College to the Pros...Not So Easy
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by Kwinger 00
We all know how difficult the transition from college to the NFL is, especially for quarterbacks. I can imagine that you don't know from experience. If you do, send me an autograph or something, and thank you for reading the blog. Let's see examples of how easy some quarterbacks had it in college, and how they panned out in the NFL.
Unable to find an adequate list of the top quarterbacks in passing yards in college football, I decided to compile the list myself, with the help of Phil Steel's college football preview. Steele lists each school's top 3 leaders in passing, rushing, and receiving. The following is the list of quarterbacks who have thrown for over 10,000 yards:
Rank Name College Years Yards
1 Timmy Chang Hawaii 2000-04 17,072
2 Ty Detmer BYU 1988-91 15,031
3 Philip Rivers N.C. State 2000-03 13,484
4 Chad Pennington Marshall 1995-99 13,143
5 Kevin Kolb Houston 2003-06 12,964
6 Tim Rattay Louisiana Tech 1997-99 12,746
7 Luke McCown Louisiana Tech 2000-03 12,666
8 Chris Redman Louisville 1996-99 12,541
9 Kliff Kingsbury Texas Tech 1999-02 12,429
10 Byron Leftwich Marshall 1998-02 11,903
11 Carson Palmer USC 1998-02 11,818
12 Drew Brees Purdue 1997-00 11,792
13 Brady Quinn Notre Dame 2003-06 11,762
14 David Greene Georgia 2001-04 11,528
15 Gino Guidugli Cincinnati 2001-04 11,453
16 Todd Santos San Diego St 1984-87 11,425
17 Daunte Culpepper UCF 1995-98 11,412
18 Tim Lester Eastern Michigan 1996-99 11,299
19 Alex Van Pelt Pittsburgh 1989-92 11,267
20 Derek Anderson Oregon St 2001-04 11,249
21 Chris Leak Florida 2003-06 11,213
22 Peyton Manning Tennessee 1994-97 11,201
23 Eric Zeier Georgia 1991-94 11,153
24 Jordan Palmer UTEP 2003-06 11,084
25 Charlie Frye Akron 2001-04 11,049
26 John Beck BYU 2003-06 11,021
27 Ryan Schneider UCF 2000-03 10,976
28 David Neill Nevada 1998-01 10,901
29 Danny Wuerffel Florida 1993-96 10,875
30 Ben Roethlisberger Miami(OH) 2001-03 10,829
31 Doug Nussmeier Idaho 1990-93 10,824
32 Kevin Sweeney Fresno St 1983-86 10,808
33 Cade McNown UCLA 1995-98 10,708
34 Dan Orlovsky Connecticut 2001-04 10,706
35 John Friesz Idaho 1986-89 10,697
36 Matt Leinart USC 2002-05 10,693
37 Andrew Walter Arizona St 2001-04 10,617
38 Brett Basanez Northwestern 2002-05 10,580
39 Doug Flutie Boston College 1981-84 10,579
40 Steve Stenstrom Stanford 1991-94 10,531
41 Chuck Long Iowa 1981-85 10,461
42 Jared Lorenzen Kentucky 2000-03 10,354
43 Brian McClure Bowling Green 1982-85 10,280
44 Cody Pickett Washington 1999-03 10,220
45 Danny Wimprine Memphis 2001-04 10,215
46 Paul Pinegar Fresno St 2002-05 10,136
47 Eli Manning Ole Miss 2000-03 10,119
48 Glenn Foley Boston College 1990-93 10,039
The following will more than likely break 10,000 yards for their career during the upcoming season:
Colt Brennan Hawaii 2005-Present 9,850
Chad Henne Michigan 2004-Present 7,777
Bret Meyer Iowa St 2004-Present 7,348
If you are a fan of the NFL and not college football, this list may surprise you. Where is Dan Marino and John Elway? Donovan McNabb and Brett Favre? Their numbers:
John Elway Stanford 1979-82 9,349
Dan Marino Pittsburgh 1979-82 8,597
Donovan McNabb Syracuse 1995-98 8,389
Brett Favre Southern Miss 1987-90 7,695
Not bad, but not in the top 48.
Of the top 48 quarterbacks in career passing yards in NCAA history, 25 are currently in the NFL. Of those 25, 10 (10.5 if you count Andrew Walter. He only gets a half of a point because he started for Oakland last year, which is equivalent to being a starter in NFL Europe) are currently starting in the NFL (Rivers, Pennington, Leftwich, C. Palmer, Brees, P. Manning, Frye, Roethlisberger, Leinart, E. Manning). Here are stats ( provided by pro-football-reference.com) of those QBs:
Philip Rivers (3) - 4th season; Pro Bowl - 2006; 21 games for S.D.; 301-490, 3536 yards, 23 TD, 10 INT
Chad Pennington (4) - 8th season; 61 games for N.Y. Jets; 1081-1659, 11973 yards, 72 TD, 46 INT
Kevin Kolb (5) - Rookie
Tim Rattay (6) - 8th season; 35 games for 2 teams; 416-686, 4693 yards, 28 TD, 20 INT
Luke McCown (7) - 4th season; 5 games for Cleveland; 48-98, 608 yards, 4 TD, 7 INT
Chris Redman (8) - 8th season; 11 games for Baltimore; 106-198, 1111 yards, 7 TD, 5 INT
Byron Leftwich (10) - 5th season; 46 games for Jacksonville; 789-1344, 9042 yards, 51 TD, 36 INT
Carson Palmer (11) - 5th season; Pro Bowl - 2005, 2006; 46 games for Cincinnati; 932-1461, 10768 yards, 78 TD, 43 INT
Drew Brees (12) - 7th season; Pro Bowl - 2004, 2006; 75 games for 2 teams; 1481-2363, 16766 yards, 106 TD, 64 INT
Brady Quinn (13) - Rookie
David Greene (14) - 3rd season; 0 NFL games
Daunte Culpepper (17) - 9th season; Pro Bowl - 2000, 2003, 2004; 85 games for Minnesota; 1760-2743, 21097 yards, 137 TD, 89 INT
Derek Anderson (20) - 3rd season; 5 games for Cleveland; 66-117, 793 yards, 5 TD, 8 INT
Chris Leak (21) - Rookie
Peyton Manning (22) - 10th season; Pro Bowl - 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006; 144 games for Indianapolis; 3131-4890, 37586 yards, 275 TD, 139 INT
Jordan Palmer (24) - Rookie
Charlie Frye (25) - 3rd season; 21 games for Cleveland; 350-556, 3456 yards, 14 TD, 23 INT
John Beck (26) - Rookie
Ben Roethlisberger (30) - 4th season; 42 games for Pittsburgh; 644-1032, 8519 yards, 52 TD, 43 INT
Dan Orlovsky (34) - 3rd season; 2 games for Detroit; 7-17, 63 yards, 0 TD, 0 INT
Matt Leinart (36) - 2nd season; 12 games for Arizona; 214-377, 2547 yards, 11 TD, 12 INT
Andrew Walter (37) - 3rd season; 13 games for Oakland; 147-276, 1677 yards, 3 TD, 13 INT
Brett Basanez (38) - 2nd season; 1 game for Carolina; 6-11, 56 yards, 0 TD, 1 INT
Jared Lorenzen (42) - 4th season; 2 games for N.Y. Giants; 0 NFL pass attempts
Eli Manning (47) - 4th season; 41 games for N.Y. Giants; 690-1276, 8049 yards, 54 TD, 44 INT
Stats (provided by pro-football-reference.com) on the 23 quarterbacks who are not currently playing in the NFL:
Timmy Chang (1) - 0 NFL games
Ty Detmer (2) - 56 games for 5 teams (1993-2001); 546-946, 6351 yards, 34 TD, 35 INT
Kliff Kingsbury (9) - 1 game for New York Jets (2005); 1-2, 17 yards
Gino Guidugli (15) - 0 NFL games
Todd Santos (16) - 0 NFL games
Tim Lester (18) - 0 NFL games
Alex Van Pelt (19) - 32 games for Buffalo (1995-2002); 262-477, 2985 yards, 16 TD, 24 INT
Eric Zeier (23) - 28 games for 3 teams (1995-2000); 301-537, 3520 yards, 16 TD, 15 INT
Ryan Schneider (27) - 0 NFL games
David Neill (28) - 0 NFL games
Danny Wuerffel (29) - 23 games for 2 teams (1997-2002); 184-350, 2123 yards, 12 TD, 22 INT
Doug Nussmeier (31) - 7 games for N.O. (1996-1997); 46-82, 455 yards, 1 TD, 4 INT
Kevin Sweeney (32) - 6 games for Dallas (1987-1988); 47-106, 605 yards, 7 TD, 6 INT
Cade McNown (33) - 25 games for Chicago (1999-2000); 281-515, 3111 yards, 16 TD, 19 INT
John Friesz (35) - 68 games for 4 teams (1990-2000); 745-1364, 8699 yards, 45 TD, 42 INT
Doug Flutie (39) - 92 games for 5 teams (1986-2005); 1177-2151, 14715 yards, 86 TD, 68 INT
Steve Stenstrom (40) - 19 games for 2 teams (1995-1999); 177-314, 1895 yards, 4 TD, 12 INT
Chuck Long (41) - 27 games for 2 teams (1986-1990); 331-607, 3747 yards, 19 TD, 28 INT
Brian McClure (43) - 0 NFL games
Cody Pickett (44) - 8 games for S.F. (2004-05); 18-45, 195 yards, 0 TD, 4 INT
Danny Wimprine (45) - 0 NFL games
Paul Pinegar (46) - 0 NFL games
Glenn Foley (48) - 21 games for 2 teams (1994-1999); 207-382, 2469 yards, 12 TD, 16 INT
Let's check in with those who are currently wondering how to get into the NFL:
Timmy Chang (1) - 0 NFL pass attempts; currently QB of CFL Hamilton Tiger-Cats
Kliff Kingsbury (9) - played in 1 game in NFL career; 1-2, 17 yards; recently acquired by Winnipeg of CFL (6/2/07)
Gino Guidugli (15) - 0 NFL pass attempts; current QB of AFL2 Green Bay Blizzard
Tim Lester (18) - 0 NFL pass attempts; played in XFL, AFL, and AFL2; current Defensive Coordinator at North Central College
Let's take a look inside the numbers. Of the 48 quarterbacks who have thrown for more than 10,000 yards in their college careers:
- 5 have made Pro Bowls (P. Manning, Palmer, Culpepper, Brees, Rivers)
- 9 are not currently in the NFL and never even participated in a NFL game
- Of the 32 players who have attempted a pass in the NFL, only 15 have thrown for more touchdowns than interceptions
- 3 won National Championships (Leinart, Leak, Wuerffel)
In order to be included on a list like the 10,000+ yards passing, a quarterback needs to be a 4-year starter or have a great 3 years. Either way, it means that these quarterbacks are talented enough to not only start 3 or 4 years, but excel in NCAA Division I competition, where the top college players in the nation play. Therefore, you'd think that their quarterbacking skills (arm strength, accuracy, ability to read defenses, etc.) would be ready for the NFL. That brings us to the system quarterbacks.
Certain quarterbacks in college benefit from the types of offenses they run, such as Hawaii, Louisiana Tech, BYU of old, Texas Tech, etc. These offenses are not run in the NFL. The speed of the game and the ability of the defense simply will not allow it. Also, the coaches are the best of the best, so they will ultimately find a way to stop a one-dimensional team. That's why you hear NFL announcers, as bad as they might be, always say that a team needs to "establish the run game," which will open up the passing game. In college, the speed isn't quite the same, and offensive coaches would rather be great at one thing (such as Hawaii's passing attack or the dominating option-based run game of the Nebraska teams of the 80s and 90s) than mediocre at many aspects of the game. Although this wouldn't work in the NFL, it has worked in the NCAA for many years.
Therefore, you will continue to see players such as Timmy Chang, Kliff Kingsbury, Danny Wuerffel, and Todd Santos put up amazing numbers in college and have trouble as professionals. Now you know why.
Thank you Colt Brennan for coming back for your senior year. Enjoy it, because it will probably be as good as you get.
This article is also published at -/<- Sports Stop.
