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 NCAA Scouting – Player Profile:
Dan LeFevour – Quarterback – Central Michigan
by Jody Jamieson
26/1/2010
Dan LeFevour
Quarterback
Central Michigan
6-3, 226
Born 19th March 1987
Senior
Strengths: As productive as a player as you will ever see, a numbers machine that keeps on ticking over. A fantastic leader and super competitive, team mates and fans will love him. He manages the game well, makes good decisions and doesn’t force the ball too much. He feels the rush well and can improvise if the play breaks down but at the same time is willing to take a hit in order to deliver the ball. His arm is fine and he can make all the throws then allowed to follow through. Nice delivery that needs little work and he has a quick enough release. When he sets his feet, his accuracy is excellent and his throws have good touch. He’s mobile with quick feet and good speed which allows him to escape pressure or move the chains by himself. If he moves to buy time to throw he does a nice job of squaring his shoulders so he can throw properly.
Weaknesses: His footwork is inconsistent and it can affect his accuracy at times. Whilst his arm is live enough it is not so strong as to be able to compensate for throwing off his back foot or off-balance. He needs to show he can fool defenses with his eyes, stance and fakes or he’ll find his throws been jumped on by eager defensive backs. Whilst his mobility is good in general he does sometimes run before giving the play enough time to fully develop and some of his throws on the run can sail on him at times. He is from a spread offense and needs time to adjust to the pro style of the NFL especially taking snaps form under center. Not as proven as you would like against top notch college competition.
Where I think he’ll be drafted: I believe LeFevour has enough positives and production for him to be a 2nd or 3rd round pick. If a team zeros in on him and becomes very keen, he’ll be a late day one pick. Maybe a team like Bills or Browns, who can’t really hope to get at the likes of Bradford or Clausen in round one might look at this guy in rounds 2 or 3.
Where I think he should be drafted: I think LeFevour is a solid 3rd round type QB, plenty of production, no obvious flaws that are very off-putting but he does need some time to get out of spread offense habits and get rid of some of the slight concerns that could cause him to produce turnovers aplenty if made to play too early.
Summary: Dan LeFevour is the type of guy you’ll want to root for should your team draft him. He is deeply experienced, starting as a redshirt freshman and been productive from the word go – he is the only college player in NCAA history with 12,000 yards passing and 2,500 yards rushing as well as holding the record for total touchdowns in a career. As co-captain and in a position of leadership he is the type who will always fight and chase a lost cause. As a comparison it’s tough because the spread asks different things of QB’s than in the NFL but there is a bit of Tony Romo about him in that he can move about and make plays but he needs some experience and advice on how to work out some basic but repetitive flaws in his game. Despite been the centre of attention from his team he is seen as a great team mate and has remained humble. There is still a lot of doubt about how effective spread QB’s can be in the NFL but as the dominant college offense it is where the majority of QB’s are going to come from now and LeFevour is a guy who has enough positives about him to become a productive NFL player. I think he is a guy that in two or three years will be ready for his shot and if he can get anywhere near the production he had in college, he’ll be doing just fine and early on in his career can offer a bit of value as a wildcat/option type player in limited appearance packages.
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