Chris Laviano Committs to Rutgers

Quarterback Chris Laviano of Holy Trinity High School in Hicksville, NY became the seventh class of 2013 prospect to commit to Rutgers on Friday. The Scarlet Knights offered him a scholarship over a year ago and he has since garnered a lot more attention nationally after an impressive performance at the Elite 11 QB Camp in Dallas in March. During his junior season, Laviano completed 60% of his passes for 1713 yards (7.4 ypa) and threw 14 TDs against 9 interceptions for the Titans.

Measurables 6'2'' 200 lbs 5.24
According to Laviano himself, some SEC schools (he visited Florida and Tennessee) shied away from him because of his height. 6'2'' is probably a shade below average for a pro style QB, but it's not really that big of a deal. You would think the success of quarterbacks like Russell Wilson and Drew Brees would make coaches look beyond height, but apparently that's not the case.

Stars:

Rivals	Scout	ESPN	247
3 stars, #28 Pro Style QB, #2 in NY	2 stars, #70 QB	4 stars, #176 overall, #10 pocket passer, #2 in NY	3 stars, 85 overall rating, #35 pro style QB, #7 in NY

There is a very wide variety of opinion on him. It's worth noting that the ESPN gurus got a first hand look at him during the Elite 11 Camp.

Offer Sheet: Boston College was the only other school to offer Laviano, while Alabama, Connecticut, Florida, Maryland, Miami, NC State, Purdue, Syracuse and Tennessee all expressed interest in him. I find it very odd that he only received two offers.

Scouting Report: Laviano is very mobile and he throws well on the run, as his offense requires him to make a lot of throws off bootlegs and sprint outs. He has very smooth footwork on his drop backs, a lightning quick release and he delivers a good, catchable ball. On short to intermediate throws he displays good timing, anticipation and accuracy. When attacking the defense vertically, he shows good arm strength and tremendous touch. However, he sometimes does not get enough zip on his passes over the middle because of a tendency to throw off his front foot. While in the pocket, he is able to "stare down the barrel" when a defender comes free, but when things collapse around him, he scrambles out instead of hanging in there and sliding. Overall his mechanics are solid, but he needs to fix the front foot thing and he throws the ball out of a lower arm slot than you would like. Laviano is a smart player and he reads defenses well. His stats will underwhelm you, but he doesn't have a great team around him and he certainly has talent himself.

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My Take: I really like Laviano. He has a lot of talent, smarts and polish. He is very well coached, the tape I saw of him was from his sophomore season and he looked very experienced and poised. Laviano gives Rutgers even more depth at the quarterback position, and he certainly has all the tools to be a future starting QB at the BCS level.