This year’s 2017 NFL Draft quarterback class has been under quite a bit of scrutiny ever since the draft process began. Most evaluators and scouts have deemed it to be a fairly weak group of prospects with no obvious franchise quarterbacks that could be plugged in from Day 1 and have multiple Pro Bowl and All-Pro appearances as mortal locks in their future.
DeShaun Watson was one of the all-time greats in college at Clemson, but there are questions about his skill set at the next level. Mitch (sorry, Mitchell) Trubisky is someone who teams seem intrigued by, but his body of work at North Carolina is less than substantial. Patrick Mahomes from Texas Tech seems to be capturing the imaginations of teams as a boom-or-bust prospect.
Then there’s Notre Dame’s DeShone Kizer. He was thought to be a top pick at one point and is now a borderline first round selection. One of the reasons why his draft stock fell was because Notre Dame went 4-8 last season.
That slide hasn’t put a dent in Kizer’s confidence though. In fact, you could say that Kizer’s confidence is still safely the size of the known galaxy.
In an interview with USA Today, Kizer said he had Tom Brady’s intellect and Cam Newton’s body and that he could be the greatest quarterback in the history of the game. ALL RIGHTY THEN!!
“Name a college quarterback who goes into the game-plan meetings on Monday and throws his notes at the coaches,” Kizer said. “No one else game plans the way I do. No one else prepares the way I do. No one else knows football the way I do. No one else is as big as I am. No one else is as powerful a runner as I am. Pat Mahomes might throw the ball 80 yards and I can only throw the ball 72, but I guarantee he can’t throw an out route the way I can.
“No one else can do what I can do. And I’ve truly figured out in this (draft) process, if I can maximize all my potential in every aspect of the game – this is bold – I do have the ability to be the greatest quarterback to ever play. Imagine taking (Tom) Brady’s intellect and Brady’s preparation and putting it on a guy with Cam Newton’s body. Why can’t I be the greatest? The only thing stopping me from it is me. That’s what’s driving me now.”
You’re either going to take this one of two ways – applaud Kizer for showing the self-confidence necessary to succeed at the most pressurized position in America’s most popular sport… or be astounded by his complete lack of any kind of self-awareness whatsoever. I’m about 30% Column A and 70% Column B.
It’s one thing to be confident, but Tom Brady is the most accomplished quarterback in NFL history and Cam Newton may be one of the great athletes to ever play the position. He might as well have also added that he had the speed of Michael Vick, the arm strength of JaMarcus Russell, the accuracy of Joe Montana, the charisma of Joe Namath, and the haircut of Johnny Unitas.
Sure, if anyone maximizes every single one of their gifts, then anything is possible. The same is true for any quarterback, though. If Tim Tebow maximized all of his potential then he wouldn’t be playing minor league baseball. It’s one thing to be that confident in yourself, it’s another to let everyone know about it. Maybe that’s why Kizer has reportedly slipped due to some “diva qualities.” And of course it will provide bulletin board material for his opponents in the NFL and probably even his own teammates once he gets welcomed to the league.
