NFL Draft Profile: Spencer Sanders, Quarterback, Oklahoma State Cowboys
In this story:
#3
Pos: QB
Ht: 6010
Wt: 210
40: 4.54
DOB: 12/15/1999
Hometown: Denton, TX
High School: Ryan
Eligibility: 2023
Spencer Sanders
Oklahoma State Cowboys
One-Liner:
Sanders is undersized, and ultimately has no traits to hang his hat on. He will not be good enough to make a roster in the NFL.
Evaluation:
Can make throws on the run with an adjusted arm angle to make throws outside of the pocket. Accuracy over the middle of the field was sufficient. Sanders is able to extend plays by rolling to his right or left. Throwing off-balance and off-platform doesn’t deter him. Strong runner of the football. Occasionally can drop the ball in the bucket on deep throws near the sidelines. His throwing motion is elongated and takes too long to get the ball out. Needs to tighten up those mechanics and put it on a shorter of a string to release the ball quicker. Hands may be smaller in measurement, which could be why his passes don’t come off clean with a tight spiral. His throws just can’t make it to the target because of inaccuracy or lack of zip on the ball, especially on throws outside the hashes. Sanders' accuracy is extremely errant all over the field. Rarely hits the deep ball in stride. Intermediate throws to the outside of the field can’t make it there more often than not. Very limited arm strength in totality. Makes some questionable throws and doesn’t scan the field very well to find his open receivers. Throws the ball into traffic way too often when there are smarter plays to make. Spencer Sanders is probably considered as undersized, even though that isn’t as big of a deal in the NFL anymore. His size combined with the fact that he isn’t the best of athletes or passers somewhat writes his future in pen. He doesn’t intrigue in any way as a pocket passer because of the lack of arm strength, accuracy and decision making.
Grade:
UDFA
Background:
Hometown is Denton, Texas. Four-star recruit according to 247Sports. Ranked as a top 20 player in Texas and a top 10 dual-threat quarterback in the nation. 2017/18 Gatorade State Player of the Year. Named Mr. Football in Texas. Selected to the 2018 U.S. Army All-American Bowl. Suffered two season-ending injuries in his four years of high school, including a knee injury his freshman year. Also played basketball and track and field in high school. Missed two games in 2019 due to a thumb injury, which required surgery. Missed just under three games in 2020 due to an ankle injury. Parents are David and Carrie Sanders. His sister, Carissa Sanders, played soccer at North Texas. Majoring in University Studies.
Quotes:
“Well, Spencer has been fantastic for us. He has now become a magician in our offense. He knows it. He can run it fast. He understands. The middle toward the end of last year he started to make really quality decisions in a short amount of time, which is very important in quarterback play in our opinion. He's tough. He's humble. He doesn't worry about something that he might not have. There's times that we put him on the field and we were beat up in the offensive line. Never said a word about it. There's times we put him out there and he was playing with true freshmen at wide receivers. Never said a word about it.” – Oklahoma State Head Coach Mike Gundy on Spencer Sanders
