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2016 Recruiting Spotlight: Ian Book

Throughout the summer and fall, I will be highlighting players the coaches seem high on as well as the player being high on the Broncos. I’ll try and focus on players with offers from the Broncos. First up: Ian Book.

By Casey Joplin
Matt Kartozian-USA TODAY Sports

Ian Book is a 6’1 190b Jr. QB from Oak Ridge High School in El Dorado Hills, California. We was offered by the Broncos back in September of 2014, so we’ve been on his radar for quite a while now, and he’s obviously been on ours. Despite receiving that offer from Coach Sanford, who has since departed for South Bend if you have been living under a rock, the offer still stands. Book has unofficially visited the Broncos twice, his most recent being April first. His previous visit was in November of 2014, which doesn’t always show the beauty of Boise, but more the harsh weather we can have every now and then. As I recall, it was somewhere in the low teens or so that time of year.

His most recent visit, documented by BJ Rains in a recent article on blueturfsports.com, indicates he "really liked" his trip. He also attended his first hockey game, witnessing a dismantling of the Alaska Aces at the hands of our own Idaho Steelheads. While we stand in a good position with Book, he has a few big name visits planned. He visited UCLA today with Beau Bisharat, another Bronco target. He does not currently have an offer from UCLA, but he does have one from Washington State, whom he is visiting on Monday the 6th. Along with WSU and Boise State, he has offers from Idaho, UNLV, Eastern Washington, Harvard, Nevada, San Diego, San Diego State, and UC Davis.

Book sports a 3 star rating from Rivals, Scout and 247Sports, but comes in as a 4-star as well as a top 300 prospect (#179) on ESPN Recruiting. Scout lists him as the #6 QB in CA, while Rivals has him as #58 in the state and 247 has him as #52. I assume both Rivals and 247 numbers indicate overall player, not specific position. Now I’ve stated in a previous article that star ratings have to be taken with a grain of salt. I like to include them simply because those are figures people can relate to.

According to maxpreps.com, Ian threw for 2,025 yards his junior year. He had 248 attempts while completing 155 of them, giving him a completion percentage of 62.5%. He had a TD:INT ratio of 2.6:1 after throwing for 18 TDs to 7 INTs. For his career, 4,583 yds, 48 TD, 12 INTs (4:1 ratio), 588 attempts, 359 completions, and a completion percentage of 61%. While none of these numbers are mind blowing, they are definitely impressive. Most notably, for me at least, are his career TD to INT numbers. A 4:1 ratio is great. 61% accuracy is admirable, especially for a 16 year old. But let’s get back to that film I mentioned. What is always more telling about a player is their tape.

Book has great film. He is not fast, but he is quick. Hedrick was both fast and quick. Book’s 4.75s 40 won’t let him outrun the opponent, he is very agile in the pocket. Now whether he has happy feet, like Grant had a tendency to early in his starting tenure, or not, I don’t know. He does seem quick to leave the pocket, but that seemed more of a function of necessity rather than skittishness. His OL wasn’t terrible, but they didn’t buy him the time he needed to sit in the pocket.  Fortunately, his feet allow him to extend plays long enough to find an open receiver. I liken his running ability to Finley’s. He isn’t a dual threat QB, but he is fast enough to nab some yards if a play breaks down or his receivers are covered. He can throw on a rope as well. While 61% completion percentage could be improved on Book’s end, it would also improve with better receivers. From his film, he didn’t have a problem getting the ball to his receivers in the 20 yard range. He can throw a long ball, but they hung up there a tad.

Any issues that Book may have are very minor and very fixable. Book is aware the wherever he goes, there will be competition. That won’t deter him from picking a school. That’s great to know, considering how good our QB group looks right now. Finley looks great and Rypien is right up there. Ogle is right in the mix and Stuart is not far behind at all. To throw Book into the mix would be a very good problem for the Broncos to have. We would have a 5 deep QB group that could all play. Go Broncos!