Alabama Game Week Scouting Report: Ole Miss Quarterback Matt Corral

BamaCentral and NFL Draft Bible team up to profile key players Alabama will face this season, who have a chance to be selected in the 2022 NFL Draft.

Ole Miss Athletics

When it comes to Ole Miss quarterback Matt Corral, the numbers speak for themselves this season:

In the season opener, he was 22-for-32 for 381 passing yards, along with 12 carries for 55 yards, plus he had a passing and rushing touchdown. Ole Miss raced past Louisville, 43-24. 

Week 2, the Rebels crushed Austin Peay, 54-17. He finished 21 of 33 for 281 yards and five touchdown passes, plus had two other potential scoring passes dropped. 

Corral got the seven touchdowns a week later, setting a school record during a 62-21 rout of Tulane. 

Corral ran for four touchdowns and passed for three more while finishing 23 of 32 for 355 yards. The scoring throws were to Dontario Drummond, Jonathan Mingo and Braylon Sanders. 

Overall, Ole Miss has tallied 158 points and 1,906 yards in just three games. Corral has thrown for 997 yards and nine touchdowns. His quarterback rating of 186.93 is eighth at the FBS level, three spots behind Alabama's Bryce Young (188.46).

He might be the best player Alabama sees during in the regular season. 

Matt Corral 

Jersey: No. 2
Position: Quarterback
Height: 6-1
Weight: 205
DOB: 1/31/99
Draft eligible: 2022
Hometown: Ventura, California
High School: Long Beach Poly

Background

Four-star recruit according to 247Sports. Full name is Matt Anthony Corral. Parents are married. Coached by Antonio Pierce at Long Beach Poly. Originally committed to USC. Committed to Florida and later flipped to Mississippi. Multi-Disciplinary Studies major. Suffered bruised ribs in the fourth game of the 2019 season.

Pros

Possessing very good underneath accuracy, Corral is able to get the ball to tightly covered receivers. He is a capable off-platform thrower, getting rid of the football under pressure and improvising successfully. His elusiveness and agility in the pocket makes him tough to sack and allows him to extend plays. Corral is a good athlete who can take off and scramble. He sets up quickly and has the vision to find targets on the move. Corral is willing to exploit one on one matchups on the perimeter by placing the ball to the back shoulder.

Cons

Corral is of a smaller stature. In the Rebels offense, he is not asked to be a drop-back passer often and when he is, he processes slowly, hanging in the pocket. After setting up, his accuracy to moving targets is off, throwing behind his receivers. He does not throw to leverage downfield. Corral often fails to rotate around, costing him velocity.

Summary:

Undersized quarterback who extends within and outside of the pocket and possesses accuracy underneath. Corral is rarely asked to drop back and go through progressions, subsequently struggling with slow processing when he does. Corral projects as a developmental quarterback who can be a playmaker with his ability to extend and distributor thanks to his accuracy. He can become a spot starter who could even elevate an offense using his abilities out of structure. Corral has to show that he can operate an NFL offense within structure.

Grades

6.4 (Current value/7.9 Potential value)

BamaCentral Analysis 

Last year, Corral pretty much matched Mac Jones throw for throw, and the numbers reflected it. He completed 21 of 28 attempts for 365 yards and two touchdowns, plus was credited with 40 rushing yards after two sacks as Ole Miss was able to get Alabama into a shootout. The Crimson Tide eventually won 63-48 in the first meeting between Lane Kiffin and his former boss Nick Saban since he was the Crimson Tide's offensive coordinator. Alabama ended up out-gaining the Rebels 723-647 in total yards. Corral hasn't had a turnover yet this season, but also hasn't faced a top-level defense either. If he can pull off a victory against Alabama, Corral will be the clear frontrunner for the Heisman Trophy.