Sports blog information from USA TODAY.
See for yourself what makes Western Kentucky’s Bailey Zappe one of the top quarterback prospects in the 2022 NFL draft
The 2022 NFL draft is right around the corner, so it’s time to take a closer look at some of this year’s top prospects.
What makes Western Kentucky’s Bailey Zappe one of this year’s top quarterbacks?
Watch the tape and see for yourself:
The 2022 Senior Bowl was jam-packed with talent. Who should the Vikings keep an eye on?
The Senior Bowl is a fantastic event for many reasons, but the biggest reason is how much you can learn from this class. Over 100 players attend the event in Mobile to show off their skills and speak with teams. Throughout the week, players are put through drills to showcase their skills and traits.
The Senior Bowl staff, led by director Jim Nagy, has done a fantastic job not only finding players from high profile programs, but also standouts from the lower levels. These lower level guys usually have dominant tape, but this platform gives teams the ability to see them compete on an even playing field.
Players like Ali Marpet, Kyle Dugger and Carson Wentz have massively benefitted from being invited to Mobile.
When down in Mobile, there are a lot of different things you can take away from the event. Along with learning about the players, it’s also a major outlet for scouts and media to converse and learn more about what other teams think of the class and to hear what rumors are swirling.
After having been in Mobile this past week, here are the five biggest takeaways for the Minnesota Vikings.
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In Draft Wire’s latest three-round mock, the Colts added an explosive WR and a sleeper QB.
The Indianapolis Colts are still months away from the 2022 NFL draft but they’ve been hard at work sculpting their draft board despite it being very early in the process.
In the latest three-round mock draft from our friends over at Draft Wire, the Colts wound up adding to the offensive side of the ball with an explosive wide receiver and a sleeper quarterback.
Without a first-round pick thanks to the Carson Wentz trade, the Colts won’t be on the board until the No. 47 overall pick in the draft. They follow that up with the No. 82. overall pick.
Here’s a look at the latest three-round mock draft from Draft Wire:
The Senior Bowl QBs for the roster the Lions are coaching in Mobile have been revealed
One of the big benefits of coaching in the Senior Bowl is the ability to work closer than any other NFL franchise with a large crop of draft prospects. For the Detroit Lions and Dan Campbell, they’ll get a look at three quarterback prospects often mentioned in aspirational connection to the team when they head the American team in Mobile next month.
The Senior Bowl revealed the quarterbacks who will play for Campbell and the Lions in the practices and game, which takes place on February 5th.
Detroit will handle Sam Howell from North Carolina, Malik Willis of Liberty and Bailey Zappe of Western Kentucky.
It’s a broad range of prospect levels. Howell is generally projected in the back half of the first round, where the Lions hold the pick from the Los Angeles Rams. Willis is now expected to be a Day 2 pick, in the second or third round. Zappe often gets slotted in the early part of Day 3, the fourth or fifth round.
Interestingly, Kenny Pickett from Pittsburgh and Desmond Ridder of Cincinnati will be on the other roster. Pickett is often projected as the top quarterback in the draft, while Ridder is often in the same range as Howell or Willis. They will be on the roster coached by the New York Jets, who took QB Zach Wilson at No. 2 overall last year.
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How did 10 potential #Philadelphia #Eagles draft picks do in major bowl games? #CFBPlayoff
The Eagles have three first-round picks in the 2022 NFL draft and that allows for a ton of maneuverability, or Howie Roseman could just nab the three best players on the board.
Whether it be the national championship game or other bowl games, several prospects that could potentially land in Philadelphia made their case over the past two weeks.
Here’s how several top prospects did in bowl games.
Jalen Hurts is firmly entrenched as #FlyEaglesFly starting signal-caller but the QB factory must continue and so we’ve listed the perfect mid/late-round QB fits for the #Eagles in the #NFLDraft #NFLDraft2022
Jalen Hurts has done enough to warrant becoming the Eagles franchise quarterback going forward, so the 2022 NFL Draft process should be all about surrounding the dual-threat passer with weapons on both sides of the ball.
Philadelphia considers itself a quarterback factory, so even as the organization appears comfortable moving on with Hurts, Howie Roseman is still likely to add a young signal-caller during the draft process.
Gardner Minshew wants to be a starter and could be the subject of trades talks in March, while Reid Sinnett could remain on the roster and be subjected to waivers in a salary-cap move.
If Roseman does target a quarterback in the draft, the hope is that Philadelphia’s general manager has learned from the Carson Wentz saga, and will instead look to the mid or late rounds for his next project or asset.
Here are several mid to late-round quarterback prospects that the Eagles could look to target.
Western Kentucky’s Bailey Zappe just completed the most prolific season for a quarterback in college football history
Incredible accomplishment for Bailey Zappe 😤 @WKUFootball pic.twitter.com/Bv1LhIqxpo
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) December 18, 2021
We now have a new answer to two different trivia questions.
The next time someone asks Siri who owns the college football records for passing yards and touchdown passes in a single season, Western Kentucky quarterback Bailey Zappe will be the reply.
Zappe set the new marks in Saturday’s 59-38 win over Appalachian State in the Boca Raton Bowl, completing 33 of his 47 pass attempts for 433 yards and six touchdowns. He finished the 2021 season with 5,967 passing yards and 62 touchdown passes, with just 11 interceptions.
While he may not be the first quarterback off the board in the 2022 NFL draft, his incredible production this season will certainly have pro scouts intrigued as they evaluate this year’s top passers.
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We have a new single-season passing touchdown king as Joe Burrow’s 2019 mark gets passed.
It was only a matter of time before this record would be broken. After Joe Burrow set the FBS record for most touchdown passes during the 2019 season, we have a new touchdown king in college football. That wasn’t the only record he broke on the day as Zappe also set the new single-season passing yards record at 5,967. The original record was held by Texas Tech quarterback BJ Symons who threw for 5,833 yards in 13 games in 2003.
Zappe and the Hilltoppers beat Appalachian State in the Boca Raton Bowl on Saturday, 59-38. He finished with 422 yards passing and six touchdowns.
Breaking down the final numbers for Zappe and how he compared to Burrow.
| Zappe | vs | Burrow |
| 14 | Games | 15 |
| 69.2 | Comp % | 76.3 |
| 5,967 | Yards | 5,671 |
| 426.1 | Yards/Game | 378.1 |
| 62-11 | TD-INT | 60-6 |
The fact that he broke the record in one less game shows just the kind of season that Zappe put together in 2021. His offensive coordinator and quarterback coach Zach Kittley will now take his high-powered offense to Lubbock, Texas, with the Red Raiders in 2022.
Burrow’s numbers were impressive given the level of competition he faced in that magical 2019 season. Which isn’t to take anything away from what the former Houston Baptist transfer acomplished. Burrow and Zappe are the only quarterbacks in FBS history to throw for 60 touchdowns in a single season.
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Follow Patrick on Twitter:Â @PatrickConnCFB
Quick reactions to the college football games: Boca Raton, Celebration, New Mexico, Independence Bowls
Bowl Game Reaction to the Boca Raton, Celebration, New Mexico, and Independence Bowls
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CFN Predictions | 2021-2022 Bowl Schedule
Bowl Game Reactions Â
– Boca Raton: WKU 59, App St 38
– Celebration, New Mexico, Independence to come
– Now THAT’S a bowl game. It started early, started fast, and it kept on rolling until Appalachian State punched itself out in the second half. 1,246 yards of total offense, 97 points, big play after big play. This was why we all do bowl season.
– Bailey Zappe was incredible. He threw for 422 yards and six scores with no picks, but he had a whole lot of help. Zappe was the signature star coming in from Houston Baptist – and he set the single season passing record and broke Joe Burrow’s touchdown pass record – but battery mate Jerreth Sterns had a whole lot to do with it, too. The star WR caught 13 passes for 184 yards and three scores.
MITCHELL TINSLEY STAYED ON HIS FEET TO GET THE 75-YARD TD 😳 pic.twitter.com/mH8zsoPiBB
— ESPN College Football (@ESPNCFB) December 18, 2021
– Appalachian State could never get control. For good and for mostly bad, it kept scoring too quickly. It needed to slow things down to a stop, but it got caught up in a firefight and couldn’t keep up. The running game did what it was supposed to do – 251 yards – but the team only had the ball for just over 31 minutes. The time of possession battle needed to be lopsided.
–Â No, WKU’s defense didn’t do a whole lot –Â it couldn’t tackle, it gave up over 600 yards, and it struggled – but the four turnovers made a difference. The pace of the game made Appalachian State press, and the mistakes followed.
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Hilltoppers QB Bailey Zappe broke multiple huge college football records in the Boca Raton Bowl.
Western Kentucky quarterback Bailey Zappe entered Saturday’s RoofClaim.com Boca Raton Bowl game against Appalachian State with 56 passing touchdowns this season. That was, by far, the most among FBS quarterbacks on the year, including 13 more touchdowns than Alabama quarterback and 2021 Heisman Trophy winner Bryce Young.
So after a stellar performance in the Hilltoppers’ season finale, Zappe now owns the FBS record for most passing touchdowns ever in a single season, as well as the record for most passing yards in a season. And the senior quarterback’s numbers for the year and for his team’s bowl game are outrageous.
With Zappe’s 56 touchdowns prior to the Boca Raton Bowl game, he needed four to tie former LSU quarterback Joe Burrow’s record of 60, set during the Tigers’ 2019-20 championship season.
And after throwing for four touchdowns in the first half against the Mountaineers to tie the mark, Zappe’s fifth touchdown pass of the game broke Burrow’s record. Here it is from about midway through the third quarter on a two-yard touchdown pass to junior wide receiver Mitchell Tinsley:
— Follow @TPortalCFB (@CowardlyDoggo) December 18, 2021
But, as we mentioned, that wasn’t the only record Zappe set Saturday.
He also broke the single-season passing yards record, which previously belonged to Texas Tech’s B.J. Symons at 5,833 yards. Going into the bowl game, Zappe previously had 5,545 passing yards on the season — also the most among FBS quarterbacks at that point.
Here’s a look at the moment Zappe blew past the passing yards mark in the second quarter on a 43-yard pass to junior wide receiver Jerreth Sterns:
🚨Bailey Zappe has broken the FBS passing yards record for a season!!!🚨 Zappe passes former Texas Tech QB BJ Symons (threw 5833 yards back in 2003)! pic.twitter.com/JpvF8Eg246
— ✯✯✯✯✯ (@FTB_Vids_YT) December 18, 2021
Leading Western Kentucky to a 59-38 victory over Appalachian State, Zappe completed 33-of-47 passes for 422 yards and six (!!!) touchdowns. So his single-season passing touchdown record is set at 62, while his single-season passing yards record is now 5,967.
Entering Saturday’s bowl game, Zappe already posted some incredible stats throughout his standout season. But once he broke two major college football passing records, fans were completely in awe of what he accomplished in 14 games this season.
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