Josh Hoover’s season can be best described as a hit-and-miss. He leads an offense that ranks No. 5 in passing offense, but has only played to his best in flashes. Hoover enters Week 8 with a disappointing show against Kansas State. Once expected to be a disruptive player, the QB now finds himself in a tough spot.

Hoover is 2nd in the country in passing yards (1,893). But a close look will tell fans that he still needs some retooling. He made costly decisions against KSU and went overboard with inaccurate throws. It seems to be a recurring problem, since he wasn’t up to par against Arizona State either. It’s now causing his draft stock to take a hit. Josh Hoover “just missed” out on Mel Kiper’s list of top 10 QBs heading to the draft next year. Before Week 7, he managed to bag the 11th spot in ESPN’s draft QB rankings, helmed by Jordan Reid.

The QB can still cause chaos when he meets the standards set for him. But this rocky performance is keeping him on the edge of being included among the greats. Hoover was predicted by Reid to have a glaring issue with inaccuracy. Reid also mentions this in his analysis of the QB. “Hoover’s overconfidence in his arm presents some issues, as some of the turnovers this season have occurred when he’s throwing into closing windows despite having better options,” he wrote. Reid also predicted him to go as a Day 3 pick.

Hoover has developed a problem of underperforming in away games, as well. He’s 5-7 as QB1 when on the road, and has been intercepted 14 times on these occasions.  Thankfully, TCU will be home for Baylor. Hoover has to come out swinging to win this game. The Bears’ defense has also struggled over the course of the season, but they can surprise Hoover as they come from a bye week. His current state is a major problem for his draft hopes, and he still has a tough gauntlet of games to win this year.

Josh Hoover is still one of the biggest factors for TCU’s success this season. He knows he has to get back on track to guarantee that result for the Horned Frogs.

Josh Hoover takes responsibility for his faults

Hoover very well knows that he is a major red flag for TCU as of now. “If I’m not going to be consistently a really good player for us, then we’re going to have a tough time winning games, and that’s part of playing quarterback. I have to show up every week and play really, really good–that’s my job,” he said after the loss to the Wildcats. This one was a far more humiliating loss than that of the ASU one, which saw three turnovers. He missed 21 pass attempts against KSU, and never seemed to click into his elite self.

The worst play from the QB came in the 2nd quarter. Backward pass to Ed Small resulted in a fumble, allowing the Wildcats to easily return it for a score. The offense was underwhelming as a whole, but Hoover’s mistakes stand out. This is not the game for a player who is ranked among the best in the country. He’s close to entering the Top 10 clubs as well. The Kansas State performance casts a huge shadow over those talks.

“We’ve got to make some changes. I’ve got to make some changes,” Hoover added. The QB needs desperate rework to come back strong, and climb up in the draft chatter. Some spots are opening up as the season goes on, which Hoover has to utilize before it gets too difficult.