BYU’s Blake Freeland, left, D’Angelo Mandell, Puka Nacua, an NFL scout, Jaren Corridor and one other scout watch BYU’s professional day on the faculty’s observe facility in Provo on Friday, March 24, 2023. Laura Seitz, Deseret Information
All issues thought of, Saturday’s closing 4 rounds of the NFL draft couldn't have gone a lot better for the BYU soccer program, which has made placing guys into the NFL a precedence beneath eighth-year head coach Kalani Sitake.
After getting shut out within the first three rounds Thursday and Friday — which wasn’t an enormous shock — BYU noticed three of its high offensive stars get taken within the fourth and fifth rounds as left sort out Blake Freeland, quarterback Jaren Corridor and receiver Puka Nacua all heard their names referred to as in the midst of the draft.
It's the first draft since 2002 that BYU has had three former gamers picked within the first 5 rounds. That yr, tight finish Doug Jolley and defensive sort out Ryan Denney went within the second spherical and quarterback Brandon Doman went within the fifth.
“Jaren is an final chief. He’s all concerning the workforce, does the whole lot proper. Only a nice child, and a fantastic chief (who) has tons of means. He'll do wonderful issues to assist the Vikings.” — BYU coach Kalani Sitake on Jaren Corridor.
All in all, it was a strong exhibiting for a program needing main expertise upgrades and a monitor file of putting individuals within the professionals to present recruits because it strikes into the Huge 12.
Extra validation for what offensive coordinator Aaron Roderick is doing in Provo got here within the type of Freeland getting picked up by the Indianapolis Colts at choose No. 106 within the fourth spherical, Corridor getting chosen by the Minnesota Vikings within the fifth spherical with the No. 164 total choose, and Nacua going to the Los Angeles Rams within the closing choose of the fifth spherical, at No. 177 total.
Freeland and Corridor went about the place they have been predicted to go — perhaps a spherical or two later than anticipated — whereas Nacua’s choice was a gentle shock for the Washington switch contemplating he was projected to go within the seventh spherical, or under no circumstances, by most mock drafts.
Corridor turns into the headliner for BYU
Though he wasn’t the primary Cougar taken, Corridor was BYU’s headliner Saturday, as quarterbacks typically are. Two years after the New York Jets took Corridor’s predecessor as BYU’s beginning QB, Zach Wilson, with the No. 2 total choose, the Vikings made Corridor the twelfth QB chosen within the 2023 draft.
By no means earlier than have 12 QBs gone within the draft earlier than the conclusion of the fifth spherical.
The explanation?
“Corridor has the potential to be a Brock Purdy-type man,” mentioned ESPN analyst Louis Riddick, referring to how the San Francisco 49ers struck gold final yr once they took the Iowa State QB with the ultimate choose of the 2022 draft and the rookie became a savior, guiding the Niners into the NFL playoffs after beginning the season as a third-stringer.
Because the run on guys who might be thought of backup QBs within the NFL picked up within the fourth spherical, ESPN’s Adam Schefter referred to as it the “Brock Purdy impact,” and Corridor grew to become a beneficiary.
“Jaren is an final chief,” Sitake mentioned. “He’s all concerning the workforce, does the whole lot proper. Only a nice child, and a fantastic chief (who) has tons of means. He'll do wonderful issues to assist the Vikings.”
Not like the state of affairs Wilson went to in New York, Corridor will clearly be a developmental mission for the Vikings in Minneapolis. Minnesota has a longtime starter in Kirk Cousins and a veteran backup in Nick Mullens. Theoretically, Corridor will push Mullens for that main backup spot.
Corridor entered the draft ranked anyplace between No. 8 and No. 12 on most QB lists. Three quarterbacks went within the fourth spherical — Fresno State’s Jake Haener to the Saints, Georgia’s Stetson Bennett to the Rams and Purdue’s Aidan O’Connell to the Raiders.
Within the fifth spherical, the Cardinals took Houston’s Clayton Tune with the No. 139 total choose, the Browns claimed UCLA’s Dorian Thompson-Robinson at 140 and the Packers nabbed Penn State’s Sean Clifford.
One NFL draft analyst, Albert Greer of Monday Morning Quarterback, tweeted that Corridor went “a bit later than anticipated, however there have been considerations over his medical (standing).”
Corridor made his first begin in 2019, changing into the primary Black athlete to begin a recreation at quarterback for BYU, however suffered a concussion in that recreation in opposition to South Florida. A hip harm saved the previous BYU baseball outfielder off the sphere in 2020 when Wilson was shining, and numerous rib and ankle accidents precipitated him to overlook video games in 2021 and 2022.
“This can be a man with a variety of upside as a possible developmental quarterback,” mentioned ESPN’s Reece Davis.
Added Riddick: “Yeah, lots of people in his BYU tenure in contrast him to Russell Wilson by way of the physique construct, the baseball background. … They love Jaren Corridor at BYU. They are saying he's the right prospect by way of his dedication, his maturity.”
Davis talked about how Corridor served a two-year mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and relayed a narrative about how “about 100 people who he had impacted from his mission” (in Sacramento) attended final November’s BYU-Stanford recreation in Palo Alto, California.
Corridor takes some spectacular numbers into the NFL, comparable to throwing for six,174 yards and 52 touchdowns with simply 11 interceptions. However maybe his biggest accomplishment was that he beat eight Energy 5 groups in his two seasons as a starter.
The thirteenth QB taken within the draft additionally has some BYU ties; Stanford’s Tanner McKee, a returned missionary who was closely recruited by BYU, was drafted by the Tremendous Bowl runner-up Philadelphia Eagles within the sixth spherical.
Response to Corridor’s choice was a bit blended.
Dion Caputi of NFL Draft Replace wrote: “In all probability the perfect QB chosen in the present day (Saturday), per my board. Jaren Corridor has a terrific arm, mix with upper-echelon athleticism and a formidable means to learn coverages. … One other older QB prospect.”
However Eric Edholm of NFL.com cautioned Vikings followers to not get their hopes up that Corridor is the inheritor obvious to Cousins, who's 34 years outdated.
“Corridor is a 25-year-old deep-ball chucker and form of a poor man’s Russell Wilson when you squint at him in the appropriate mild,” Edholm wrote. “There won't be great upside right here, however Corridor can provide them a developmental placeholder at QB.”
Huge Blake Freeland fills a giant want for Colts
Numerous prognosticators thought the 49ers would use one in every of their late third spherical picks on Freeland as they attempt to change departed sort out Mike McGlinchey, however San Francisco went with a kicker — a kicker! — at No. 99 in taking Michigan’s Jake Moody. Then they made former Olympus Excessive star Cameron Latu, a decent finish, the a hundred and first choose.
Kansas Metropolis, with former BYU lineman Andy Reid on the helm, was mentioned to be wanting Freeland with choose No. 92 within the third spherical, however after buying and selling up the Chiefs took sort out Wanya Morris of Oklahoma.
So Freeland needed to spend Friday evening with out a vacation spot earlier than the Colts took him with the fourth choose of the fourth spherical.
“It's a dream come true,” Freeland mentioned in a teleconference moments after changing into the second former Cougar offensive sort out to be drafted up to now three seasons, becoming a member of Brady Christensen of the Carolina Panthers. “I wasn’t anticipating a name from the Colts, however I'm freaking pumped about it, able to get going, able to get working.”
Freeland, 6-foot-7 and 305 kilos, mentioned he wasn’t anticipating the Colts to draft him as a result of his agent — Collin Roberts of Rep1 Sports activities — had given him a listing of groups most concerned with him and the Colts weren’t on it.
“However I had good interviews with them on the NFL mix and the Senior Bowl, so it labored out nice,” Freeland mentioned. “I used to be in a position to meet a few of their coaches, in order that was superior.”
Freeland performed proper sort out his first two seasons at BYU and left sort out his closing two seasons, after taking part in the whole lot from tight finish to quarterback to offensive line at Herriman Excessive within the Southwestern Salt Lake Valley. He mentioned he most likely prefers left sort out however can play both facet.
Freeland mentioned to arrange to play on the subsequent stage he’s studied movie of former Los Angeles Rams standout Andrew Whitworth.
“Him simply being one other 6-foot-7 sort out, he's nice to look at and take notes on,” Freeland mentioned.
The Colts used their No. 4 total choose to draft Florida quarterback Anthony Richardson, so when Freeland was picked ESPN’s Davis famous: “You gotta be sure you get some dudes up there to handle the brand new franchise quarterback.”
ESPN famous how Freeland “was born to play at Brigham Younger” as a result of his father Jim was a BYU linebacker and his mom Debbie was a BYU basketball star.
“He has the potential to go in there and win the left sort out job, as a result of it's broad open,” Riddick mentioned. “It's up for grabs.”
Freeland allowed simply two sacks in his 4 yr profession in additional than 1,400 pass-blocking snaps defending Corridor, backup Baylor Romney and Wilson.
“You've a man who ran effectively, who had the perfect vertical soar and broad soar (on the mix) of all of the offensive tackles on this group,” mentioned ESPN’s Todd McShay. “There's a lot to work with right here.”
Puka Nacua will get a pleasant shock
If there was a participant on BYU’s roster in 2022 who deserves to go to Hollywood, it's the ever-smiling, ever-positive Nacua as he follows the footsteps of older brothers Kai and Samson into the NFL.
Nacua caught 91 passes for 1,430 yards and 11 touchdowns in two seasons in Provo after transferring from Washington in an effort to be nearer to his mom and ailing grandmother. The Orem Excessive product was used all around the area by Roderick in 2021 and 2022, together with as a working again.
He’s simply one of many high playmakers, when he's wholesome, to return out of BYU.
Nacua sustained a concussion on the Senior Bowl practices that saved him out of the sport and from doing a lot on the NFL mix, however apparently the Rams seen his skills when he was in a position to play.
“Nacua had some Cooper Kupp-like moments within the first observe in Cell, Alabama, earlier than shutting it down,” wrote NFL.com’s Edholm. “Accidents have adopted him yearly, however Nacua has a big-play monitor file over 4 years.”
Nacua turns into solely the third BYU receiver to get drafted within the final 14 years, becoming a member of Austin Collie (2009) and Dax Milne (2021).
“Puka is essentially the most explosive playmaker I’ve ever coached,” Roderick mentioned. “He has an excellent means to run with the ball after the catch. He might be a fantastic playmaker within the NFL.”
Added BYU receivers coach Fesi Sitake: “In Puka, you’re getting somebody who's all soccer. He eats, sleeps and breathes soccer. He’s very studious with movie. He loves his craft as a receiver. “