An Introduction To The UCLA Football Recruits of 2016: Quarterbacks

Jan 2, 2015; San Antonio, TX, USA; UCLA Bruins quarterback Brett Hundley (17) throws the ball during the first half of the 2015 Alamo Bowl against the Kansas State Wildcats at Alamodome. Mandatory Credit: Soobum Im-USA TODAY Sports

The California quarterback class of 2015 was one for the ages. The depth of high-end quarterback talent available in California in 2015 was truly flukish and astonishing. It was a class that recruiting followers will rhapsodize about for the next two decades. From a UCLA perspective, it was a notable year for another reason: for the first time ever, the Bruins reeled in the highest-ranked quarterback recruit in the country (and the headliner of that illustrious 2015 group of quarterbacks) in Josh Rosen.

The 2016 class of California quarterbacks is, to put it mildly, not nearly as deep or talented. In fact, 24/7’s Composite Index rates only three in-state quarterbacks as fringe four-star prospects or above: KJ Costello (Rancho Santa Margarita, CA/Santa Margarita Catholic), Devon Modster (Rancho Santa Margarita, CA/Tesoro), and Matt Fink (Glendora, CA/Glendora).  With Costello committing to Stanford last week and Fink (who tried to reel in a UCLA offer for quite a while) leaning to USC after an unexpected offer from the Trojans came his way last week once Costello spurned them, Modster stands out as UCLA’s best hope of picking off one of the better local QB prospects from this year’s shallow pool.

The uncommitted offerees (per Bruin Sports Report):

4-star Dwayne Haskins (Potomac, MD/Bullis)

4-star Jarrett Guarantano (Oradell, NJ/Bergen Catholic)

4-star Devon Modster

The main target:

Devon Modster

UCLA Bruins

Modster is probably the best fit for UCLA’s offense of the three aforementioned 2016 local 4-star QB recruits. Costello is a pure pro-style pocket-passer with limited mobility who smartly saw that Stanford’s offensive system was the best match for his skillset and talents. Fink is a pure dual-threat quarterback who is an undoubted talent as a runner but extremely raw as a passer and field general. Modster is probably the best combination out of the three of pocket passer and open-field runner.

Modster is far from a Josh Rosen-type, slam-dunk prospect, but he has intriguing tools that make him stand out as the best of UCLA’s options at quarterback in this recruiting class. A quick summary of Modster would say that he seems to share a lot of habits and traits with Brett Hundley, but lacks Hundley’s five-star physical stature and upside. However, we’ll get a little more detailed here. Modster has good arm strength and throws from an over-the-top arm slot that enables him to more easily throw over taller linemen than other 6’1″ quarterbacks would. He throws a tight and catchable ball, and really seems to be able to put the ball in tight windows when he has protection and can set his feet. His highlight tape makes it clear that he’s a natural runner who seems to be a stockier and slightly less fluid version of Hundley in the open field. Modster seems like he would thrive running the offense that suited Hundley best: quick hitting plays with simple reads and the opportunity to run when circumstances allowed for it.

However, Modster’s flaws are pretty evident as well. He seems to have Hundley’s problem of locking onto one receiver and ignoring his progressions. That is the main issue that prevented Hundley from ever making the leap from really good college quarterback to elite college quarterback and it stands to reason Modster would similarly be unlikely to be a championship-winning quarterback if he retained that tunnel vision throughout college. Modster’s delivery could also cause him problems in the future on multiple fronts. His throws seem to be all arm with limited involvement of his core and legs. That puts a limit on the power he can generate on his throws and puts additional stress and torque on his elbow and shoulder joints, which could be present injury problems down the road. It’s an issue not too dissimilar from a common one that baseball pitching prospects have to overcome, although a quarterback isn’t throwing with the ferocity and varied grips and motions of a pitcher, so any potential injury issues Modster would face would stand to be relatively less extreme.

When a projection of a quarterback’s potential suitability for the top levels of college football involves a potential reworking of elements of his delivery, definite red flags emerge. The stunted careers of four-star UCLA quarterbacks like Asiantii Woulard (for now) and TJ Millweard are just two out of countless potential testaments to the hazards of taking raw pieces of quarterback clay that have adopted less-than-ideal habits as high schoolers and trying to re-mold them into something capable of success at the highest echelon of the college game.

Given the presence of Modster’s brother on the roster of Boise State, it’s no sure thing that Modster even picks UCLA in the end, although the smart money is on the Bruins over the Broncos at the moment. But in a recruiting class with a limited amount of suitable options at the most important position on the field, a sure-fire four-star kid like Modster is basically an oasis in the desert. Despite his flaws, Modster has a lot more going for him than against him and he would, at the absolute minimum, add quality depth at a position at which UCLA’s depth chart shapes up to be thread-bare in the near future. With this class of local quarterbacks and UCLA’s desperate need for potentially viable quarterbacks on the roster, the circumstances make Modster one of the most important recruits that UCLA is currently pursuing. He’s near the level of must-have for UCLA, simply because after him, there’s no logical option to turn to in this class that would project as anything more than filler on the roster.