2012 NFL Draft: Texas A&M QB Ryan Tannehill's Reported Injury Is a Huge Setback

Texas A&M senior Ryan Tannehill is one of the most difficult to rank prospects in the 2012 NFL draft class.

With Matt Barkley and Landry Jones returning to school for their senior seasons, there is an opening for the No. 3 quarterback spot in the rankings.

Tannehill is one of several other QBs competing for that spot.

The Aggies QB's season ended with a win over Northwestern in Meineke Car Care Bowl of Texas and he promptly began training for the upcoming draft process.

According to Tony Pauline, a draft analyst for SI and his own site, TFYDraft.com, the QB has suffered a severe setback due to injury:

UPDATE

As of Thursday, Jan. 12, Tannehill has opted to have surgery according to ESPN's Joe Schadd:

There are varying timetables for the recovery time, but it is likely to take anywhere from four-to-eight weeks for him to recover.

This puts quite a damper on him being completely healthy for the NFL scouting combine in late February.

Best case scenario - if the combine is unrealistic - is throwing in March before the draft takes place.

Draftheadquarters.com's Shawn Zobel reported that San Diego State QB Ryan Lindley is expected to take his place.

INITIAL UPDATE

Tannehill is a unique prospect in a lot of ways.

The 6'6", 222-pounder moved over from wide receiver to quarterback last season and led the Aggies on a six-game win streak to close the regular season before losing to LSU in the Cotton Bowl.

He didn't play great against the LSU defense in that game—a secondary that will have put two cornerbacks in the top five of the draft in back-to-back years—but put together a solid 2012 campaign.

Tannehill threw 29 touchdowns to 15 interceptions with nearly 62 percent of his passes completed.

The Aggies struggled to hold the leads he helped create and they wound up blowing five second half leads this year, finishing only 7-6.

But Tannehill still impressed the scouts and has even been mentioned on the fringe of the first round.

He throws a good, tight ball with some zip and has shown the ability to make all the throws. He's still learning how to be a complete QB, but he has above average athleticism and can extend a play or make something out of nothing with his legs and/or arm.

He doesn't look to take off, but will when he has to and can really damage defenses on a designed quarterback run. 

This draft process was going to be huge for him—especially the Senior Bowl. Scouts and coaches want to see how he stacks up with other top talent around him and how he handles the competition against other signal callers.

With this reported injury he won't have that opportunity. Combine and Pro Day workouts are not an accurate substitute for evaluation in comparison to the Senior Bowl practices, but they'll have to do.

His combine workout now becomes a key factor in his draft stock.

Depending on how he recovers, Tannehill projects as a late second, early third-round selection.