The methodical process of building Mitch Kimble into an elite college quarterback starts at the ground. It continues all the way up his body to his arm. Everything must be in sync so Kimble can deliver each pass with the strength and accuracy that can separate him from other quarterbacks.

Kimble, from Jerseyville Community High School in Illinois, signed his Letter of Intent to play for Syracuse on National Signing Day on Feb. 6. He has the skills needed to thrive at Syracuse – the arm strength, the quick feet, the mental makeup. He’s been lighting up football fields in Illinois, but it started with his training at Elite Football Academy in St. Louis for the last year under the tutelage of former Missouri quarterback Matt Biermann.

The Orange doesn’t have a starting quarterback named. As soon as Kimble arrives in Syracuse, he’ll be in competition to succeed Ryan Nassib.

“That would be a great opportunity for me,” Kimble said. “I’m really looking forward to it. I can’t wait to get on campus and start competing and working for that starting job.”

Kimble finished his senior season with 1,427 passing yards and 10 touchdowns. A versatile athlete, he picked up 957 yards on the ground and rushed for 15 touchdowns. The 6-foot-3, 195-pound Kimble runs a 4.6-second 40-yard dash and has a near 22-foot long jump.

When Kimble started attending Elite Football Academy last year, Biermann said he clearly had talent. First, they wanted to refine his footwork. Biermann broke down his mechanics and explained how everything needs to work in tune. Biermann said it’s a “systematic approach.”

“I would say we pretty quickly figured out that he’s an athletic guy that can also learn something. Those are the ones you want to train,” Biermann said. “He’s one of those guys that each time you see him, he gets better.”

Each session starts with a movement training session to warm up. That’s followed by a throwing mechanics session, where the main focus is technique. Biermann and Kimble start at Kimble’s feet and work up to his throws.

After that period, when Kimble’s arm is warmed up and his mechanics broken down, he and Biermann will work on everything from pocket presence to live pass rushing at the end of every session.

Everything they work on is mechanically based, Biermann said, not a matter of just throwing a thousand passes.

“It’s more about throwing with a purpose and understanding what happens when the ball does not go where you need it to go and how do you get that next throw to go exactly where you want it to go,” Biermann said, “and how do you adjust and not cause more problems for yourself.”

Biermann said the goal is to allow Kimble to come to Syracuse only needing to focus on the playbook, and not worrying about his mechanics or throwing motion.

Kimble has an advantage when he starts studying the Orange’s playbook. He orchestrated a no-huddle offense at Jerseyville, a system just like the one Syracuse ran last season and will continue to run in 2013. Kimble also worked predominantly out of the shotgun, just as SU did a year ago.

Aside from the specific terminology and formations, Kimble already knows the ins and outs of identifying coverages out of a hurry-up offense.

“Mitch was taught here to take advantage of what the defense is giving you. We run no huddle, we’re running a play every 10-12 seconds here,” Jerseyville head coach Dave Jacobs said. “That kind of just complements his skills, mentally and physically.”

On the eve of Signing Day, Kimble said he was looking forward to jumping into Syracuse’s offense.

“That up-tempo offense, I’m used to it,” Kimble said. “The past couple years, it’s what I love to do. It’s an exciting offense to be part of it.”

Kimble’s a unique package. Aside from his strong arm, he has a strong leg — he averaged 45 yards a punt in high school, Jacobs said. It made him a weapon on fourth down. Jerseyville would line him up eight yards behind center, and he’d have the option to either kick or run a play.

Syracuse offensive coordinator George McDonald said he’s heard about Kimble’s kicking ability, and acknowledged it could be a trick play the Orange employs.

“That’s a testament to his athleticism. So it might be a situation where we go for it on fourth down and we decide to kick it and get great field position,” McDonald said. “So anytime you have, if it’s a quarterback or receiver or running back, that has that good of an athletic ability, it makes you a better offense and obviously it makes you a more diverse offense.”

Kimble’s recruitment period was a bit of a whirlwind. Former Northern Illinois head coach Dave Doeren offered Kimble a scholarship, and Kimble committed to the Huskies. But in December, Doeren left NIU to take the head coaching job at North Carolina State.

Jacobs said Kimble called Doeren to congratulate him, and Doeren told him he’d evaluate his team and see if he can make Kimble an offer to play for the Wolfpack. He eventually did, but by then, Shafer and quarterbacks coach Tim Lester had become involved and started heavily recruiting Kimble.

In mid-January, Kimble made an official visit to Syracuse. Hosted by wide receiver Ben Lewis, Kimble said he loved the “family atmosphere” at Syracuse and made up his mind immediately. He wanted to commit to the Orange.

Jacobs and the Jerseyville coaches told Kimble he needed to at least visit Doeren in Raleigh, N.C. Kimble had four offers and Doeren was responsible for two of them. So Kimble visited NC State, but knew it wasn’t where he’d end up.

“To be honest, before I took that trip to NC State, I already kind of knew that Syracuse was the place I was going to go,” Kimble said. “I took that trip to NC State just to kind of make sure I was making the right decision. I knew my mind was set on Syracuse.”

He committed to Shafer on Jan. 28 and signed immediately on Signing Day.

His throwing mechanics have been broken down and scrutinized, piece by piece. The process built Kimble into an elite-level starting quarterback in high school, and in about five months, he’ll jump right into the mix to do the same at SU.

Said Jacobs: “He’s got everything that they’re going to need in their system and then some.”

Published on February 11, 2013 at 11:22 pm

Contact Chris: cjiseman@syr.edu | @chris_iseman