I'm not especially excited about this group of signal callers, but believe some have a chance of developing with a solid ‘08 season. Back in 2005, I felt Rhett Bomar had a chance to be something very special while at the helm for the U of Oklahoma, but injuries and the lack of a top supporting cast have limited his progress since transferring to Sam Houston State.
The 2008 season should be a pivotal year in his football development. Chase Clement of Rice University battled through an assortment of injures during the 2007 season. He's not very big, but when he's right, he reminds me a great deal of another former Rice product by the name of Tommy Kramer.
Chase Daniel of Missouri is very talented, crafty, highly competitive, productive, college player and may well win the 2008 Heisman Trophy, but he is acutely undersized, lacks a big arm while playing in a very statistical friendly dink and dunk offense.
The 2008 season should be a telling year for Cullen Harper of Clemson University. He has a professional body, a good but not exceptional arm, showed mobility in the pocket, a compact over the top stroke, gets the ball out quick and he put up some very impressive numbers in 2007, but I felt his ball placement and throwing accuracy were marginal. Way too often he too often hung out receivers in seemingly the most basic of throws.
Curtis Painter is experienced, has a very good throwing arm and was an accurate thrower on short and intermediate routes. What I didn’t like was how often he got rattled when faced with adversity (see Penn State in 2007), his lack of mobility in the pocket, decision making, and his overall look physically (rather sloppy looking).
Pat White may well be the very best football athletes in the country, but the question that most talent evaluators have posed leading up to his final season; does he throw the football well enough to play QB at the professional level? I personally wouldn't give up on him at the QB position. He has uncanny escape skills, was accurate on both short and intermediate throws, made good decisions and threw effectively on the move. A perfect fit in the modern dink and dunk offensive systems that have become a fixture in today's game. I also liked the way he competed and kept his composure when looking down the barrel of a gun.
| Grade |
Last |
First |
School |
2007 Stats
Att - Cmp - Pct - Yds - TD - Int |
| A |
Harrell |
Graham |
Texas Tech |
713-512-71.8-5705-48-14 |
| A |
White |
Pat |
West Virginia U |
216-144-66.7-1724-14-4 |
| B |
Harper |
Cullen |
Clemson U |
433-282-65.1-2991-27-6 |
| B |
Painter |
Curtis |
Purdue U |
569-356-62.6-3846-29-11 |
| C |
Malone |
Billy |
Abilene Christian |
411-264-64.2-3914-37-14 |
| C |
Carpenter |
Rudy |
Arizona St |
398-246-61.8-3202-25-10 |
| C |
Tuitama |
Willie |
Arizona U |
524-327-62.4-3683-28-12 |
| C |
Brown |
Nathan |
Central Arkansas U |
377-256-67.9-3084-26-10 |
| C |
Brandstater |
Tom |
Fresno St |
337-211-62.6-2654-15-5 |
| C |
Daniel |
Chase |
Missouri U |
563-384-68.2-4306-33-11 |
| C |
Holbrook |
Chase |
New Mexico St |
543-381-70.2-3866-26-18 |
| C |
Clement |
Chase |
Rice U |
508-300-59.1-3377-29-16 |
| C |
Bomar |
Rhett |
Sam Houston St |
291-172-59.1-2209-10-6 |
| C |
McGee |
Stephen |
Texas A&M |
364-211-58.0-2311-12-8 |