Analysis by Rob Baker, 49ers Clubhouse draft writer:
Carmazzi
moved to Hofstra after Pacific dropped football. In 1997 was Independent
I-AA Player of the Year. In high school, Carmazzi was a honour student
and an Academic All-American. Perfect height, weight and speed for a Quarterback
and is perfectly suited to a west coast offence. Brilliant in the pocket
and can pass on the run, but does throw too many passes of balance. Struggles
passing downfield and should work on his accuracy.
Comment: Steve Young should
be able to help Carmazzi to no end, hopefully making him a great starter
for 2001.
Info
from The Sporting News:
War Room
Analysis
Arm strength:
Has one of the better natural arms of any quarterback in draft. Throws
extremely tight spiral. Better arm for short-to-intermediate routes but
has shown ability to get ball downfield. Does not have great touch. Grade:
6.0
Accuracy/delivery:
Good underneath accuracy. Long ball is inconsistent. Will underthrow deep
receiver because he does not have great feel for loft or touch on deep
ball. Has bit of a "shot put" delivery. Release is quick, but release point
tends to vary, which seems to cause problems with accuracy. Grade: 4.5
Field vision:
Has outstanding feel for passing game. Makes good reads and understands
coverage. Makes good adjustments, but biggest problem is he believes in
arm too much. Tends to force balls into coverage. Grade: 4.5
Running
ability: Moves extremely well, especially for size. Has great natural
speed and can gain yards when play breaks down. Physical runner who will
lower shoulder and pick up extra yards. Grade: 5.0
Pocket
awareness: Has above-average dropback skills. Setup is solid and shows
good feel for rush. Needs to do better job of setting feet to throw in
pocket. Grade: 4.0
Notable:
Rhodes Scholar as senior (4.0 grade-point average).
Final analysis:
Intelligent and extremely well-built quarterback. Speed/size/strength combination
makes him interesting project-type prospect. Obvious concern is that he
played at Division 1-AA level, but with correct system, coaching and enough
experience, he has potential to become solid starter in NFL.
Overall
grade: 24.0
Info from
Pro Football Weekly:
Notes: Attended the
University of Pacific in 1995 and redshirted. Came to Hofstra in '96 after
Pacific dropped football. Played in seven games and started four in '96,
completing 33 of 66 passes for 415 yards, five touchdowns and two interceptions.
Started every game in '97 and was named the Independent I-AA Player of
the Year. Completed 288-408-3,554-27-8 (70.6 percent). Came back in '98
to hit on 227-367-2,751-18-12 and also ran the ball 115 times for 443 yards
and 11 TDs. Completed 266-411-3,200-25-10 in '99 (including playoffs).
Led his team to the second round of the I-AA playoffs, but season ended
for both him and his team when he sprained his left knee in the fourth
quarter of Hofstra's loss to Illinois State. A high school valedictorian,
Carmazzi is an honor student and Academic All-American. Played in a run-and-shoot-type
offense at Hofstra for former Jets assistant coach Joe Gardi. Has been
clocked in 4.6 on a fast artificial surface.
Positives: Nice size-speed
ratio for his position. Proved to be a tough and durable performer in college.
Extremely smart and dedicated. Spent his time after the season just getting
ready for the Senior Bowl and the combine. Shows above-average awareness
in the pocket and is more advanced than most young quarterbacks when it
comes to reading coverages. Has above-average to good arm strength. Was
extremely productive throughout college career. Looked athletic running
and working out at the combine.
Negatives: Played in
a little bit of a gimmick offense and has not faced Division I-A competition.
Will need to alter and adjust his footwork and technique when he plays
in a more conventional offense. At times takes too long to get rid of the
ball once he decides where he wants to throw. Looks at the receiver and
goes into his throwing motion, giving the defender a chance to read him
and break on the ball. At times seems to have a slow throwing motion. Throws
too many passes off balance. Is not as accurate as you'd like and is not
an accurate deep passer. Often makes his receiver adjust to the ball and
rarely throws a downfield pass that his receiver can run through cleanly.
Straight-line runner who is not very elusive and does not do a very good
job of buying time with his feet.
Summary: Developmental
type with size, stopwatch speed, enough arm strength and certainly enough
smarts and toughness. But must improve deep accuracy and learn to get rid
of the ball quicker without telegraphing where he's going with the ball.
Info from CBS SportsLine:
This athletic passer completed an
excellent career at the Division 1 AA level after transferring from Pacific,
when it dropped their football program. Carmazzi has started since midway
through his sophomore season with Hofstra and has been one of the most
productive passers in the nation ever since. He is smart, and has picked
up the run and shoot system quickly, displaying excellent decision-making
and the ability.
He has a good arm and a quick
release to get the ball to the right receiver on time. He has a strong
frame and shows the toughness to take a hit in the pocket. Carmazzi has
the ability to run with the ball, but is not a scrambler and lacks the
quick cutting skills to avoid tacklers. He has been very accurate on the
underneath and intermediate routes, usually picking the right receiver
and hitting him in stride consistently. He delivers the ball with good
velocity, timing and accuracy and throws a catchable pass with a nice touch.
He lacks top footwork and the lateral quickness to avoid a pass rush and
needs work on that critical area. He displays fine field vision, with the
ability to make sound high-low progressions and correct passing decisions.
He needs work on throwing the
deep ball, with better foot placement and follow through. He really stepped
up as a leader over his career, displaying the poise and confidence to
direct a club. He has made fine progress over his three seasons at Hofstra,
but he needs work on defense recognition and finding secondary receivers
more consistently. He will need extensive work on his mechanics. He is
not very familiar with the three- and five-step drops and is not smooth
in his setup. His ball handling, also needs work when operating under center
and he demonstrated this again at the Senior Bowl practices. He is rough
in both his setup and handoffs, and needs reps and time in those crucial
areas to become more comfortable in a system. He threw the ball well over
the week, showing a major league arm. He throws well moving either to his
right or left, with the ability to deliver the ball with a nice touch.
As a senior, he threw for 3,200 yards
with 266 completions on 411 attempts (64%) for 25 touchdowns and 10 interceptions.
He had a fine junior season, going 227 of 367 for 2,751 yards with 18 touchdowns
and 12 picks. With the history of run and shoot quarterbacks being slow
to develop in the NFL, he clearly needs time to work on his basic mechanics
before challenging for a starting job. He does possess all the physical
and mental skills necessary to succeed as a QB in the NFL. His delivery,
arm strength and release are very good in terms of athletic ability and
mechanics.
He has the athleticism and
smarts to start in the NFL but needs critical time and coaching to make
the adjustment to a pro style attack. He is a fine prospect with starting
talent -- but not early in his career.
Info from CNN/SI:
Transfer from Pacific. Division
1-AA standout in a short passing game offense. Sturdy. Intelligent. Good
athlete. Has a strong arm. Average in his setup quickness. Not nifty to
avoid but is a strong runner who can get yardage once he gets outside the
pocket. Has an over-the-top delivery with good wrist action. Can throw
tight spirals -- loses some effectiveness when throwing from non-set positions.
Shows touch, but can be hesitant and late with his passes. Is inconsistent
with his overall accuracy. Rough around the edges but has good tools.