A 29-7 record, two Capital One Bowl victories and 7,227 yards passing. Undrafted and still unsigned.
A 35-12 record, a national championship and 11,213 yards passing after starting as a true freshman. Undrafted, eventually signed by the Bears.
Somehow the draft came and went last weekend without John Stocco or Chris Leak getting selected. I understand that drafting quarterbacks is sometimes a dicey proposition, but still, both Leak and Stocco spent a lot of time in the top 10 last season while draftees Jordan Palmer (from UTEP) and Tyler Thigpen (from Coastal Carolina) didn't even catch a whiff of the top 50. There's also no reason Drew Stanton gets picked in the second round while Leak and Stocco are left off the board, but then again, it's Matt Millen.
Now I know that some of the highly rated college quarterbacks of the past five to 10 years have turned into monumental disasters. Ryan Leaf became a huge bust, Heisman winner Jason White never played a game in the NFL, Eric Crouch tried his hand at receiver instead of quarterback; it's a long list, I admit. But hey, even Jim Sorgi got drafted, and Leak and Stocco are both superior quarterbacks to the Colts backup and quite a few other backups in the NFL. If Matt Schaub can get $48 million for the mind-blowing career stats of 1,033 yards, six touchdowns and six interceptions, there's room for Leak and Stocco in the NFL.
The truth is that giving teams 15 minutes to make each pick not only prolongs the first round to mind-numbing proportions (it should not take more than six hours for 32 teams to pick one player), it also gives teams too much time to mull over their picks. Instead of going with a near-sure thing, teams would rather take risks on players with tremendous ""upside.""
Brady Quinn got the job done most of the time at Notre Dame, but didn't have that flashiness teams really desired. The Dolphins decided to really reach for Ted Ginn, Jr. in place of solving their quarterback problem because he was a much more glamorous pick. And that's just what the Dolphins needed: another offensive player that may be hampered by injuries instead of a steady, consistent hand at the quarterback position. To be fair, Miami did get a decent quarterback in the second round in John Beck of BYU, but he will likely need a couple years to adjust where Quinn could have stepped right in.
This is why I'm fairly satisfied with the Packers' draft this year. Yes, they did not stun anyone with how great their draft was, but they did fill many of the holes they needed to. Kicker, defensive tackle, wide receiver, running back, safety—all the positions they needed help at were given at least one draft pick. Plus, they didn't take a chance on Randy Moss, who I still cannot fathom in a Packers uniform and never really want to. Sign newly cut Keyshawn Johnson instead and let Greg Jennings be the deep threat as the No. 3 receiver.
Maybe I'm wrong. Perhaps Ginn will turn into a great asset, Stanton will become a great quarterback in Detroit and all the ""upside"" picks will turn out great. But for now, I'm happy with the Pack's steady picks and am optimistic for next season.
Zach is a senior majoring in journalism. He can be contacted at zlkukkonen@dailycardinal.com
