Why the Carolina Panthers are putting faith in ‘insanely athletic’ rookie QB Matt Corral

Matt Corral figured he had a good chance to be a first-round pick in the 2022 NFL draft.

After accepting an invite from the NFL to sit in its green room, he and his family made the trip from their Ventura, California home to Las Vegas, where the draft was being held, and got a hotel room.

Corral was one of 20 prospects invited to the NFL’s green room, a lounge for players, their families and their agents as they wait to get a phone call and hear their name called by the league commissioner Roger Goodell on Day 1.

He wore a clean blue suit and a black shirt. His black hair was cut short, and faded on both sides.

Day 1 of the draft came and went. Corral’s name wasn’t called. On Day 2, the second round of the draft also passed Corral by.

Later on Day 2, in the third round, the Carolina Panthers traded up 43 spots and took the former Ole Miss quarterback with pick No. 94. When Corral finally got the call from the Panthers, a spectrum of emotions swept over him. He said he was happy and sad at the same time: Sad that he had fallen so far, but happy to finally achieve his life-long dream to make it to the NFL.

“I’ve never felt that before,” Corral said.

Into the Panthers’ arms

That Corral fell to the third round was a surprise. The Panthers had long viewed him as one of the top three quarterbacks in this draft class, with a potential to go within the first 10 picks. Most draft experts had him going late in the first round or the early in the second round. The Panthers, who also had the sixth overall pick, had a first-round grade on him.

“We had him ranked fairly high,” Panthers general manager Scott Fitterer said.

“We would have taken him early,” Panthers coach Matt Rhule echoed.

But he fell into Carolina’s arms, giving the team a short-term alternative in case things don’t work out with quarterback Sam Darnold — and a potential long-term option, depending on his development.

Corral, at 6-foot-1, 215 pounds, is the third quarterback Carolina has drafted since 2011. The other two were Cam Newton (2011) and Will Grier (2019).

In the NFL, where quarterback is the most important position on the field, the Panthers hope Corral can develop into their future franchise quarterback. He has a lot of tools, from his arm strength to his quick release to his athletic ability.

Carolina liked all of that, and more.

“One of the things that stood out, aside from the physical traits, was the competitiveness and the toughness of him,” Fitterer said. “The guy took a pounding. He kept getting up, he kept getting up. He does run the ball and when he runs, he tries to run guys over.

“He’s going to have to learn he can’t do that, but it does show his competitive nature.”

‘Sky is the limit’

Matthew Hatchette, a former NFL wide receiver, said he first met Matt Corral when the young QB was 9 years old. He was training one of Matt’s older brothers, David Corral, and Matt would some times train with them.

One of the first things Hatchette noticed was his arm strength. The 9-year-old Corral had an arm stronger than most kids his age. He loved the game.

The two trained together when Matt was in middle school, working on his throwing and his footwork. They parted ways for a few years when Corral played high school football, but Hatchette always kept in touch.

Corral first played high school football at Oaks Christian School, a private school just west of Los Angeles.

Oaks Christian School’s Wikipedia page boasts a long list of notable alumni, including former Panthers quarterback Jimmy Clausen, model Sofia Richie (the youngest daughter of Lionel Richie), actor Colin Ford and more. Tuition is $37,500 a year.

Corral was a star at Oaks Christian, and was one of the top quarterbacks in the nation. He threw 36 touchdowns and six interceptions as a sophomore. He received scholarship offers from all the top football programs in the country, and committed to Southern California.

He was rated a four-star quarterback by 247sports.

But after a highly publicized confrontation with Tristan Gretzky — son of NHL legend Wayne Gretzky — late in his junior year, Corral transferred high schools, moving some 57 miles southeast to Long Beach Poly High School.

Long Beach Poly is a public school just south of Los Angeles, also known for its football program. There, he reconnected with Hatchette, who was the football team’s offensive coordinator. He continued to thrive.

He made jaw-dropping throws about that people still talk about with awe. His high school history teacher, Vincent Puth, remembered one in particular. It was late in the third quarter of the team’s season-opener, and Long Beach Poly was backed up deep in their own end zone. Corral took the snap, rolled right, avoided two defenders and threw an off-balance pass about 40 yards in the air. His receiver caught it and took it 99 yards for a touchdown.

Puth said he was standing on the sideline watching the play. One of the fellow coaches looked at him and said, “We’ve got ourselves a (expletive) quarterback.”

Corral helped lead Long Beach Poly to the state playoffs that year, but they lost in the quarterfinals. He finished the season with 2,495 yards, 29 touchdowns and seven interceptions as a senior.

“The sky is the limit for his talent,” Hatchette said. “If he focuses in, and he wants to be one of the greatest, he can be one of the greatest.”

‘He just wants to win’

Most people who have played with or coached Matt Corral call him the “ultimate competitor,” and say he wears his emotions on his sleeve.

He’s a vocal leader. He doesn’t like to lose. When he makes a mistake, he’s hard on himself, and he’ll do his best to correct it. He also holds his teammates accountable.

Phil Longo, who recruited and convinced Corral to play for Ole Miss, said that’s one of the things he loved about Corral.

“He was always intense. He always battled,” said Longo, who is now the offensive coordinator at UNC. “He always competed. And I know that stuff sounds like elementary or like rhetoric, but it’s not easy to find a kid who’s that intently focused on competing every single down.

“He can get you fired up just by reading his body language.”

Corral made a strong impression as a freshman. He was often one of the first players on the field, and one of the last players off it. After practice, he’d throw with his receivers for extra work. Then he’d find different spots on the field and throw deep passes to the opposite goal post.

Longo would tell him to throw it to the top right half of the goal post, and Corral would do it.

When he ran the ball, he rarely slid to get down. He’d lower his shoulder and try to run through — or over — the defender.

“When you go out and you compete all the time, teammates respect that,” Longo said.

New York Jets tight end Kenny Yeboah, who played at Ole Miss in 2020 when Corral was a junior, saw that firsthand. He joked that Corral often took losses hard. But, he added, that meant he cared.

Corral said he’s always been that way, since he was a child. When he’d train at 9 years old and didn’t see the immediate results, he’d cry, he said. But the work paid off.

During his final two years at Ole Miss, Corral threw 49 touchdowns and 19 interceptions. He also ran for 15 touchdowns.

Jeff Lebby, his offensive coordinator at Ole Miss in 2021, said Corral is the same guy every day, and his own biggest critic.

“He’s serious about being great,” Lebby said. “This guy inspires. He loves to be the hardest playing guy on the field.”

Is Corral a franchise quarterback?

Corral was the fourth quarterback drafted in 2022.

Ryan Wilson, a draft analyst and writer for CBS Sports, had Corral as the top quarterback in this draft class, ahead of Kenny Pickett, Desmond Ridder and Malik Willis, who all went ahead of him.

He believes the Panthers got good value in the third round for Corral.

“He’s insanely athletic, he has a really good arm,” Wilson said. “He’s great with short and intermediate throws. He needs to do a better job with the deep ball in terms of consistency.”

It’s unclear exactly why Corral fell into the third round.

NFL Network reporter Ian Rapoport reported that Corral slid because he dealt with “alcohol and related issues,” and has “unreliable behavior off the field.”

When asked about that, Corral said he’s not sure where that information came from.

“It was just one of those things that got out there,” Corral said. “That was honestly one of the first times I heard that. I got picked up. I’m here with an opportunity, and that’s all one can ask for.”

Rhule said the Panthers vetted Corral extensively, as they do all of their top prospects. Though he didn’t elaborate on the details, Rhule said he and the staff talked with Corral about his past during the pre-draft process. He said Corral was open about everything, and he respected that.

“I’m not going to comment on any one particular issue, but I feel good about who he is,” Rhule said. “But like any player coming in the National Football League, their lives are about to change, and so we have built a really good foundation here in terms of people that are here to help the players as they come in. I feel good about that.”

Rhule also said he talked to many of Corral’s teammates and coaches, who all had great things to say about him.

That’s what the Panthers are banking on.

And perhaps Corral can be their quarterback for the next decade. Regardless of why he slid in the draft, the Panthers are happy they got him. Corral, meanwhile, said he’s using the slide as motivation.

“I had a chip on my shoulder before, but it just got even bigger,” he said.