MOBILE, Ala. — Jake Locker showed up for Senior Bowl week with the mindset that he has nothing to lose and nothing to hide. Which shouldn’t be all that surprising considering his surprising decision little more than a year ago.
In early January 2010, with Oklahoma quarterback Sam Bradfo
rd’s surgically repaired shoulder still a big question mark, Locker was being mentioned as a potential No. 1 overall draft pick. But Locker decided to stay in school, pursue his degree and try to get the struggling Washington Huskies program back to respectability.
Locker got his degree in December — in history. After an 0-12 season in 2008, the Huskies are at least relevant once again after finishing 7-6 this season following a Holiday Bowl victory over Nebraska.
“That meant the world to me. That’s why I came back,” said Locker, who ran for 83 yards and a touchdown in the Huskies’ 19-7 victory over the Cornhuskers. “I made a commitment to that school and I wanted to honor that commitment. I had a great experience when I was at Washington. I wouldn’t trade it for anything. I’m just happy that our football team was able to go out the way we did.”
But Locker’s numbers went down in 2010. Missing one game with a broken rib, he threw for 535 fewer yards than he did in 2009 and threw four fewer touchdown passes.
“I think I was able to mature as a person and as a player, in media situations, in the huddle, in the locker room,” Locker said of what he accomplished during his senior season. “Just being a leader overall.”
As the pre-draft process hit high gear this past week for today’s Senior Bowl, no one is talking about Locker as a potential No. 1 overall draft pick this year. But can Locker still be the first quarterback taken in the 2011 draft?
That’s what he’s shooting for.
“Obviously,” Locker said. “I think if you ask anybody here if they want to be the first guy taken in their position, that’s what you’re working towards. The way I approach it is I’m going to get better every day. And I’m going to do my best to outwork the other guy every day. And if that’s enough, it’s enough.”
If not? Well, Locker adds: “I’m just excited about the opportunity to play in the NFL, and I’m going to make the most of any opportunity I’m put in, or any situation I’m given.”
Missouri’s Blaine Gabbert, Auburn’s Cam Newton and Arkansas’ Ryan Mallett all made headlines in recent weeks by deciding to turn pro early. Locker’s appearance at the Senior Bowl underscores his intention to show pro scouts that he’s still a viable alternative. And that he has nothing to hide.
“I don’t feel like there’s anything that I want to keep from people,” Locker said. “I’m confident in who I am as a person and a player, and I wanted to show that this week.”
Underclassmen who turn pro aren’t eligible for the Senior Bowl, but it’s unusual for seniors who have top 15 potential — particularly at the quarterback position — to participate. The thinking is that elite prospects can only hurt their draft stock.
“I just love playing football,” Locker said of why he is playing in the game. “It’s an awesome game, and just the opportunity to come play against the best college players. It’s an awesome opportunity.”
And with a new “playbook” and different terminology thrown at them in a week’s time, it’s easy enough for a quarterback to have trouble with timing, or to simply look bad at times.
“But I think the people that are evaluating you know that,” Locker said. “They understand what this game is about and what the players go through. I hope that they take out of it that I love the game of football. That I’m going to play any opportunity I get.”
At the moment, Gabbert seems to be the presumptive No. 1 quarterback in the draft, which is rather amazing to some.
“He’s a good quarterback,” said Russ Lande, a former NFL scout who now heads the GM Jr. NFL Draft scouting service. “People talk about him being in the top 10 — he’s not an elite prospect to me. He’s a big, good-looking kid. Athletic. He can throw. But I don’t know. I don’t know where the hype is (from).”
When all is said and done, Lande says he’s probably going to give Gabbert a high second-round grade. If enough NFL teams feel the same way, that could open the door for Locker to become the first quarterback taken.
In a “down” year for Locker, he threw 17 touchdown passes and nine interceptions, compared to 16 and nine for Gabbert. The difference, however, comes in completion percentage and passing yards. Gabbert completed 63.4 percent of his throws, to Locker’s 55.4 percent. Gabbert also had 900 more passing yards than Locker, albeit throwing 140 more passes.
“Locker physically, there’s no doubt,” Lande said. “But accuracy-wise, he’s terrible. I don’t think he’s a first-round quarterback in any way, shape or form.”
If enough NFL scouts feel that way, it could very well be Gabbert. Or it could mean that the entire quarterback picture in the 2011 draft is totally muddled.
“This process is still a couple months long,” Locker said. “There’s going to be a lot of things that happen throughout that time. And so just being consistent with who you are and how you prepare for it, I think, is going to be the most important thing.”
When Stanford’s Andrew Luck pulled a Locker, by deciding to stay in school, quarterback draft boards all over the NFL were thrown into disarray. Luck would’ve been the odds-on favorite to be the No. 1 overall pick, and some scouts thought he might even be a better prospect than Bradford.
But without Luck available, all those quarterback-needy teams in the top 15, from Carolina at No. 1 overall to Arizona (No. 5), San Francisco (No. 7), Tennessee (No. 8), Minnesota (No. 12) and Miami (No. 15), all could be in tough positions. They could reach for a QB in the first round, taking a risk that Gabbert or Locker or Newton or Mallett is worth the investment. Or they could wait to the second round, hoping some of the top QB prospects are still available.
Lande, for one, thinks prospects such as Christian Ponder of Florida State or Colin Kaepernick of Nevada might be better long-term investments taken later in the draft.
“I think three years from now, Kaepernick’s going to be a guy who’s a good starter,” Lande said.
Ponder was plagued by an elbow injury this season and then suffered a concussion in Florida State’s bowl game. But he is very bright and has all the intangibles.
“He’s one of those off-the-charts character kids, so I think he’s going to go flying up draft boards if he turns out to be healthy,” Lande said.
Associated Press contributed to this story
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