Commitment: Oregon State
Measurables: 6'5", 203 pounds
High School: Arroyo Grande, Arroyo Grande, CA
Previous QB evaluations: Austin Apodaca, Washington State | Shane Dillon, Colorado | Josh Kern, Arizona
The first thing I notice about Brent Vanderveen on tape is his height. Good lord he's tall. If all else fails, he should be able to survey the field just fine. That man is a physical specimen once he fills into his form.
In terms of mechanics, what really impressed me about Vanderveen was how well he can throw the football to spots. He can drop the football into the laps of his receivers with good accurate placement of the football. Vanderveen will do a good job of keeping the football in low-danger areas. The arm strength still isn't quite there (receivers have to slow up on their routes to catch the football), but he does manage to get completions on most occasions.
A lot of these routes seem to be one read plays though, After the original play breaks down, Vanderveen then takes off and tries to pick up yards when things aren't working. Good for him for trying to make a play, but in college his coaches will probably want him to stick to that pocket a little longer. You have to imagine there will be work on Brent trying to run through his progressions to ensure he finds places to put the football correctly.
Vanderveen's tape has some impressive moments, although a lot of the highlights having him throwing to wide open guys. The biggest thing I see with him is his ability to move when the play breaks down. However, he needs to able to learn how to make plays when things aren't working right for him. And he still has to learn how to read defenses after the first read doesn't work out, or he's going to get sandwiched once defenses start spying him.
Vanderveen was recruited by Oklahoma State, Arkansas and Arkansas State before picking Oregon State, which gives you the idea of the type of schools that were interested. Oklahoma State and Arkansas run pass-first spread attack, Arkansas State (with Freeze) a spread option, so they saw Vanderveen's ability to make quick throws and decisions and be accurate while doing so. Oregon State's offense is a bit more varied, and they tend to execute their plays under center than they do under shotgun, which is where Vanderveen spends most of his time in this offense. It'll be a bit of a transition for him as well to work back into that position.
Expect Vanderveen to be a bit of a project, but if he develops he could be a solid enough one-two year starter for Oregon State down the line. So he'll end up being like most of Mike Riley's quarterbacks.