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A powerful passing arm gets attention and pro organizations salivate every year at the NFL Combine when the guys with the “big” guns take snaps. A quarterback builds a reputation for being a strong-armed passer early in his development. Football scouts will label a passer as a power-passer or weak-armed after viewing hours of game cut-ups and often via first-hand eyewitness experience, sitting in the stands and studying the athletes. Many of those labels are confirmed during the talent evaluation events, such as the NFL Combine or during the many Pro-Days that are held around the country. Ah, but it is in those staged testing grounds that some reputations of the rifle-armed are questioned while some of the reputed pop-gun passers surprise.
During the Combine one of the “measures” performed on quarterbacks is Ball Velocity. Passers, like baseball pitchers, are scanned by radar guns to get a gauge of how fast they actually can throw a football. Ball velocity on its own as an important test result carries some weight among the pro personnel evaluators, but how hard a QB can toss the rock isn’t a priority. When talking about the make-up of players’ skills most football fans can recite the 40-yard dash times, the bench press reps and even some of the cone-drill results. Yet ball velocity, a seemingly very attractive fact for football addicts gets little attention; even reporters, player agents and others associated with the quarterbacks tend to allow the actual measure slip into the shadows. Well, PASS turns a spotlight on Ball Velocity and exposes which quarterbacks really own cannon arms and, even more interesting, which passers may be carrying the “weak-arm” stamp undeservedly.
Dr. John Eric Goff, Professor of Physics at Lynchburg College and author of Gold Medal Physics: The Science of Sports, notes that the angle of the arm during delivery is key.
“Just as a simple example, say that a quarterback wants to throw a bomb, nearly 60 yards. The quarterback releases the ball at 50 mph with a release angle of 45 degrees, and the ball is caught at the same height at which it was thrown. The ball goes nearly 56 yards down the field in about 3.22 seconds if we ignore air resistance. A well-thrown spiral doesn’t have too much air resistance, so those numbers don’t change much when including the air. If you drop the arm a foot like in a sidearm throw, the range is just a tad over 49 yards and the time of flight is about 3.3 seconds. The conclusion of something like a 12 percent reduction in bomb distance is the new result, as long as one assumes the release speed has dropped 5 percent and the release angle has increased five degrees.” Dr. Goff concluded, “The time of flight is just under a tenth of a second longer, which might be enough for a corner to close a little gap that he couldn’t otherwise close.”
Today we still use “game tape” to gauge a quarterback’s ability to generate “heat”, but now we can confirm what the eye sees by measuring ball velocity with a JUGGS gun, or other speed-reading radar devices.
In an article posted on Livestrong.com (Maximum Speed of a Football, October 21, 2013 by Rogue Parrish) the speed at which past quarterbacks could spin the football was “largely anecdotal but indicate that the greatest quarterbacks had exceptional throwing speed.”
Mr. Parrish noted that Packer gunner Brett Favre was “estimated” at 63 mph. Now retired passing star and Hall-of-Famer-to-be Peyton Manning (pre-neck injury) could hit 59 on shorter throws. Saints’ QB Drew Brees was clocked at 52 MPH in a “Sports Science” segment for ESPN. Patrick Mahomes II hit 62 mph in an episode of Total Access for NFL Network. According to some, including former Bronco wideout Rod Smith, John Elway brought the greatest velocity to the field. It is said Elway ripped it consistently in the 60-plus MPH. “They used to set the Jugs machines at 70 to 80 mph for us receivers to simulate John’s throws,” recalls Elway’s former top pass catcher.
Here is a look at the results of NFL Combine velocity reads from 2008 to 2017. In some cases the perceived is reaffirmed, but a few surprising speed readings are popped by passers who just may have been mislabeled by more than a few football writers and profiling bloggers failing to pay attention. The list consists of quarterbacks and their Ball Velocity.
Have fun with the comparisons.
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Top Velocity All-Time:
Name, College, – Ball Velocity in MPH:
Josh Allen, Wyoming,- 62
Logan Thomas, Virginia Tech, – 60
Patrick Mahomes II, Texas Tech, – 60
Baker Mayfield, Oklahoma,- 60
Josh Rosen, UCLA,-59
Davis Webb, California, – 59
Brandon Weeden, Oklahoma State, – 59
Colin Kaepernick, Nevada, - 59
Kirk Cousins, Michigan State, – 59
Zac Dysert, Miami (OH), - 59
Tyler Bray, Tennessee, – 59
Stephen Morris, Miami, – 59
Paxton Lynch, Memphis, – 59
Year: 2018
Austin Allen - Arkansas - 54
Josh Allen - Wyoming - 62
JT Barrett - Ohio State - 52
Kurt Benkert - Virginia - 56
Sam Darnold - Southern Cal - did not throw
Danny Etling - LSU - 56
Luke Falk - Washington State - 52
Riley Ferguson - Memphis - 54
Quinton Flowers - South Florida - 49
Lamar Jackson - Louisville - 49
Kyle Lauletta - Richmond - 52
Tanner Lee - Nebraska - 57
Chase Litton - Marshall - 55
Baker Mayfield - Oklahoma - 60
Josh Rosen - UCLA - 59
Mason Rudolph - Oklahoma State - 52
Nic Shimonek - Texas Tech - 55
Mike White - Western Kentucky - 55
Logan Woodside - Toledo - 52
Year: 2017
CJ Beathard, Iowa, 55
Joshua Dobbs, Tennessee 51
Jerod Evans, Virginia Tech 50
Brad Kaaya, Miami, 48
DeShone Kizer, Notre Dame, 52
Trevor Knight, Texas A&M, 55
Mitch Leidner, Minnesota, 53
Sefo Liufau, Colorado, 46
Patrick Mahomes II, Texas Tech, 60
Nathan Peterman, Pittsburgh, 49
Cooper Rush, Central Michigan, 45
Seth Russell, Baylor, 52
Mitch Trubisky, North Carolina, 51
Deshaun Watson, Clemson, 45
Davis Webb, California, 56
Year: 2016
Paxton Lynch, Memphis 59
Jared Goff, California 58
Carson Wentz, North Dakota State 57
Christian Hackenberg, Penn State 56
Joel Stave, Wisconsin 56
Jacoby Brissett, North Carolina State 56
Josh Woodrum, Liberty 56
Cody Kessler, Southern Cal 55
Brandon Allen, Arkansas 55
Trevone Boykin, TCU 55
Dak Prescott, Mississippi State 54
Nate Sudfeld, Indiana 54
Kevin Hogan, Stanford 53
Brandon Doughty, Western Kentucky 53
Vernon Adams, Oregon 53
Jeff Driskel, Louisana Tech 52
Connor Cook, Michigan State 50
Cardale Jones, Ohio State, Did not throw
Year: 2015
Bryan Bennett, SE Louisiana 60
Sean Mannion, Oregon State 57
Brandon Bridge, South Alabama 57
Marcus Mariota, Oregon 56
Anthony Boone, Duke 56
Jameis Winston, Florida State 55
Cody Fajardo, Nevada 55
Bryce Petty, Baylor 53
Brett Hundley, UCLA 53
Shane Carden, East Carolina 52
Jerry Lovelocke, Prairie View A&M 51
Nick Marshall, Auburn 50
Blake Sims, Alabama 42
Garrett Grayson, Colorado State, Did not throw
Connor Halliday, Washington State, Did not throw
Year: 2014
Logan Thomas, Virginia Tech 60
Stephen Morris, Miami 59
Tom Savage, Pittsburgh 57
Blake Bortles, Central Florida 56
Jimmy Garoppolo, Eastern Illinois 56
Jeff Mathews, Cornell 56
Keith Wenning, Ball State 56
Jordan Lynch, Northern Illinois 55
Tajh Boyd, Clemson 54
Bryn Renner, North Carolina 54
David Fales, San Jose State 53
AJ McCarron, Alabama 53
Dustin Vaughan, West Texas A&M 53
Connor Shaw, South Carolina 50
Teddy Bridgewater, Louisville – Did not throw
Derek Carr, Fresno State – Did not throw
Johnny Manziel, Texas A&M – Did not throw
Zach Mettenberger, LSU – Did not throw
Aaron Murray, Georgia – Did not throw
Year: 2013
Tyler Bray, Tennessee 59
Zac Dysert, Miami (OH) 59
James Vandenberg, Iowa 57
Ryan Nassib, Syracuse 56
Bradley Sorensen, Southern Utah 56
Geno Smith, West Virginia 55
Tyler Wilson, Arkansas 55
EJ Manuel, Florida State 54
Matthew Scott, Arizona 54
Landry Jones, Oklahoma 53
Collin Klein, Kansas State 52
Colby Cameron, Louisiana Tech 51
Marqueis Gray, Minnesota 51
Michael Glennon, North Carolina State 49
Matt Barkley, Southern Cal – Did not throw
Sean Renfree, Duke – Did not throw
Year: 2012
Brandon Weeden, Oklahoma State 59
Kirk Cousins, Michigan State 59
Austin Davis, Southern Mississippi 58
Nick Foles, Arizona 57
Chandler Harnish, Northern Illinois 57
Jordan Jefferson, LSU 57
Russell Wilson, Wisconsin 55
Casey Keenum, Houston 55
Patrick Witt, Yale 54
Darron Thomas, Oregon 53
Ryan Lindley, San Diego State 52
Kellen Moore, Boise State 52
Jacory Harris, Miami 50
Aaron Corp, Richmond 50
BJ Coleman, Tennessee-Chattanooga Did not throw
Robert Griffin III, Baylor Did not throw
Andrew Luck, Stanford Did not throw
Brock Osweiler, Arizona State Did not throw
Ryan Tannehill, Texas A&M Did not throw
Year: 2011
Colin Kaepernick, Nevada 59
Ryan Mallett, Arkansas 58
Patrick Devlin, Delaware 56
Andy Dalton, TCU 56
Cam Newton, Auburn 56
Scott Tolzien, Wisconsin 55
Nathan Enderle, Idaho 54
Jake Locker, Washington 54
TJ Yates, North Carolina 52
Christian Ponder, Florida St 51
Ricky Stanzi, Iowa 50
Tyrod Taylor, Va Tech 50
Greg McElroy, Alabama Did not throw
Blaine Gabbert, Missouri Did not throw
Year: 2010
Levi Brown, Troy 56
Colt McCoy, Texas 56 (Did not throw at Combine. Throw was recorded at a private workout with a Radar Gun & Computer Chip in Ball.
Max Hall, BYU 52
Tim Hiller, Western Michigan 52
Michael Kafka, Northwestern 52
Zac Robinson, Oklahoma St. 52
Jevan Snead, Mississippi 52
Sean Canfield, Oregon St. 51
Jarrett Brown, West Virginia 50
John Skelton, Fordham 50
Dan LeFevour, Central Michigan 49
Tony Pike, Cincinnati 49
Armanti Edwards, Appalachian St. 46.5
Sam Bradford, Oklahoma Did not throw
Jimmy Clausen,Notre Dame Did not throw
Jonathan Crompton, Tennessee Did not throw
Tim Tebow, Florida Did not throw
Year: 2009
John Wilson Parker, Alabama 58
Mike Reilly, Central Washington 58
Drew Willy, Buffalo 58
Mark Sanchez, Southern Cal 57
Josh Freeman, Kansas State 57
Chase Daniels, Missouri 57
Nate Davis, Ball State 56
Curtis Painter, Purdue 56
Rhett Bomar, Sam Houston State 55
Tom Brandstetter, Fresno State 53
Cullen Harper, Clemson 53
Stephen McGee, Texas A & M 53
Graham Harrell, Texas Tech 52
Pat White, West Virginia 52
Matt Stafford, Georgia Did not throw
Year: 2008
Paul Smith, Tulsa 57
Joe Flacco, Delaware 55
Kevin O’Connell, San Diego St 55
Brian Brohm, Louisville 53
Chad Henne, Michigan 53
Erik Ainge, Tennessee 52
John David Booty, Southern Cal 51
Matt Flynn, LSU 50
Josh Johnson, San Diego 49
Colt Brennan, Hawaii 44
Dennis Dixon, Oregon Did not throw
Matt Ryan, Boston College Did not throw
Andre Woodson, Kentucky Did not throw