Evaluating New Tennessee Football Quarterback Commit Kaden Craft

The Tennessee Volunteers have landed the commitment of Kaden Craft, who is expected to be one of the better quarterbacks in the class of 2028 by the time that the final rankings come out. As of now, he ranks as highly as the No. 3 quarterback in the class, according to ESPN, and his commitment is completely groundbreaking for the Vols.

Recently, I turned on the film, and multiple things stood out. Here is my evaluation of the new Tennessee football quarterback commit in the class of 2028.

Comfortable Facing Pressure in the Pocket

Kaden Craft on the high school football field | @cole.iknimages/Instagram

One of the first things that I noticed while watching the film was that Craft was comfortable in the pocket in multiple clips when the majority of quarterbacks would have scrambled. There were multiple times that he could have rushed his progression to avoid a massive hit, but instead went through the natural motion, took the hit, and was on the money. This type of confidence and gutsy performance in the pocket won't go unnoticed at Tennessee.

It is also worth mentioning that it isn't always a good thing to take a hit, especially once he gets to the SEC, but when he was picking the right battles, he was delivering some game-changing plays.

His Internal Clock is Unbelievable

Due to great vision and an amazing internal clock that he is working with, Craft has been able to avoid pressure-filled situations that the typical quarterback can't escape. He is a natural-born football player with the ball in his hands, and when he finds clean air, there is always a chance that he can deliver a beautiful pass. While watching the film, I noticed that he has a great mindset when it comes to scrambling, as he is open to the idea, but he would much rather pass the ball downfield, even if that means he is on the run.

Even when he is moving, the talented 2028 prospect has been able to successfully convert on key downs and in big moments.

Hitting Receivers in Stride

While watching tape can be deceiving due to there only being the good plays on film, it is safe to say that he is excellent when hitting a receiver in stride. It took until around the 1:30 mark for there to be a pass that wasn't in stride, which goes to show that he is constantly putting the ball in a place that only the receiver can get to. This would be key in Josh Heupel's offense, as Heupel has a complex scheme that results in receivers often being open at the point of the ball being released.

This is something I will be watching closely, as if he even repeats the success from last season, when hitting receivers in stride, he could find himself having some massive seasons in Knoxville, Tennessee.

Confidence Has Led to Success

If there were a mental evaluation from this film, it would be that the talented quarterback is confident. Everything he is doing in his film shows that he is confident. Whether it is rolling out of the pocket and throwing a crossbody, or throwing a ball behind the defense's third level from his backfoot, Craft is confident. This type of confidence isn't shown when it comes to even the middle of the pack of quarterbacks, showing that Craft is among the best gunslingers in the class of 2028.

This confidence will allow him to make some big plays once he gets better protection in college.

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