Qb1nation spotlight / Noel Campbell Jr. / North Philly Blackhawks 13u / 2027

November 28, 2022

Written by | Dorrington Myers

Skinny:

Some of the greatest athletes have come out of Philadelphia, legends like Kobe Bryant, Marvin Harrison, and Joe Frazier to name a few. There’s no secret there. Noel popped up on my radar during Southern hospitality, he was absolutely surgical. I noticed this Qb from warm-ups long before the game even started. He showed me why he should be considered when comes down to Qb play and I’m excited to share my insight on him.

The Qb position requires an individual to have a certain mental capacity and love for pressure. It’s one of the most difficult positions to play, Noel handles pressure extremely well. I absolutely love his mechanics, Noel is polished far beyond his age group. His release is smooth with no hesitation, his hip rotations are in sync with his arm movements, and his throwing arm is quick strike in motion. Noel works the pocket better than anyone I’ve seen in the country. His ability to break and claim, evade would be defenders, and push/ pull make him a scary weapon for his offense. Noel has superior accuracy both on platform and off platform, it’s exciting to see. His pinpoint accuracy makes him surgical, Noel manipulates windows like it’s nobody’s business. If a defense allows him to stay on platform and buzz, it’s lights out. Noel is excellent at reading progressions, pairing this with his polished mechanics allows him to pick apart any defense. The most impressive thing is his poise and patience in the pocket, even with pressure Noel stands in and delivers. Noel is an excellent decision maker as well, he’s aware of down and distance, key situations, and clock management. He’s an extension of his coaching staff. Noel is developed far beyond his time.

Improvements:

The best Qb’s can always sharpen their skills, Noel is pretty solid mechanically. However, i have a couple of tweaks that will elevate Noel’s game to the next level. While going through his throwing motion, Noel will benefit from relaxing his front shoulder completely, this will allow for complete control of his weight transfer. Noel should keep his torso torqued while moving on the run, he has a tendency to stop and pop. Defenders won’t bite on that. The goal is to make the defense decide whether they will leave recievers open or stay in coverage. With that being said, Noel should attack the line of scrimmage consistently on the run. His mobility should be put on display. His offense will be more versatile this way. The last thing I’d Noel to implement is trusting his first instinct, when the pocket crashes then go, if a reciever is covered then manipulate the space to that recievers advantage. Don’t wait for the play to be completely destroyed to make something happen, the pace is set by the Qb. I’m excited that I had the chance to see Noel play, it’s poetry in motion watching him pick apart defenses. I expect nothing less than greatness in his future.