Preston "PJ" Hatter
Quarterback
6'2" 185 lbs
Freshman
PJ Hatter has a really interesting story as a recruit. Being the quarterback is the most important position on the team, so we naturally rate him higher. His high school stats are insane. He completed 64% of his passes for over 2800 yards and 43 touchdowns to just 6 interceptions while playing for 6A Westerfield in Houston. He also ran for 707 yards and 11 touchdowns. He was named First Team All-Greater Houston QB by The Houston Chronicle.
You'd think with that resume he'd have offers from every college in the country, but according to 247, he only had two HBCU offers and was committed to Jackson State. Texas State only started pursuing PJ after the late Malik Hornsby uncertainty and his odd Nebraska Instagram post.
So why did PJ have limited offers? There are two theories, which I'll share, and then my opinion.
The first theory is that PJ being left-handed made college coaches biased against him. There's evidence to support this argument as 10% of people are left-handed, but 99% of quarterbacks are right-handed. I do think left hand bias played a small role, but it's not the whole story.
The second theory is that PJ was a grade risk. We saw this with Cedric Roberts who transferred to Texas State from Oklahoma but didn't make it to campus due to grades. Universities don't want to tie up scholarships for a player who may not be accepted into the university.
I don't know anything about PJ's academics, so that would be speculation on my part.
My Opinion:
If you look at PJ's stats in marquee high school games, like I mention in my rating process, they are not as impressive. In the game against Northshore, he was 9-26 for 67 yards passing with 1 touchdown and 1 interception. And against Duncanville, he went 11-24 for 132 yards with 1 touchdown and 1 interception.
When I watch PJ's film, I see good mechanics in the throws I saw - high release and firing his hips forward. So, I think his lack of success in those marquee games may have something to do with reading coverages. Teams like Northshore and Duncanville disguise coverages and can confuse inexperienced QBs like PJ. A coach like GJ and Mack are perfect for PJ as they will help slow the game down and teach him to recognize coverages and go through his progressions.
In my opinion, the sky's the limit for PJ.
4.5 Stars
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