QB Comps: Which Pros OSU Players Look Like Starting with Cornelius

While breaking down Taylor Cornelius’ first start about a week ago, I was trying to think of which current or former NFL player I would compare his game to. This in turn started me down a path of making comparisons for the two oft-discussed Cowboy backup quarterbacks, Dru Brown and Spencer Sanders.

With two full games worth of film on Cornelius, albeit against Missouri State and South Alabama, I thought this would be a good opportunity to make pro comparisons for the OSU gunslingers listed on the two-deep.

Below I’ll provide a comparison for Cornelius and show a little bit of film on both the current Cowboy and their professional comparison. Brown and Sanders will come a little later in the week.

Taylor Cornelius – 6-6, 232

Player Comparison: Matt Hasselbeck

Breakdown: I know Oklahoma State defensive coordinator Jim Knowles said Cornelius reminded him of Eli Manning, but I’m going in a different direction. Matt Hasselbeck had a very long and successful NFL career as both a starter and a backup. He played from 1999 to 2015, was named to three Pro Bowls and took the 2005 Seattle Seahawks to the Super Bowl.

Why is he Cornelius’ comparison? Well for starters, Hasselbeck is a taller quarterback standing at 6-4 and he and Cornelius are around the same weight with Hasselbeck listed between 225-235 pounds during his playing career. In addition, they both have good, not great arm strength, but make up for this with accuracy on short to intermediate throws.

Cornelius and Hasslebeck both stand tall in the pocket and have the mobility to get outside and make a throw on the run or play with their feet if they feel pressure.

Cornelius is an all-around better athelte though than Hasselbeck.  As we didn’t really see Hasselbeck making plays like the one below during his NFL career … especially not stiff arms like that.

Hasselbeck never led the NFL in passing yards or touchdowns, which we don’t expect from Cornelius either, but he made six playoff appearances and, as I mentioned above, took his team to a Super Bowl.

Additionally, Hasselbeck was blessed with several talented running backs during his career. Former Seahawk running back Shaun Alexander rushed for over 1,000 in four straight seasons with Hasselbeck at the helm, including 1,880 yards and 27 touchdowns during Seattle’s Super Bowl run. For Cornelius, it’s a combination of Justice Hill, J.D. King, LD Brown and Chuba Hubbard lining up with him in the backfield which makes any quarterback’s job a lot easier.

One place I think Cornelius and Hasselbeck differ right now is confidence. Confidence is never something the former NFL quarterback lacked during his career. Cornelius looked timid at times against Missouri State, and although he seemed more comfortable against South Alabama, I’m hoping we see him let loose even more against Boise State.