ESPN draft analyst Mel Kiper believes there is a chance Ole Miss quarterback Matt Corral could be a first-round pick in the 2022 NFL Draft.
"He could be in the first," Kiper said on a conference call April 14. "He could be anywhere from the late first to the mid-second."
Corral, who partnered with USAA ahead of the NFL Draft, knows the draft projections. He still isn't worried about the draft-day label.
"I don't really look at it as first round or second round," Corral told Sporting News. "All I'm looking at is someone is either getting exactly what they paid for, or they are getting a steal."
Could Corral be the quarterback steal of the first two days? Most mock drafts, including Sporting News, have Corral as the fourth quarterback taken behind Liberty's Malik Willis, Pitt's Kenny Pickett and Cincinnati's Desmond Ridder. SN has Corral going in the second round to the Washington Commanders with the No. 47 pick.
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From a statistical standpoint, Corral is on par with those three quarterbacks. Over the last two seasons he accounted for 339.4 yards of total offense, the most of the four quarterbacks. He also did that in the SEC West; the toughest division in college football, while playing for Lane Kiffin and offensive coordinator Jeff Lebby.
FBS total offense from 2021-2022
| QB | PASS YDS | RUSH YDS | TOTAL YDS | TOTAL TDS |
| Malik Willis | 5,103 | 1,822 | 301.1 | 74 |
| Matt Corral | 6,686 | 1,120 | 339.4 | 64 |
| Desmond Ridder | 5,630 | 947 | 274.0 | 67 |
| Kenny Pickett | 6.727 | 386 | 323.3 | 68 |
Corral's self-confidence stems from his father Peter, who served in the Marines for four years. Corral's older brother, grandfather, three uncles and two cousins also served in the Marines.
"Growing up in my family, they definitely had a little bit of swagger to them," Corral said. "I've talked about discipline, but handling the day-to-day things they've got to handle and getting it done the right way."
That, at least in part, explains Corral's decision to play in the Sugar Bowl against Baylor. Corral left the game with a high ankle sprain, which sparked the debate about whether star players should skip non-College Football Playoff bowls altogether.
Corral never second-guessed that decision.
"Everybody's input on it from the outside looking in has no bearing on my thought process and what I chose to do," Corral said. "I've said this multiple times, 'I would have not been in this position without those guys.' It felt wrong for me to just get to where we got to and leave at the last second. It wasn't in me to leave those guys hanging at the end of the season."
That decision didn't impact the draft hierarchy. Willis scored five TDs in the 56-20 victory against Eastern Michigan in the Lending Tree Bowl. Ridder played against Alabama in the College Football Playoff semifinal, and Pickett skipped the Chick-Fil-A Peach Bowl against Michigan State. Corral avoided major injury, even if that was a question that lingered through the offseason.
Corral answered those questions during the interview process with NFL teams.
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"I just try to be myself," Corral said. "All that selling stuff when it's scripted; you got the scripts from your agent. You got what you're supposed to sell yourself on and what you do very well. I can't do that. That's just something that's not me. I just go to these interviews and be myself and I know I'm going to end up where I'm supposed to because I'm going to attract the people that are for me.
"The only thing that was different was talking about myself," he said. "I wasn't big into taking a dive into my life and having to explain to multiple groups about my entire group. I got better at it as it went on."
That same off-script play-making ability on the field makes Corral an intriguing draft pick wherever he lands. He is coming off back-to-back seasons with 3,000 passing yards and 500 rushing yards. The other three top quarterbacks can't say that.
"I definitely think it's a strength in my game to be able to extend plays," Corral said. "It's not something that I want to do on every single play. I want to execute the play how it's supposed to be, accordingly. If something doesn't go as planned, which happens often in the NFL, if it's something that I have to do then I'm going to do it."
Where will that land Corral? In that range between the late-first and early-second round. If it is the second round, then Corral might just be the value pick at quarterback in this year's draft.
"That's how I've kept my mindset," Corral said. "I'm very confident in my skill-set and what I do and what I bring to the game. Like I said, my confidence is my work ethic and I'm constantly working."
Corral partnered with USAA, the Official NFL Salute to Service Partner, ahead of the 2022 NFL Draft, which is highlighting players with military upbringings.
There’s something about the @USMC that gets the Corral family going! As I prepare for the #NFLDraft, thank you @USAA for helping me honor the military & 8 members of my military family who taught me the values that will help me succeed in the @NFL #SaluteToService #USAApartner pic.twitter.com/SxBrHJPBIZ
— M A T T Y (@corral_matt) April 21, 2022
