MOBILE, Ala. -- NFL Network analyst Paul Burmeister, a former University of Iowa quarterback who will be on the call for Saturday’s Senior Bowl, provided some detailed analysis about the quarterbacks participating in the college all-star on Cleveland Browns Daily.
Kellen Moore (Boise State), Kirk Cousins (Michigan State), and Russell Wilson (Wisconsin) are quarterbacking the North team, which is guided by the coaching staff of the Minnesota Vikings. Nick Foles (Arizona), Ryan Lindley (San Diego State), and Brandon Weeden (Oklahoma State) are the quarterbacks for the South squad and are working under the direction of the Washington Redskins coaches.
Wilson, the former University of Wisconsin and North Carolina State quarterback, measured at just 5 feet, 10 and 5/8 inches and weighed 203 pounds, but had a track record of success in both the Big 10 and Atlantic Coast conferences.
“We’ve never had a quarterback here at the Senior Bowl that was first-team all-conference, MVP and captain in the ACC and also in the Big 10,” Burmeister said of Wilson. “He’s 5-10, but has an NFL arm. The ball comes out like it’s supposed to, with good velocity, and he can move around quite well. It’s been a lot of fun to watch these guys who come in with tremendous college resumes.”
Moore won 50 games in his career at Boise State University, more than any other quarterback in NCAA history. However, like Wilson, Moore has faced questions about his height. He is listed at 6-foot and just 191 pounds.
“It’s fun to follow these guys, Kellen Moore, the most successful quarterback in college football history, so that’s good in-and-of itself,” Burmeister said. “He fails the eyeball test because he looks like he’s in eighth grade. He’s less than six-feet tall, but he’s a very good quarterback, so it’s fun to watch him.”
While Wilson and Moore faced questions about their size, Weeden has been asked about his age.
In 2002, Weeden was the 71st overall pick in the Major League Baseball Draft. After spending time in the New York Yankees’ minor league system, Weeden went back to school.
Weeden is now 28 years old and married, and the oldest of the players participating in the 2012 Senior Bowl. He has drawn comparisons to former Florida State quarterback Chris Weinke, who was in his late 20’s when he won the Heisman Trophy and was drafted by the Carolina Panthers in 2001.
“The fact that Chris Weinke didn’t have a very good run as an NFL quarterback shouldn’t affect Brandon, but we like to have precedents,” Burmeister said. “We like to draw parallels, but the evaluation of Brandon as a quarterback is going to be strictly for him as a quarterback. Twenty-two, 23 wins in the last two years are big numbers. He has a big arm.”
In his first full season as a starter in 2010, Weeden earned first-team All-Big 12 honors. He finished his college career with 15 Oklahoma State records and completed 766 of 1,102 attempts for 9,260 yards and 75 touchdowns.
For Burmeister, Weeden was the most impressive of the three South team quarterbacks.
“Brandon Weeden, I like him a lot, but I think he throws it around a lot,” Burmeister said. “Nick Foles is interesting to me. He’s big, has a nice arm, comes out of a Spread offense. I’ve not been as impressed by him as I have Brandon Weeden. Ryan Lindley had a huge amount of experience at San Diego State, but when you have a quarterback with that much experience and that much skill, your eyes go right to the stats. He never had a season over 58 percent and I think his senior season, he was 53 percent. All these quarterbacks have a lot of skills, but also a lot of questions to answer.”
