Scouting Tim Tague
Lots of high school student-athletes are focusing on one sport these days. Tim Tague is a true dual-sport star as a key contributor on Miramonte's football and basketball teams.
Tague passed for 40 touchdowns as a junior quarterback in 2015. He's been successful playing baseball for Miramonte and he's also had a strong summer on the diamond as a pitcher.
Time will tell where Tague spends his college years, or what he spends those years doing, sports-wise. But for now we're taking a look at his ability as a quarterback - where he's at in his development, what he does well, where he can improve.
Strengths: First off, Tague's production was phenomenal. Not only did he pass for 40 touchdowns, but he completed all of those touchdown passes on just 376 attempts. So more than one in ten of Tague's throws went for six.
Tague throws a beautiful deep ball and routinely hit receivers in stride down the sideline. It's not like his touchdowns were just dump offs that superior skill players did the work on. He can beat a defense over the top and that opens up the short- and intermediate passing game. It also keeps men out of the box, which helps the run.
Speaking of the run, Tague is probably best classified as a mobile dual-threat quarterback. He looks to pass first, and even when he's scrambling he keeps his head up. One of his good qualities is his ability to throw on the run, and even to throw accurately and ahead of the receiver on the run. He's not immune to being affected by pressure, but it doesn't seem to be a huge problem when guys are closing in on him.
Areas for Improvement: Tague did throw 14 interceptions as a junior, and that could speak to him having a bit of a gun slinger's mentality. Not all of those picks were probably his fault, but he'll need to be more careful in where he picks his spots. And even though he clearly has an arm (throws a fastball in the mid-80's, apparently), he can't always fit the ball into tight spots and has to be careful.
Aside from the occasional errant throw or poor decision, Tague can still continue to refine his mechanics and his footwork.
Bottom Line: Time will tell what sport Tague will play in college, and where. But he's good enough to be an FBS quarterback and has one of the purest arms in the region.