on the pads in Vaught-Hemingway Stadium, now you’re really in elite company.

Stumpf didn’t stop there though, he believes that the 6’2, 196-pounder could be special and it could be rather quickly once he gets to Oxford.

“In terms of playing against that top level competition in the SEC West in particular, the windows are smaller, absolutely, but if Matt’s on time with his reads and his decision making, nobody’s got a better arm than him to fit it in those tight windows.”

Now, trust me, I know you’re probably thinking “we were in this position two years ago when Shea Patterson was coming through the high school ranks and playing in the Alamodome at this very same event.”

And yeah, there’s certainly no way of knowing how successful Corral is going to be once he takes over for Jordan Ta’amu.

But, I do know that the aforementioned talent evaluators see the best of the best every single year and put them through the ringer with drill after drill, interview after interview, and film session after film session. They’ve been doing it a lot longer than any of us have, too.

And if they’re willing to compare him to a former college All-American and Pro Bowl quarterback before he even takes one snap in college, I think I’ll take their word for it.

And I think you should, too.