Prospect Bio

An All-American from California, Matt Corral was the headline of the Rebels’ 2018 class. Corral was a consensus four-star prospect, a top-five quarterback in his class, and top-ten player from California. In his senior season, Corral threw for 2,495 yards and 29 passing touchdowns. As a four year high school starter, Corral threw for over 11,000 yards and 123 passing touchdowns.

Corral’s success on the field followed him to Oxford, Mississippi. Corral was able to get some experience as a true freshman while still maintaining redshirt eligibility; Corral went 16 for 22 for 239 yards, two touchdowns and an interception. Prior to his redshirt freshman season, Corral was named to the preseason All-America Team and Shaun Alexander Freshman of the Year award. His redshirt freshman year saw Corral develop and earn four starts, leading the team with 1,362 passing yards and six touchdowns.

In his redshirt sophomore season, shortened by COVID-19, Corral put himself on the map. A season that featured now New York Jet Elijah Moore, Corral completed 70.9 percent of his passes for 3,337 yards and 29 touchdowns. Corral also added 506 yards on the ground and four rushing scores. Ole Miss went 5-5, including an Outback Bowl upset over the 7th ranked Indiana Hoosiers.

After his stellar redshirt sophomore season and departure of favorite weapon Elijah Moore, Corral could have regressed like some of his peers. However, Corral managed to lead the Rebels to a 10-3 record, only the third 10-win season since 2000 for Ole Miss. Corral’s passing numbers were comparable to his sophomore season: completing 67.9 percent of his attempts for 3,349 yards and 20 touchdowns. Corral added 614 rushing yards and 11 touchdowns.

Unfortunately, many will remember Corral’s final season in Oxford for his bowl game. While many opted to sit out bowl games to preserve their health for the NFL Draft, Corral played in the Sugar Bowl against Baylor. Corral suffered a high ankle injury in the game and was carted off the field. Corral was unable to test at the combine, but should be healthy in time for the start of the 2022 season.

College Stats

Matt Corral College Stats Courtesy of sports-reference.com

Positives

+ Accurate; good ball placement

+ Good decision-making

+ Strong composure

+ Improved moving through his progressions

+ Good release

+ Can throw from different arm angles

+ Mobile; a true threat in RPOs

+ Great leader

+ Sound mechanics

+ 95.5 college QBR (95th-percentile, PlayerProfiler)

+ 10.2 YPA (94th-percentile, PlayerProfiler)

Negatives

– Tends to force plays rather than take what the defense gives him

– Not elite in size

– Sufficient arm strength

– 20.6 breakout age (54th-percentile, PlayerProfiler)

Highlight Reel

Comparable Player: Derek Carr

NFL Draft Projection: 1st/2nd Round

Bottom Line:

While Corral could not perform at the NFL Combine, one would think he won over head coaches by stating he didn’t regret playing in the bowl game. After a strong sophomore season, Corral followed it up with a better junior campaign. He improved his decision making, cutting his turnovers down from 14 to five. Corral’s mobility makes him a threat in RPOs. Currently, Corral is the least discussed quarterback amongst those with a first or second round grade. The quarterback carousel is slowing down and the chairs are being filled. Corral may not find a starting job right away, but his leadership and skill could propel him to start sooner than later.

Post Draft Analysis:

Once thought of as the top quarterback in the class, Matt Corral slid all the way to the end of the third round as the fourth quarterback off the board. However, other than Kenny Pickett, Corral has the clearest path to the QB1 chair among all the rookies The Panthers are seemingly desperate to move on from the Sam Darnold experiment so it’s very likely Corral is the starter by October, if not Week 1. Whenever that time comes, he’ll be surrounded by a few quality weapons in D.J. Moore, Christian McCaffrey, and Robby Anderson.

Resources: DLF, PlayerProfiler, PFN, PFF, TDN

Yards Per-Formance Prospect Grade