Matt Corral is one of the few top quarterbacks in the 2022 NFL Draft and follows in the footsteps of Eli Manning. However, he became famous not least because of an altercation with the son of a hockey icon.

Munich – The 2022 quarterback class may not be the best in recent years. Still, there are some talents who are expected to have a great career in the NFL.

One of them is potential first-round pick Matt Corral.

Anyone interested in a quarterback is bound to come up with his name before the 2022 NFL Draft.

According to a report from “ESPN”, the Atlanta Falcons, Carolina Panthers, New Orleans Saints, Philadelphia Eagles and Pittsburgh Steelers have interest in the 23-year-old.

The Eli Manning Tip

If he does indeed get drafted in the 1st round, he would be the first playmaker from the Ole Miss Rebels to do so since 2004. The previous was two-time Super Bowl winner Eli Manning.

Manning has already spoken to Corral and given him advice: “He told me to just be myself, and that’s honestly the best advice I’ve ever gotten because you don’t really understand it until you get near the end of this process.”

A fateful confrontation

The passer’s career didn’t get off to an ideal start. An ambitious quarterback, he was playing for Oaks Christian School in California until an incident occurred: Corral got into a fight with a fellow student named Tristan Gretzky.

The last name has legend status in North America: Wayne Gretzky played in the NHL from 1979 to 1999 and is considered the best ice hockey player of all time. He is practically the Tom Brady of ice hockey – and Tristan Gretzky none other than his son.

In dealing with the altercation, which allegedly took place on the sidelines of a basketball game, Corral apparently felt disadvantaged. His opinion: the school favoured “rich kids who never had to work a day in their lives.”

Corral then changed to Polytechnic High School. His performance did not suffer from this change. In 2018, he was in the U.S. Army All-American Bowl, effectively the All-Star Game in high school football.

The 6-foot-8 playmaker then landed at the University of Missisippi and was named the Ole Miss Rebels’ starting quarterback in his sophomore season, 2019.

His biggest accomplishments: in early 2021, he led his team to a win in the 2021 Outback Bowl and was named MVP. The following season, his final collegiate season, he set a school record with seven touchdowns in one game.

Bitter injury in final college game

It seemed to be all uphill in his career until the 2022 Sugar Bowl began. It could have been the crowning achievement of his college career, but instead put his dream of a high draft pick in jeopardy.

The third sack, which had already occurred in the first quarter, was one too many. Baylor Bears defensive back Cole Maxwell yanked him to the ground and inflicted a serious ankle injury.

Matt Corral has left the field in a lot of pain after this play. Praying for him 🙏#Baylor #Bears #SicEm #BUncommon #OleMiss #Rebels #HottyToddy #SugarBowl #CollegeFootball #BowlSeason pic.twitter.com/Be3NM9i33r

— Mr Matthew CFB 🇺🇦 (@MrMatthewCFB) January 2, 2022

This was particularly bitter because the game was meaningless in sporting terms. Corral had said before the game that he still wanted to be on the field because of the bond with his teammates.

“Without them, I wouldn’t be in this position. I’m not just going to leave. I know what’s on the other side, but I’m going to give these guys everything I’ve got,” was his reasoning.

Now an injury is the worst thing that can happen to a talent right before the draft. He was unable to participate in the NFL Combine. At least he got fit in time for the Pro Day and made a good impression there.

“We like him a lot,” an unnamed general manager told Sports Illustradet. “He makes some plays and throws that make your jaw drop.”

In his final college season, he completed 67.9 percent of his passes and threw 20 touchdown passes with five interceptions. The previous season, he was more accurate with a 70.9 percent passing rate and also threw 29 touchdown passes. However, he also made 14 interceptions.

Corral’s great strength: run-pass option

ESPN analyst Dan Orlovsky explains the playmaker’s quality: “Three letters have been synonymous with Corral’s success as a Rebel, R-P-O, the run-pass option. Corral didn’t throw a single interception last year on an R-P-O. ”

Corral is an athletic R-P-O wizard…..where do you believe you can take/develop him with what you’ve seen him do is biggest question…#NFLDraft pic.twitter.com/uH8QQlstSr

— Dan Orlovsky (@danorlovsky7) April 11, 2022

In addition, he was capable of making deep passes. Orlovsky concluded, “Corral has proven to be aggressive and fearless in the passing game. Both of those traits are absolutely critical for a quarterback to be successful in the NFL.”