Film Room: 2019 QB Peyton Matocha is Miami bound

2019 quarterback recruit Peyton Matocha has verbally committed to becoming a Miami Hurricane. Dan Enos, the ‘Canes offensive coordinator and quarterback coach, needed to sign a freshman that he can mold. That molding will come through dual-management with preferred walk-on Carson Proctor in the meeting room as an “Enos guy.” Proctor will help Matocha through the expectations of the Enos system. That’s developing a program instead of a team.

Matocha is a three-star from St. Thomas (not THAT St. Thomas) in Houston, TX. He’s six-foot-four, 204 pounds and can move. Matocha has a verified (per 247 Sports) 4.76 40-yard dash 4.32 shuttle and 31.5” vertical leap. Consider this: as a high school senior he’s already taller, faster, and more explosive than Sam Darnold was at the 2018 NFL Combine.

He may not be the biggest name in the 2019 class, but if Craig Bohl of Wyoming was interested and Jimbo Fisher brought Matocha in for a PWO visit, I would say the kid can play. His other recruiting interest was Army West Point and Jeff Monken knows about finding winners to command his offense.

Compared to Lance Legendre, Matocha isn’t as naturally athletic but his skills are much closer to playing big-time football today than those of Legendre. I wasn’t high on Legendre because he would have to be a guaranteed redshirt in order to fix his sloppy mechanics. Matocha needs to hit the weight room and put on muscle to increase his arm strength and power in his hips- but his mechanics look solid, as to be expected from a Houston-area prospect.

Mechanics

Throwing the football

The keys to throwing the football start with football IQ. Offensive Coordinators, especially someone like Coach Enos, want a QB with a high football IQ. Matocha is known as being a football nerd and I love the depth of the offense in his senior season tape. Matocha has really good footwork, even if he slightly gets off balance at times. He keeps the football close to his body and has a nice arm whip on his release. Unlike many high school QB’s, he has a very consistent follow through on his throws.

Below, Matocha adjusts his mechanics on the corner route and drops the football right into the bucket where only his receiver could run under and get it. That’s a high school kid dropping a dime on the proper shoulder while under a little pressure- not bad, kid. His arm follow through is nice, his elbow comes before the football, but he’s a little off balance on the finish- although “Adapt or Die” would say that it’s appropriate on fade rhythm throws.

Let’s finish the throws on a high note. Beautiful mechanics from Matocha on this post route. Foot work is good, balance is there, elbow comes before the football and his typical finish is there. He even gives a quick nod off on the safety which is a nice touch.

Running the football

Running Mechanics are going to be as important as throwing mechanics with Enos and head coach Manny Diaz wanting a mobile quarterback who can be involved in the read option game. Matocha isn’t Lamar Jackson, but he attacks the hole here and flashes a little breakaway speed. On top of that, watch how he carries the football- he’s in the Keenan Reynolds mold of tucking the football up to his chest and pumping the off arm.

You see read and speed in the GIF above, and grit in the GIF below. When I reviewed “The Quarterback Whisperer” by Bruce Arians, I noted Arians’ love of grit. Grit, according to Angela Duckworth, is the ability for (a quarterback) to persevere in tough situations. Guys are going to throw interceptions, they’re going to be hit hard, and they’re going to have to lower a shoulder and Matocha shows he’s willing and able.

In the GIF below, he swings the ball away from his body a bit too much for my taste. Makes a nice read though on the read option and pulls when the back side defensive end’s numbers disappear on the squeeze. Matocha is going to have to make sure that when he goes to finish at the college level he’s the low-man on contact. Here he’s standing tall and takes a hit that he won’t survive in the ACC.

Summary

Matocha is a great selection because he’s moldable, he has the mechanics already down, and played in a real offensive scheme; unlike N’Kosi Perry’s high school career. Watching his film you can see that Matocha can make reads, go through his progressions, has solid footwork, can throw on the run, and has enough whip on his arm action to make throws in traffic.

Obviously he needs time to mature, physically, and get a little more zip on the deep outs but I really like this pickup. I think this is a legitimate signing and not just filler to make sure there’s someone in the 2019 class. However, I do think Coach Enos will be on his 2020 list immediately and will have a blue chip prospect in Coral Gables if Miami can win nine or ten games against a weak schedule in 2019.