| 2008 Draft Preview: Quarterbacks
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DATE: March 12, 2008
PUBLICATION: DenverBroncos.com
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ERIK AINGE, TENNESSEE
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HEIGHT: 6-6 - WEIGHT: 225 lbs.
Showed steady improvement throughout his career at Tennessee, cresting with a 31-touchdown, 3,522-yard season as a senior that saw him end with an Outback Bowl win ... Led fourth-quarter comebacks in nine games over the 43 in which he played for the Volunteers ... Went out with a 365-yard, two-touchdown effort in New Year's Day win over Wisconsin ... His seven touchdown passes against Kentucky as a senior tied an SEC record ... Holds UT record for most completions in a season (325), coming out 38 ahead of Peyton Manning's previous school standard.
LINKS:
• NFL.com Profile
• UTSports.com Profile
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JOHN DAVID BOOTY, SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
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HEIGHT: 6-3 - WEIGHT: 213 lbs.
Stepped from out of the shadows of Carson Palmer and Matt Leinart in leading USC to consecutive Rose Bowls ... Completed 62.3 percent of his passes for 6,125 yards and 55 touchdowns against 21 interceptions ... Had the best statistical season of his four years at USC in 2006, with a 29-9 touchdown-to-interception ratio and 3,347 yards through the air ... Went to college a year early, but opted for the full four-year matriculation at USC ... Finished his college career in the Senior Bowl.
LINKS:
• NFL.com Profile
• USCTrojans.com Profile
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COLT BRENNAN, HAWAI'I
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HEIGHT: 6-2 - WEIGHT: 207 lbs.
Holds 21 NCAA records, including a streak of 34 consecutive games with 200-plus yards passing, 20 games with 400 yards or more of total offense and a career completion percentage of 70.4 ... Threw 131 touchdowns against 42 interceptions in his three years at Hawai'i ... Was also mobile enough to run for eight touchdowns as a senior ... Took Hawai'i to its first-ever BCS bowl, a Sugar Bowl loss to Georgia ... Since that game, Brennan has grappled with health issues his winter. A bout with stomach flu just before the Senior Bowl caused him to lose "five or six pounds," he said ... A hip injury hindered his mobility at the Senior Bowl and would subsequently preclude him from working out at the Combine. .
LINKS:
• NFL.com Profile
• HawaiiAthletics.com Profile
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BRIAN BROHM, LOUISVILLE
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HEIGHT: 6-3 - WEIGHT: 230 lbs.
40-YARD DASH: 4.83 seconds
Brohm seemed pegged for greatness the moment he arrived at the University of Louisville and delivered, setting Big East records for passing and total yardage, surpassing the standard held by Philadelphia Eagles passer Donovan McNabb in the latter category ... Had eight games with at least four touchdown passes ... Took Louisville to its first-ever BCS bowl in January 2007, an Orange Bowl win over Wake Forest ... Missed two games in 2005 season because of a torn right ACL, including the Gator Bowl against Virginia Tech that was also Elvis Dumervil's final college game ... Sat out two games early in 2006 after tearing a ligament in his right thumb ... Highly touted recruit from Trinity H.S. in Louisville who chose the Cardinals in part because of a strong family connection; his father and two brothers also played for U of L ... Brother Jeff Brohm was an NFL quarterback in the 1990s and was Brian's quarterback coach at U of L ... Passer ratings when calculated using NFL formula: 104.9 in 2004; 113.4 in 2005; 106.0 in 2006; 102.4 in 2007; 106.4 for his career.
LINKS:
• NFL.com Profile
• UofLSports.com Profile
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DENNIS DIXON, OREGON
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HEIGHT: 6-4 - WEIGHT: 205 lbs.
One of the nation's best athletes at quarterback who saw his pre-draft preparation drastically altered when he tore his left anterior cruciate ligament in the Ducks' win over Arizona State. He attempted to play a week later, but could not make it through ... Prior to the injury, Oregon led the Pac-10 in scoring offense and total yardage when Dixon was under center ... In his career, he passed for 5,129 yards with a 38-21 touchdown-to-interception ratio, while adding 1,208 yards and 12 touchdowns on the ground ... Started his last three seasons at Oregon.
LINKS:
• NFL.com Profile
• GoDucks.com Profile
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JOE FLACCO, DELAWARE
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HEIGHT: 6-7 - WEIGHT: 236 lbs.
SHORT SHUTTLE: 4.27 seconds
Fast-rising prospect whose stock accelerated after he flourished during Senior Bowl week, where he was a last-minute invitee after Matt Ryan and Brian Brohm pulled out ... Transferred to Delaware in 2006 after being unable to unseat Tyler Palko at Pittsburgh. "I didn't think I was going to get the opportunity to play at Pittsburgh," Flacco said. "I didn't want to leave my playing time to chance. I wanted to go somewhere where I could compete for a job and Delaware was that place." ... Did not play at all during 2005 season at Pitt ... First-team All-American in Football Bowl Subdivision last season, completing 331 of 521 passes for 4,263 yards and 23 touchdowns against just five interceptions ... Also ran for four touchdowns in 2007 and five in 2006 ... Led Fightin' Blue Hens to national-championship game in 2007, where they fell to Appalachian State ... Passer ratings when calculated using NFL formula: 39.6 in 2004; 87.2 in 2006; 99.8 in 2007; 93.8 for his career.
LINKS:
• NFL.com Profile
• Wilmington (Del.) News-Journal: Flacco's Pro Day
• University of Delaware Profile
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MATT FLYNN, LSU
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HEIGHT: 6-2 - WEIGHT: 231 lbs.
Directed LSU to its second national championship in five seasons (its previous title came with former Bronco Matt Mauck under center) ... Only had one season as full-time starter -- last fall, when he replaced 2007 No. 1 overall pick JaMarcus Russell and completed 202 of 359 passes (56.3 pct.) for 2,407 yards and 21 touchdowns against 11 interceptions. He also ran for four touchdowns ... Went 10-2 at LSU as a starter ... A shoulder problem kept him from playing in the East-West Shrine Game in January, but Flynn said at the Combine that it was back to 100 percent.
LINKS:
• NFL.com Profile
• LSUSports.net Profile
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CHAD HENNE, MICHIGAN
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HEIGHT: 6-2 - WEIGHT: 225 lbs.
Four-year starter at Michigan who holds all major passing records at the school, including completions (828), attempts (1,387), yards (9,715), touchdown passes (87), interceptions (37) and total offense (9,400 yards) ... Second-team All-Big Ten in 2006 as selected by the coaches; he was a third-teamer in 2007 ... Grappled with injuries in his senior season, including a lower leg contusion that forced him to miss two games and a separated right shoulder that sidelined him for the Minnesota game ... Suffered the shoulder injury against Illinois and played through it, taking most snaps in the shotgun to compensate ... "My shoulder started sliding and coming out, so it wasn't comfortable being under center," Henne said, adding that he is completely recovered now ... Finished his career with a 373-yard, three-touchdown, three-interception day in Michigan's 41-35 Capital One Bowl win over Florida on New Year's Day ... Passer ratings when calculated using NFL formula: 89.2 in 2004; 89.6 in 2005; 97.7 in 2006; 86.6 in 2007; 90.8 for his career.
LINKS:
• NFL.com Profile
• MGoBlue.com Profile
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JOSH JOHNSON, SAN DIEGO
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HEIGHT: 6-3 - WEIGHT: 198 lbs.
40-YARD DASH: 4.55 seconds
Attracted attention with a gaudy 43-to-1 touchdown-to-interception ratio last season, then built upon that with a Combine workout that saw him post the best 40-yard dash time among quarterbacks who ran there ... Career touchdown-to-interception ratio of 113-to-15 ... Completed 724 of his 1,065 passes for 9,699 yards ... Also averaged 6.1 yards per carry, gaining 1,864 ground yards on 307 rushes ... Named Offensive MVP of the East-West Shrine Game after running for 91 yards on three carries and completing five of 11 passes for 78 yards and a touchdown ... Career passer ratings when calculated using NFL formula: 54.2 in 2004; 120.4 in 2005; 119.6 in 2006; 138.9 in 2007; 126.2 for his career.
LINKS:
• NFL.com Profile
• USDToreros.com Profile
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MATT RYAN, BOSTON COLLEGE
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HEIGHT: 6-5 - WEIGHT: 228 lbs.
After seeing part-time work in redshirt freshman and sophomore campaigns, Ryan became the Eagles' starter as a junior in 2006 and immediately became a first-team All-ACC selection, averaging 245.2 yards per game while notching a 15-10 touchdown-to-interception ratio ... Improved those numbers to 321.9 yards per game and 31-19 as a senior, leading BC to a No. 2 ranking in November, its highest in school history ... Punctuated a dramatic late-game comeback at Virginia Tech with a 25-yard, cross-field touchdown pass with just 11 seconds remaining in a 14-10 win. Ryan led two touchdown marches in the final 4:16 against a stout Tech defense to eke out arguably the program's most dramatic win in 23 years ... Ran at the Scouting Combine, but opted not to throw until his Pro Day in Chestnut Hill, Mass. on March 18. "We have a bubble up over our stadium at BC," Ryan said. "We've got great conditions to throw on Pro Day. For me, I want to portray to the teams that are going to be looking at my skills in an accurate representation of what it would be like in a game situation. I want to throw to the guys I know and give the teams a chance to look at what I'm capable of doing." ... Passer ratings when calculated using NFL formula: 55.5 in 2004; 89.1 in 2005; 84.1 in 2006; 83.9 in 2007; 83.2 for his career.
LINKS:
• NFL.com Profile
• BCEagles.com Profile
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ANDRE WOODSON, KENTUCKY
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HEIGHT: 6-3 - WEIGHT: 230 lbs.
40-YARD DASH: 4.83 seconds
Second-team All-SEC selection in 2006 and 2007 ... Played in the Senior Bowl, but struggled, losing a fumble on a hit from Eastern Michigan's Jason Jones during the game ... Injured his hamstring in the build-up to the Combine and did not run there, but ran and threw at his Pro Day on the UK campus March 5. "I made a great statement today with the way I threw the ball," Woodson told the Louisville Courier-Journal after his workout ... A full-time starter in the last two seasons; Woodson set the UK record with 79 touchdowns and amassed a 79-to-25 touchdown-to-interception ratio ... Threw for 3,515 yards in 2006 and 3,709 in 2007 ... Passer ratings when calculated using NFL formula: 79.3 in 2004; 75.2 in 2005; 107.2 in 2006; 101.4 in 2007; 96.6 for his career..
LINKS:
• NFL.com Profile
• UKAthletics.com Profile
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