BuffStampede.com caught up with Beaverton (Ore.) High head coach Bob Boyer to get the lowdown on Colorado's first verbal commitment from the Class of 2016, three-star quarterback prospect Sam Noyer.
How did Sam Noyer perform in the team camp that your squad just concluded?
Coach Bob Boyer: "He did really well. We didn't keep his total stats but I would say he was completing about 80 percent of his passes. And the ones he didn't complete were either complete throw aways that we needed to throw away or drops. He looked really sharp and on target. Our passing game is way ahead of where I thought it would be. Sam's comfortability in the pocket was just really impressive. He moved his feet to avoid the pressure really well. We have a young offensive line that is starting to get better. Sam had more and more time as the camp went on."
You mentioned Noyer's poise in the pocket... it sounds like that has become of his strengths?
"He'll be a three-year starter for us and back when he was a sophomore, I don't want to say he struggled with being in there, but he would try to escape too quickly. Last year he got a lot better, and if this camp is any sign of what we're going to have, we're going to have a lot of time to throw because he is going to be comfortable in there."
Has making a decision and committing to Colorado taken some pressure off of Sam?
"It has. We have had a couple players that made later decisions, with them still trying to decide while the season is going on, and it puts a lot of pressure on them and sometimes they press and try too hard. I do feel that making a decision allows Sam now to just kind of relax, focus on playing football and being the best football player he can be without thinking that every single night he has to be perfect. I think this has been big for him and hopefully in the long run it proves good for us."
Sam had mentioned that he was planning to wait until late June, after some camps, to make his decision. Were you surprised with the timing of his commitment to Colorado at all?
"Not really. There are a lot of similarities in what they are trying to do and with what we do, in terms of the offensive system and the terminology. I know he felt really, really connected to the coaches at Colorado, he felt really connected to the program and the way it doesn't seem like there is going to be a huge learning curve for him to learn the offense. They use a lot of the same kinds of terms that we do. He loved the campus, loved the town surrounding the campus, loved the visit, but he said he felt really, really comfortable with the coaches and just felt like it would be a good fit for him."
I know Arizona State, Oregon State and Washington were among the other Pac-12 programs that watched him throw this spring... did it seem like he was just on the fringe of getting offers from a lot of those other schools?
"Yeah, I will be interested to see from here on out if those schools are going to still be interested in him and keep trying to recruit him. I think Sam is pretty firm in where he is at. I know during the baseball season it was a big stress on him. Although he performed well, it was tough to keep going out and throwing for football coaches and trying to meet coaches and fitting all that into his baseball schedule. I think he just kind of feels like, 'I have made my decision and now I just want to enjoy my summer and get better.'"
You mentioned baseball... he was recruited for baseball, too, correct?
"If he were just focusing on baseball, he would be a D-1 or a drafted kid. He is very strong at the plate. He is also a pitcher and has really strong control. But during the baseball season, he was also still doing football stuff, still throwing the football and sometimes the quarterback motion and the pitching motion don't always sync up. But if he was just doing baseball, yeah, he'd be signing somewhere big there, too."
What type of personality does Sam have off the field?
"This is going to sound strange, but I wish I could find something that he is really doing wrong so that I didn't think he is such a perfect angel. I know he is a teenager and they never do everything perfect but I have never heard anything negative about him as far as behavior in school, his follow through in what he is supposed to be doing in school. He is very aware that he needs to be doing the right things. He is the leader and if he is not doing the right things, he is going to take people the wrong way. He makes a good effort not to hang around the kids that are screwing around and doing the things that he knows aren't conducive to him getting where he wants to be. I think he is just a great kid. A lot of his classmates think he is a great kid. There are always a few that think he is kind of stuck up but I don't see that. I see that as a kid who is very confident in what he wants to do, very driven, very focused and doesn't want to make mistakes. We really appreciate having him, not just on our team, but in our school as well."
