Steve Young loves his BYU Cougars. So, naturally, he's having a lot of fun watching quarterback Zach Wilson, who is having an impressive season and appears to be on a collision course with the first round of next year's draft.
The undefeated Cougars rank No. 8 on the AP Top 25, and Wilson has completed 74.7 percent of his passes for 2,511 yards with 21 touchdowns and just two interceptions. He's an intriguing prospect, especially for the San Francisco 49ers, who might be in the market for a quarterback.
"The kid is a really good player," Young said Wednesday on KNBR's Tolbert, Krueger & Brooks show. "I mean, I'm not going to say he's Patrick Mahomes, but I'm saying he plays like Patrick Mahomes. There's no throw he can't make, and he's just intuitive and really present when he's playing. Every week, you're like, 'Wow. This is something good.'"
Jimmy Garoppolo is part of the 49ers roster right now. He's injured, though, and his status with the team could change after this season. Head coach Kyle Shanahan has always said that he and general manager John Lynch would look at any way to improve their roster. That could mean jettisoning Garoppolo in favor of someone new.
Could that be Wilson? 49ers VP of player personnel Adam Peters was in Boise, Idaho last week scouting the Cougars' quarterback. Young feels Wilson might be a good fit in Santa Clara and doesn't doubt his ability to run Shanahan's offense.
"There's no question that he's capable (of running it)," Young declared. "The more they ask of him, the better he gets."
That's good because Shanahan's offense tends to take some time to absorb and master.
"He has the grit," Young continued. "He's a kid that Friday practice would end at noon, and then during COVID, and then he'd get in a car and drive down to get that special tutor(ing) from (QB coach) John Beck in San Diego. He'd drive down every weekend, and then come back on Sunday night for like six, seven, eight weeks. He's super serious about it.
"I think he's going to go in the first round. I don't know; he's the kind of kid, when you watch him, you go, 'Wait a second. Why is he not maybe the first guy (drafted)?'
"I get that Trevor Lawrence and Justin Fields are phenomenal football players but the more I watch this kid, I don't see flaws. I don't see problems."
You can listen to the entire conversation with Young below.