Thursday, April 23, 2009
By EDDIE PELLS
They spend their college careers rewriting record books, competing for Heismans, leading their teams into the middle of national-title conversations.
It’s all great until draft day rolls around. Many don’t get picked, or if they do, it’s much farther down the list than they’d hoped. Some get turned into receivers. The lucky few whose stock remains high often get their two- or three-year try before they, too, find themselves labeled as disappointments or busts.
These are the quarterbacks of the shotgun, the spread, the dreaded “system” offenses that are taking over college football.
They are the Andre Wares of 10 years ago, the Alex Smiths of more recent vintage, the Graham Harrells and Chase Daniels of today.
Harrell (Texas Tech) and Daniel (Missouri) recently concluded college careers in which they threw for thousands of yards, set dozens of records, became household names. They have been rewarded by largely being left off the list of this weekend’s top 100 — or 200 — draft prospects.
For them, getting drafted is not a matter of when, but if. And if they do get their chance with an NFL team, it won’t come with many expectations.
“I’d go as far as saying that playing in that kind of offense is a gift and a curse,” said Shaun King, the former spread quarterback at Tulane who actually had some success transitioning to the pros with Tampa Bay.
“The gift is, you’re forced to make quick decisions, recognize a defense and understand where the football should go,” he said. “The detriment is, in the shotgun, you’re automatically on balance. There’s no drop. It’s easier to have your feet where they’re supposed to be. Then, you have to do all that while coming from under center. It takes some significant athleticism to make the change.”
Ask 100 draft experts why the so-called system QBs never pan out and you will get 100 variations on the same theme: Spread offenses don’t give quarterbacks opportunities to read defenses while making the three- five- or seven-step drops so prevalent in the NFL; they only require the quarterback to read one side of the field; they allow quarterbacks to pad stats by getting big chunks on bubble screens and low-risk throws; they don’t subject the thrower to the physical (or mental) pounding he’ll take in the NFL, and there are footwork issues.
The good news for these quarterbacks is that one constant has stayed the same, whether the player works in the wishbone, the shotgun or anything in between: If they have size, talent, arm and brains, eventually they will find their way into a lineup.
“If you have the skill level, you can make it no matter what,” said ESPN draft guru Mel Kiper. “But if you take a Matthew Stafford and you put him at Texas Tech, it’s going to make for a tougher evaluation.”
Alex Smith serves as the poster boy for the modern-day spread-offense quarterback gone bust.
Smith led coach Utah to the Fiesta Bowl in 2004 and into the heart of the national title conversation and was the first pick in the draft.
In the pros, Smith has been through three major injuries, four offensive coordinators and now, a reworked contract for significantly less money as his quest continues to prove he can play in the NFL.“You can forget about the statistics and the yardage that’s accumulated,” said former Bucs and Raiders coach Jon Gruden, who now works for the NFL Network.
“The question is, can they make NFL throws under center under the gun? If they’ve fallen on draft boards, it’s because the times they’ve been seen, people have come away with questions about their physical status and their arm strength.”
The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.