A little over a year ago Teddy Bridgewater was being talked about as one of the top wide receivers in the South. He was lining up catching passes instead of throwing passes for Miami Northwestern early on in his sophomore season.
Before too long though they moved the 6-foot-3, 170 pound athlete to quarterback and he has flourished after playing the position for about a year.
He still has a lot of work to do in areas to make his game complete across the board, but he is the top quarterback in the South right now in any class. He is just that talented.
His size, his feel for the game at quarterback, his arm strength, his touch on the deep ball, his mobility, and his potential make him one of the top recruits at any position in 2011.
Arm strength is one thing that really jumps out with watching Bridgewater, but the little things help make him who he is. The way he seems to stay calm, how he eludes the rush while staying under control, how he keeps his eyes down field when on the move, and he just seems to make a play when the team needs him to.
This is all after just playing the position for about a year now.
He still can get confused by defenses, he still needs to work on that consistent release, he still needs to work on his base when setting his feet to pass, and other things can be improved, but he has the it factor.
Bridgewater is a special talent and his upside is very high.
The Northwestern Bull has the skills to be a playmaker at receiver or quarterback on the next level. Most schools are recruiting him to play QB, but he will likely have the choice.
Could he play quarterback on a high level right now in college, no, but he doesn’t have to. He still has a lot to learn, but he has tools that quarterback coaches and offensive coordinators would love to work with and scheme around on the next level.
The talented junior out of South Florida is not fundamentally sound and you can find flaws in his game at quarterback, but he has it when it comes to making plays, producing for his team, and winning football games.
Bridgewater is one of the best in the country and look for his offer list to become a long one when all is said and done. Schools like Alabama, Florida, LSU, Miami, Tennessee and others have already let him know that he has a spot on their team if he wants it when that time comes.
Chad Simmons is the Recruiting Manager for the South Region and he can be reached at ChadSimmons@Scout.com.