Brodie Croyle has returned from an injured (ACL) knee in 2004, a broken rib and injured shoulder in 2003, and led the Crimson Tide into battle against a tough slate of opponents in 2005. Croyle has outstanding confidence and composure and is one of the best leaders you'll ever find. Croyle also is one of the guttiest QBs in the country. He takes a lot of big hits and keeps coming back for more. Once his starting center (JB Closner) went down for the season, Croyle went into survival mode as the interior of the line collapsed on him nearly every time he dropped back to pass. He was being mentioned in some circles as a possible 1st round party crasher midway through his senior season, but those thoughts faded as the Bama offense ground to a halt with the loss of Tyrone Prothro and Closner.
Croyle possesses an outstanding arm and the ability to make all the throws. He has nice touch and also the strength to fire it across the field. Croyle doesn't force the ball and makes good decisions with his passes. He's been a very efficient passer the past couple years and has really cut down on the mistakes he made as a sophomore. In the past two years, he has thrown only 4 interceptions against 20 touchdowns. Croyle has one of the best dropbacks I've seen, getting into position quickly with no wasted movement, all the while keeping his eyes downfield. He also has a quick, 3/4 release that has a little more wind-up than I'd like. Croyle has good pocket awareness and is able to move around enough to buy time and avoid rushers, although he is not a threat to run the ball much. Croyle is also a hard-worker in the weight room and in the classroom. He's intelligent and is very coachable.
Croyle does falter a bit when he's flushed from the pocket and is forced to throw on the run. He's not as accurate when his feet aren't set. Croyle also has durability concerns based on his injury history. Finally, Croyle will need to add some bulk to his slight frame in order to be able to withstand some of the abuse of the NFL. He's just over 6-2 and weighs in at a feather-light 205 pounds. Senior Bowl scouts say that he reminds many of Joe Willie Namath. It's an interesting comparison as both were wiry, charismatic competitors with deceptively strong arms. The scariest part of the comparison is the fact that Croyle really looks a LOT like Namath did when he entered the NFL.
After a great start to 2005, Croyle leveled off once he was forced to work without his starting wideout (Tyrone Prothro) and center (JB Closner). His stock rose dramatically mid-season when Alabama was undefeated and Croyle was on fire, but dropped a bit as the season went on. His performance at the Senior Bowl certainly helped his stock and he threw the ball extremely well at the combine in February. He's definitely got the interest of scouts and NFL personnel and will likely hear his name called as early as the middle of the second round of the 2006 NFL Draft.
2008 Draft Review
