Last week, the National Football League sent out their invites to the nation's top college prospects to join them in Indianapolis, Ind. for the 2016 NFL Combine. For those who do not know what the combine is, I will give you a quick run down.
The Combine is a chance for college prospects to showcase their physical abilities to every NFL team over the course of a week. Different tests will be held for different positions, but there are a few that every prospect must participate in (ie. 40-yard dash, vertical jump, shuttle run). This gives the teams, and analyst, a better idea of who are the top overall prospects.
This is a time for players to cement themselves as top prospects. It can also be a time for people to catapult themselves into the conversation for draftability in earlier rounds. For instance, prior to the combine last year, Florida State Running Back Karlos Williams was not seen as a draft-worthy player. At the combine, he ran the second fast 40-yard dash behind Michigan State's Jeremy Langford. Williams was then selected in the fifth round by Buffalo and has since split carries with LeSean McCoy.
Below, I will be looking at some of names at quarterback that do not exactly grab people's attention when considering rounds 2-3:
Cardale Jones - Ohio State
6-5 250 lbs
Senior
High: National Champion 2015
Cardale Jones got many looks at the beginning of the College Football season. His last three wins were for the BIG 10 title, Sugar Bowl title, and National title. Since then, Jones was shifting back and forth with True Sophomore J.T. Barrett for playing time at OSU. Jones is an excellent passer and a decent runner.
Why is he not higher? Jones never set himself apart from Barrett on the field. Urban Meyer constantly switching up who was starting was a killer for Jones' draft stock. On the bright side for Jones, he is the only quarterback at the combine to win a National Championship and have an undefeated record.
Jones has a shot to climb the draft boards and show that he is worth of a second round pick. He just has to prove his worth in the drills.
Jeff Driskel - Louisiana Tech
6-4 231 lbs
Senior (Transfer)
High: Sugar Bowl Appearance (2013)
Driskel used to be the Gator's quarterback. He did not post amazing stats his first season, but still won due to a killer running game lead by Mike Gillislee. Driskel got hurt during the 2013 season and had to sit out the final nine games of the season. The Gators went 4-8 that year. In the next year, Driskel battled with Treon Harris for starting power. Driskel started nine games. He finally transferred last summer to Louisiana Tech to finish his college career.
At LTU, Driskel threw for over 4,000 yards and led the Bulldogs to a 9-4 record and a win at the New Orleans bowl. Driskel may have the arm talent, but he lacks the mobility that other quarterbacks have in this class. He was sacked 19 times last season.
If Driskel wants to move up the draft board, he needs to do well on his 40-yard dash and excel in the passing drills.
Kevin Hogan - Stanford
6-4 218 lbs
Senior
High: Rose Bowl Champion (2014,2016)
Hogan made a great case this past season to be drafted in the earlier rounds. Capping off a 11-2 season with a win over #5 Iowa could help him greatly. But we do know that a lot of that was from RB Christian McCaffery. Over his career at Stanford, Hogan has been very consistent. He had an average completion rate of 66% over the past three season and boasted 66 touchdowns.
His fault come at his release of the ball. It is very long. Top quarterbacks need to be able to get a pass off in under .6 seconds. It can make the different between a first down and a fumble. His mental game needs no work whatsoever. Student athletes from Stanford have shown amazing intellect in the game of football. Just go watch Andrew Luck and Richard Sherman. They both are also incredible speakers during interviews (just not the 2013 NFC Championship game).
Hogan has the smarts, but can he get the form to throw accurately and quickly?
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