Quarterback: ‘System’ label a burden come draft time

01:04 PM CDT on Friday, April 22, 2005

By RICK GOSSELIN / The Dallas Morning News

First in a 10-part series

Timmy Chang was the perfect quarterback for the offensive system of June Jones.

Jones is a former NFL quarterback who also served as an offensive coordinator and head coach in the pros. Now head coach of the University of Hawaii, Jones created a free-wheeling offense that allows a quarterback to do what he does best: throw the football.

No one in the history of college football threw the ball like Chang. He tossed more passes (2,436) for more yards (17,072) than any other NCAA quarterback. He broke Ty Detmer’s career yardage record by more than 2,000 yards.

Chang spent the bulk of his career taking snaps out of a shotgun formation and throwing passes based on his reads. Being the perfect triggerman for Jones’ offense made Chang a “system quarterback” – and that’s working against him this off-season as he attempts to situate himself on draft boards for an NFL career.

System quarterback. Ouch.

More NFL Draft

“It implies you can keep plugging in any one of a number of quarterbacks of different ability and still have high production,” Houston Texans general manager Charley Casserly said. “It’s not perceived as a positive. That’s not what you want to hear as a quarterback.”

Chang is not alone with that label. He is joined by Sonny Cumbie of Texas Tech. Cumbie passed for more yards than Chang in 2004 – 4,742 – in Mike Leach’s offensive system.

But Cumbie wasn’t deemed one of the best 340 NFL prospects for the 2005 draft, failing to garner an invitation to the league’s scouting combine in Indianapolis in February.

“System quarterback” is a heavy burden to carry into an NFL draft process.

“If I was a young quarterback, I wouldn’t want to be labeled a system guy,” Oakland Raiders coach Norv Turner said. “The guys you want on your team could play in any system. But guys get stereotyped that way, and maybe rightfully so. To be a complete quarterback, you have to be able to make all the throws.”

Cumbie is being punished by the success of the Texas Tech system. Kliff Kingsbury and B.J. Symons each had 5,000-yard passing seasons this decade for the Red Raiders. Both became second-day NFL draft picks, but neither has taken a snap in an NFL game.

Cumbie is a former walk-on who started only one season, throwing for 32 touchdowns. It seems like anyone Leach plugs in at quarterback can throw for 4,000 yards. So it’s easy for NFL teams to write off Cumbie and explore other draft options at the position.

“A system quarterback is an excuse people use when they don’t like a guy,” Arizona Cardinals coach Dennis Green said, “because he may not have the velocity in his arm like John Elway.”

Neither Chang nor Cumbie has an especially strong arm. Neither did Joe Montana, for that matter. It’s not how far you can throw the ball or how fast it gets there. It’s completing passes that count.

And that’s why Chang believes he has a chance to play in the NFL, regardless where he is drafted.

“Making the reads and throwing the ball is probably the hardest thing for a quarterback to do,” Chang said. “For me, it’s pretty simple. I was able to read coverages, make reads on the move and get the ball in tight spots. Throwing is the easy part for me.”

Chang has always been able to throw the ball. As a high schooler in Honolulu, he passed for 8,115 career yards. That made him the 21st-most prolific passer in U.S. high school history. He threw 64 touchdown passes as a senior, one short of the national record.

Chang started for four seasons at Hawaii. He became the school’s all-time leading passer in the 20th game of his career and wound up playing 34 more games. He passed for 4,474 yards in 2002 but didn’t even make all-conference. Again, the system was afforded more credit than the player.

Chang threw a school-record 178 consecutive passes without an interception during one stretch of his career. The NFL likes quarterbacks who avoid interceptions. Chang threw for 534 yards in one game against Louisiana Tech and four touchdowns in one quarter against Idaho.

Chang also broke Detmer’s NCAA record for total offense by 1,921 yards.

Their production demands that Chang and Cumbie be scrutinized by the NFL this month. Chang will probably be drafted, and both should be in NFL training camps this summer.

“It comes down to the guy, how good he is,” Philadelphia Eagles coach Andy Reid said. “Every year, you see a handful of quarterbacks come out of terrible systems in college, but they make it in the pros. Then you have guys who were great players in college, and it didn’t work out in the pros.

“The quarterback position is one of the hardest to evaluate. It’s a matter of catching the right break, hooking up with the right team, once they get into the league.”

E-mail rgosselin@dallasnews.com

NFL DRAFT: QUARTERBACKS
POSITION STRENGTH (1-10): 6
THE TOP 15

SPOTLIGHT ON

Charlie Frye, Akron
Chad Pennington, Byron Leftwich and Ben Roethlisberger put Mid-American Conference quarterbacking on the map. All became first-round draft picks and NFL starters. Now it’s Charlie Frye’s turn to add to the legacy.

Frye, from Akron, projects as a first-day NFL draft pick. Leftwich and Pennington came out of Marshall, Roethlisberger from Miami (Ohio).

“They set the bar pretty high by going in and having success,” Frye said. “They’re doing things I’d like to do.”

Frye started four years and finished second to Leftwich in career total offense in MAC history. Frye also became one of only six quarterbacks in NCAA history to pass for 10,000 and rush for 400 yards.

Frye may not be the best quarterback on this draft board, but he is arguably the toughest. He played the final nine games of the 2002 season with a fractured right thumb, the final four games of 2003 with a hip pointer and the final eight games of 2004 with a dislocated pinkie.

Frye threw for 2,949 yards despite the bad thumb, 3,837 yards despite the bad hip and 2,617 yards despite the bad pinkie. With each injury his coaches discussed sitting Frye down.

“That’s not my personality,” Frye said. “That’s not the type of player I am. You’re going to have to drag me off. It’s going to take more than a little pinkie to get me off the field.”

THE BEST
Aaron Rodgers, California
Aaron Rodgers sits atop this draft board because he keeps the ball in the right hands. He set an NCAA record with 26 consecutive completions, including a record 23 in a row to open the Southern Cal game in his showdown with Heisman Trophy winner Matt Leinart. Rodgers completed 66.1 percent of his passes last season. He also posted streaks of 105 and 98 consecutive passes without an interception in his career.

All-American: None

Award winners: Jason White, Oklahoma (Maxwell, Unitas, O’Brien), Lang Campbell, William & Mary (Payton; best player in I-AA), Chad Friehauf, Colorado School of Mines (Hill; best player in D-II)

Best underclassman: Rodgers

Potential 1s: Rodgers, Smith, Campbell

SLEEPER
Jared Allen, Florida Atlantic
Jared Allen was in Florida Atlantic’s inaugural recruiting class in 2001 and started 44 of the 47 games in school history. He passed for 8,100 yards and 50 touchdowns in his career. He took Florida Atlantic to a 5-0 start in 2004 with all five games coming on the road, including victories at bowl teams Hawaii and North Texas.

BEST OF TEXAS
1. Dustin Long, Sam Houston State
The Port Neches-Groves product started at Texas A&M before transferring to Sam Houston. His 2,509 passing yards at A&M in 2002 stands as the third-best season at the school. Long passed for 4,588 yards and 39 touchdowns in his one season at the NCAA I-AA level.

Draft projection: Late rounds/FA

2. Sonny Cumbie, Texas Tech
The Snyder product would like to follow in the footsteps of his two predecessors at Tech, Kliff Kingsbury and B.J. Symons, and get drafted. But despite passing for 4,742 yards and 32 touchdowns last season, Cumbie is lightly regarded by the NFL because of a lack of arm strength.

Draft projection: Late rounds/FA

3. Chance Mock, Texas
If you can’t start in college, you’re a long shot to ever start in the NFL. Mock started only six games at Texas but posted some impressive numbers in winning four games. The Woodlands product passed for 1,613 career yards with 17 touchdowns and only two interceptions.

Draft projection: Late round/FA

NOTABLE
Yards aplenty: These quarterbacks left campus as the all-time leading passers at their schools: Allen, Anderson, Chang, Friehauf, Frye, Greene, Guidugli, Orlovsky, Walter, White, Darian Durant (North Carolina), Zack Mills (Penn State) and Bryan Randall (Virginia Tech).

On the run: If an NFL team likes mobility in its quarterback, the NFL will love Rasheed Marshall of West Virginia. He broke Donovan McNabb’s Big East rushing record for quarterbacks with 1,969 yards. He rushed for 13 touchdowns in 2002 and 24 in his career. At the I-AA level, Chaz Williams rushed for 2,768 career yards and 62 touchdowns taking the snaps at Georgia Southern.

Game of winners: Greene holds every passing record of note at Georgia. He also broke Peyton Manning’s NCAA record for career victories with 42. Manning won 39. “That one means more to me than anything,” Greene said. “My name goes on the record, but it’s the absolute, complete team record – the ultimate record for a quarterback. I was very fortunate to play on four great teams.” Here are the winningest QBs on the draft board.

GAME OF WINNERS
David Greene holds every passing record of note at Georgia. He also broke Peyton Manning’s NCAA record for career victories with 42. Manning won 39. “That one means more to me than anything,” Greene said. “My name goes on the record, but it’s the absolute, complete team record – the ultimate record for a quarterback. I was very fortunate to play on four great teams.” Here are the winningest QBs on the draft board.

Bowling: Speaking of Greene, he’s one of only 15 QBs in NCAA history to start four consecutive bowls. But he’s not alone on this board. He’s not even alone in the SEC. Jason Campbell (Auburn) and Kyle Orton (Purdue) also did it.