I had a post last July where I looked at the bumper crop of Texas schoolboy QBs (that UT struck out on), and tried to forecast their NFL chances (The QB Recruiting Class of 2004 - Checking Back In). This is a good time to check back in. I think a lot of people at the time thought my analysis was solid, although I was very, very wrong on many of the predictions...
Bobby Reid was injured (torn knee ligament, came back for pro-day at UTA) in his 10th game last year. He had an OK season to that point, but not great. He played for a lousy team, and was one of the better players. NFL good? He wasn't drafted, and there are no reports of free agent signings. He threw for 1791 yards and 12 TDs, with a passer rating of 124.92. He has a degree from OSU, but don't expect him to come back to Stillwater for a while.
This is where we find out how badly Reid wants to play football. His pro career will have to start in the CFL (it worked for Casey Printers) or the Arena League.
Kirby Freeman began the season as a starter for his old HS coach, Art Briles. That lasted half of one game. You know how- when a player misses a game for illness, and loses his job to his sub, they say he was "Wally Pipped" (Wally Pipp was replaced by Lou Gehrig when he missed a game for a headache)? Well, Kirby Freeman was "Chance Mocked" by Robert Griffin.
Rhett Bomar...the Okies are enjoying it as much as we are.
Last year, Bomar threw for 3355 yards, 27 TDs, and a 135 passer rating. His weakest game was against KU, where he had 1 TD and 3 picks. He was drafted in the 5th round by the Giants. Picked there, he's going to have to earn everything coming his way from here on out. He's too high of a pick to drop off the radar, and too low to be designated the heir apparent. In his entire collegiate career (yes, even as a freshman at OU), he has always looked like a guy struggling with the speed of the D-1A game. It will be interesting to see if the NFL isn't too fast for him. This position is a big drop from where he was as a recruit in 2004, but there are a few other guys in this post that would love to trade places with him.
Not Stephen McGee, though, selected in the 4th round by the Dallas Cowboys, despite an injury-plagued senior year. How? My theory is that Mike Sherman made calls to make sure he got to the Combine, and McGee took it from there in workouts and interviews. Like with Bomar, it's all on him from here out.
Finally- Graham Harrell. Was I ever wrong about him. I thought he was a sure thing for the NFL, and he bombed out of the Combine, and all-star game workouts. He was supposed to be the Tech QB with a pro arm, and nobody wants him. It's funny- McGee has none of the stats, and all of the intangibles. Harrell has the stats, but none of the intangibles. It's hard to believe it's been just 4 months since we had news articles moaning about the injustice of him being uninvited to the Heisman ceremony.
To sum up, last year I rated their NFL chances as: Harrell, Bomar, Reid, McGee, and Freeman. Now, it looks like McGee, Bomar, Harrell, Reid and Freeman, with the last three needing to hoard their per diems when they can.