Gavin Hardison, QB UTEP: 2024 NFL Draft Profile

Hardison was a recruit from Hobbs High School in Hobbs, N.M. in the class of 2018

UTEP quarterback Gavin Hardison has a good arm and should receive offers to play on the All-Star circuit after the 2023 college football season. He will compete for a spot in the 2024 NFL Draft.

Visit my Twitter account @Sam_Teets33 for more opinions on prospects, clips, and the latest football content.

Gavin Hardison, QB UTEP: 2024 NFL Draft Profile

Classification: Redshirt senior quarterback from Hobbs, N.M.

Background: Hardison was a recruit from Hobbs High School in Hobbs, N.M. in the class of 2018. He was a two-star recruit for Rivals after spending a season at New Mexico Military Institute. Hardison played five games at NMMI in 2018 before transferring to UTEP for the 2019 season. During his one-year stint at NMMI, Hardison threw for 408 yards, four touchdowns, and four interceptions in addition to rushing for 88 yards and a touchdown. According to MaxPreps, Hardison completed 332 of 484 passes for 5,347 yards, 59 touchdowns, and nine interceptions as a high school senior. As a junior, he completed 240 of 434 attempts for 3,276 yards, 33 touchdowns, and 11 interceptions. Hardison also competed in varsity baseball at Hobbs.

Injuries & Off-Field: Missed final two games in 2022 with an ankle injury

Awards: 2021 Honorable Mention All-Conference USA

Pros: Footwork is calm and poised, had a 60-yard pass against North Texas (2022) called back, examples of nice touch on intermediate throws, ball comes out with nice velocity and a tight spiral, good pop on throws over the MOF, drives the ball into windows along the sideline, adjusts release angles and arm slots to fit the ball around defenders, examples of reading the full field before working back to his checkdown, comfortable throwing on the run, mobility to roll out and extend plays

Cons: Age, competition level, fumbled 24 total times during 2021 and 2022, throwing motion includes a significant windup, doesn’t set a consistent base to throw, takes extra unnecessary half steps when setting up to throw, needs to apply more touch on short to intermediate throws, falls short of elite arm talent, some underthrown deep passes, velocity on throws to the sideline is inconsistent, doesn’t throw with anticipation, occasionally gets stuck on reads, stares down targets, frequent batted passes because he telegraphs his throws, vision and decision making, doesn’t see the robber trying to undercut his receivers’ routes, doesn’t see second-level defenders undercutting throwing lanes, leads receivers into danger, unaware of backside pressure, needs to speed up mental clock against quality pass rush, invites pressure with extended dropbacks, attempts to do too much when he scrambles, holds the ball for too long on extended plays and settles for dangerous throws, lacks the speed and elusiveness to operate as a mobile quarterback

Overview: Hardison faces an uphill climb as an older quarterback who played against some lower-level competition in previous seasons with inconsistent success. He suffers from playing in an offense that dealt with plenty of busted plays or calls that the defense read perfectly in 2022. Hardison’s footwork is calm and poised in the pocket. His main attraction as a prospect is his arm talent. He had a 60-yard pass against North Texas (2022) called back because of a penalty. Hardison’s passes come out with nice velocity, and he drives tight spirals into small windows along the sideline. There are also some examples of the redshirt senior applying nice touch on intermediate throws. However, Hardison must focus on applying more touch on short to intermediate throws. UTEP’s receivers dropped two dozen passes in 2022. Most of those should’ve been caught, but Hardison’s lack of touch contributed to some of those missed opportunities. His footwork sometimes leads to his velocity on long throws being underwhelming. Hardison has a powerful arm, but it falls short of elite as he suffers from some underthrows on deep passes. The Hobbs High School product adjusts his release angles and arm slots to fit the ball around defenders. There are examples of him reading the full field before working back to his checkdown. However, Hardison occasionally gets stuck on reads. He offers enough mobility to roll out and extend plays and is comfortable throwing on the run. Hardison almost appears more comfortable and accurate throwing on the move than sitting in the pocket. Unfortunately, he lacks the speed and elusiveness to operate as a mobile quarterback. The New Mexico native’s throwing motion includes a significant windup, which contributes to an issue he has with batted passes. Between his throwing motion and tendency to telegraph throws, Hardison tips off defensive linemen on when they should get their hands up to swat down passes. He doesn’t throw from a consistent base and takes extra unnecessary half steps when setting up to throw. Hardison doesn’t throw with anticipation and leads receivers into danger. His vision and decision making are poor. He often fails to see the robber or second-level defender undercutting his receiver’s route. The former All-Conference USA honorable mention needs to speed up his mental clock against quality pass rushers. He invites pressure with extended dropbacks by attempting to do too much. This issue is compounded by Hardison’s lack of awareness of backside pressure, which has contributed to his 24 total fumbles during the 2021 and 2022 seasons. He holds the ball for too long on extended plays and settles for dangerous throws.

Overall, Hardison offers intriguing arm talent, but he’s an inconsistent quarterback who won’t contribute early in his pro career. Hardison will compete for a practice squad spot. He lacks the ball placement, decision making, and vision sought after in NFL quarterbacks.

Role & Scheme Fit: Pocket passer in a spread offensive

Round Projection: UDFA

Size: 6'3", 215 lbs. (Unofficial)

Submitted: 06-14-23