Is Pat White a first-round quarterback?

The spread offense is most damaging for college quarterbacks hoping to play at the next level. You can find receivers, running backs, and tight ends from the system going in the first round of the NFL draft and eventually having an impact on the league.

It’s a different story for the leaders of those offenses, who struggle to adapt to snaps under center. The most recent first round spread failures are Alex Smith, No. 1 overall in 2004, and Vince Young, the third pick in the 2005 draft.

Georgia’s Matthew Stafford and Southern Cal’s Mark Sanchez headline this year’s quarterback class. Both are underclassmen, having fewer starts than others, yet there’s a broad gap between the two and their closest competitors.

Despite having less experience, Sanchez and Stafford benefit from the pro-style systems of their programs. The more celebrated quarterbacks of the 2008 season have no first round projection. That list includes Chase Daniel, Graham Harrell, and Pat White.

But one of the three took advantage of all postseason events to move closer to a first day selection. Beginning with the Senior Bowl, West Virginia’s Pat White began to transform from the feared runner of Morgantown to a legitimate hurler for Sundays.

Also willing to work as a receiver, he’s drawn comparisons to former Steeler Kordell Stewart. Ed Bouchette, a sports writer for the Pittsburgh Post Gazette, says the Steelers believe White will go in the second round, though he should go in the first. Oddly, Pittsburgh has an identical player on the roster, Dennis Dixon, and didn’t draft him until the fifth round last year.

What Pat White can bring to an NFL team is the dimension Michael Vick once gave the Atlanta Falcons, which is basically a “wildcat” formation on every offensive series. He doesn’t possess the 4.3 speed of Vick, but appears to be more accurate.

Stewart was a second round pick out of Colorado in ’95, and if there was a re-draft, he’s easily in the first. Vick was the first overall pick in 2001, and you would think anything close to his ability would have the potential to also be included in that round.

So what about Pat White, a multidimensional spread quarterback that has impressed pro scouts at each event? Has he made enough of a case for himself to be included among those projected for the first round?

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