There are a lot of ways in which players are evaluated. Reports printed before National Signing Day in early February list a player’s height, weight and time in the 40-yard dash, as well as statistics like yards gained, touchdowns and tackles.

Coaches, of course, delve much more deeply in evaluating a player, going into the specifics of techniques taught to and used by the player, projections of future physical growth and how that player projects in to a specific offense or defense.

Assistant coach Dan Morrison said 2013 freshman quarterback Kolney Cassel has benefited greatly from his work with former NFL quarterback and quarterbacks coach Chris Miller (photo by Cassel family).

Perhaps no position draws closer scrutiny than quarterback, where players not only have to be able to throw and run with the ball, but also have to think the offense, read defenses and make split-second adjustments. PonyFans.com visited recently with SMU associate head coach/offense Dan Morrison to discuss what he liked about incoming quarterback Kolney Cassel during the evaluation and recruiting process.

"Coach (Tom) Mason knew his high school coach, and I think it’s pretty well known by now that Chris Miller — who June (Jones) used to coach and later was the quarterbacks coach of the Arizona Cardinals — has worked for years with Kolney. So we were able to get in and visit with him.

I usually use six criteria when I look at quarterbacks:

• Accuracy

• How fast their arms are

• Arm strength

• Feet — how balanced they are when they throw

• If they demonstrate that they can slide in the pocket to avoid pressure

• What their coaches say … not about how many touchdowns he threw, or anything like that — we know those numbers — but how they’re taught, how they study and learn what they’re taught, how their eyes are trained.

It’s always interesting to find out how they’re taught to see the field in front of them. Some guys are taught to find their receiver and throw to him, and others are taught to find the defensive player first, and then figure out where the receiver is and where he’ll be, and where to throw the ball. What we have found is that guys who are trained to see defensive guys first throw fewer interceptions — in many cases, far fewer. When they’re trained to see the receiver first, it’s natural that they don’t always see the defender that well, because they’re focused in on their guy, their target. When they’re trained to see the defender first, they find their receiver and already know that the defender has inside coverage, or is playing in back of the receiver, and they can decide more quickly where the ball can be thrown with a chance of being complete.

When we talk about a quick arm, it’s not so much how fast the arm is moving when the ball is thrown, but more how quick fast the windup is and how quickly he gets rid of the ball. That’s important. In some cases, that’s more important than pure arm strength, because there are a lot of offenses out there that … 80-85 percent of the passes are thrown within 15 yards of the line of scrimmage, sometimes even behind the line of scrimmage. So if a player can throw the ball a long way, that’s impressive, but you have to figure out how that fits in your offense. I have seen kids throw a ball 70 yards who couldn’t play at this level because they have strong arms, but they have long, slow arms. They have a long windup and they’re just too slow getting the ball out.

Kolney has a very accurate arm, and a very quick arm — he really gets the ball out in a hurry. He’s very accurate, he slides around well in the pocket and he has really good balance when he throws. He has spent a lot of time working with Chris Miller, and it shows. You can tell he has worked with someone who really knows the proper mechanics of throwing a football.

The other thing we look for is whether high schools are making their kids make the throws they would have to make in this offense. His high school offense has him making a lot of the same throws we use in ours. There are different formations and terminology and things like that, but we have seen him make some of the throws that he will be making here.

Kolney is a very unique guy, and there’s a lot to like about him. He has good size and a very good arm, a very accurate arm, and he just loves football. He loves to practice, he loves to work out, he loves to study. He has a lot of things we look for."