Kyle Shurmur Pro Evaluation

Name: Kyle Shurmur

Height: 6’4”

Weight: 225 lbs

Date of Birth: 11/6/1996

School: Vanderbilt

Conference: SEC

Recruiting Profile: 4 star recruit: #293 player,

#13 pro style quarterback (2015 class)

Class: Senior

Photo Credit: Getty Images

Throwing Accuracy: Generally accurate with the ability to place passes in correct spots as needed. Allows receivers to catch the football in stride, providing for YAC (yards after catch) opportunities. Accuracy becomes worse and worse the further down the field he throws. The ability to push the football with velocity down the field, hurts his ball placement. Short to intermediate (about 10-15 yards) are the areas most in Shurmur’s wheel house.

Decision Making: When in rhythm, Shurmur does an excellent job making sound decisions on where to go with the football. He quickly gets through his progression and seems to have a fine understanding of attacking different leverages defensively. He quickly identifies coverage based on safety depth/positioning post snap. Decision making does a 180 when performing outside of structure.

Pocket Awareness/Poise: Shurmur uses his full frame to all advantages in the pocket, surveying the field without much attention to impending rush. Does a great job quickly establishing his throwing base with excellent balance. He rarely moves off of his spot, understanding athletic limitations. A timing thrower who must be on schedule. The ability to reset/extending the pocket with his legs is not in his repertoire.

Anticipation/Progression: Works through his progressions very quickly, with a clear understanding of coverage weak spots. Throws with consistent anticipation, allowing receivers to establish leverage on defensive players while maintaining proper rhythm.

Mechanics: Shurmur possesses exceptional mechanics, almost as if he was the son of an NFL coach… Oh that’s right. Consistently establishes a great throwing base, which he uses to explode his hips through the release point. Rarely missteps or falls off his spot, maintaining a good follow through always finishing forward in his momentum.

Arm Talent: He does a nice job changing arm speeds, showing solid touch to the intermediate part of the fields. Shurmur maintains a consistent over top release, while pretty regularly following through the release point. Rarely changes arm angles to reestablish an ability to attack off cue passing lanes. There are serious limitations when throwing on the run or in roll out situations. He has a tough time establishing proper throwing posture and providing enough hip rotation to make many high difficulty throws on the run.  

Arm Strength: He appears to have solid zip short to intermediate, but the more I look at it, timing helps to cover up the lack of velocity. The shortcomings as far as arm strength continue to jump out the more he attempts to push the ball down the field. The ball begins to flutter often when attempting many vertical concept routes, making it easy pickings for defensive backs who have their heads turned. The arm strength issues eliminate Shurmur’s potential to translate to certain down field offenses, making a west coast scheme his best potential fit.

Mobility/Escapability: In five games I have watched of Shurmur, I can count the number of times he’s scrambled/ran out of structure on one hand. This is simply not his game. He is an established rhythm passer who needs to be on schedule to be successful. He has shown the ability to navigate the pocket with success, avoiding some early rushers. His overall feel in the pocket is solid, showing the ability to step up well and establishing bigger throwing lanes.

Summary/Pro Translation: Kyle Shurmur strikes me as the type of quarterback who latches on as a backup for many years, making it extremely difficult to get rid of. However, I do question whether he will be able to make that jump from career backup to starter level. The feel for the game/mechanics are very solid, which will always provide him an opportunity to stick around. However, the lack of physical traits are glaring, which brings me to question whether he will have the opportunity to get drafted late. At worst, a team gets very lucky to add a smart, confident coach’s son to their quarterback room.

Pro Comparison: Kyle Orton

 Career Stats/Highlights: In 44 games with the Commodores, Kyle Shurmur has thrown for 8,865 yards and sixty-four scores. He owns a career completion percentage of 57.1%, while throwing 29 interceptions (He has a touchdown ratio of 50:16 over his last two seasons). Shurmur has also chipped in with three touchdown runs (all from his junior season).

By Ryan Roberts