Urban Meyer has coached a lot of quarterbacks in his day, including the No. 1 overall pick in the 2005 NFL Draft, Alex Smith. But from a pure accuracy standpoint, nobody tops Dwayne Haskins.
Meyer spoke with Fox Sports' Colin Cowherd about his former quarterback's prospects at the next level, discussing just how good he was at Ohio State.
"He's by far the most accurate guy," Meyer said, comparing him to his top college quarterbacks Smith, Chris Leak, Tim Tebow, Cardale Jones, J.T. Barrett and Braxton Miller. "His accuracy is No. 1. No. 2, is his football IQ is outstanding."
Meyer praised Haskins' intelligence and ability to flip protections and make adjustments to ensure he has a clean pocket and doesn't get hit.
"I think that's one of the most overlooked things for quarterbacks," Meyer said. "When you see him not get hit, you say 'well, the offensive line is great.' But wait a minute, a lot of the times they're flipping protections to make sure they pick up the pressures. And other than accuracy, that's Dwayne's strength."
“At some point he'll be the face of a franchise.”– Urban Meyer on Dwayne Haskins
Depending on who you ask, Haskins is expected to go as high as No. 6 in the upcoming NFL Draft, or slide as low as the pick No. 17-20 range. Meyer thinks his ideal landing spot is somewhere that he can sit and learn for a year, because after just one season as a starter, he doesn't believe he's quite ready to be a franchise quarterback.
"Not yet, he's close though." Meyer said. "He's only got one year under his belt and I think the situation would be perfect – and there's a couple of them out there – he comes in, he learns for a year, at some point he'll be the face of a franchise."
A lack of experience is Meyer's top concern with both Haskins and Kyler Murray, who most expect to be the No. 1 pick next week.
"The two top quarterbacks in the NFL Draft right now, they've played one year of football," Meyer said. "Usually it takes four to five year to learn how to play that position. Those would be my concerns about our guy, Dwayne (Haskins), and Kyler (Murray)."
Meyer also had high praise for Nick Bosa, who most expected to be the No. 2 player selected next week. Meyer wouldn't go as far as to call him a "can't miss" player, but said he doesn't know how you could pass on him.
"When he went down, it took us two months to get over that. That's how good of a player he is," Meyer said. "I don't know if there's a can't miss, but if I'm a general manager in the NFL, I don't know how you let that one go. That's how good a player he is. He's that good."
You can listen to Meyer's full interview below, which includes a little anecdote about his all-time favorite plays to call with one of his all-time favorite players.
"You know, my Fox college football team, my analysts, they were giving me a hard time saying on third-down and 1, we knew what you were going to do when you had J.T.," Meyer said. "I said 'Damn right, cause you couldn't stop it.' J.T. Barrett for a first down."
