Is Rhett Bomar the Top Quarterback in the Draft?

Seems like only yesterday that the news broke.

On Aug. 2, 2006, on the heels of the start of the college football season, Oklahoma's up-and-coming stud quarterback Rhett Bomar was dismissed from the team for accepting money from a car dealership for doing little or no work, an offense that violates NCAA regulations.

Bomar, the blooming Sooner was coming off a freshman campaign that was capped off with a Holiday Bowl MVP award.

Of course the Sooners bounced back, settling for a year of Paul Thompson before diamond-in-the-rough gunslinger Sam Bradford emerged as a Heisman winner and perhaps the greatest quarterback in school history. 

One can't help but wonder, had things worked out differently, would it be Bomar with the accolades leading into this year's draft rather than being a possible second day selection?

When you look at it though, he isn't a second-day selection type of player. He is worthy of the first day, and more. He has the size (6'2" 225 pounds), the arm strength, and the awareness to be an NFL starter. 

He performed well at the combine, and even ran a solid 4.70 in the 40-yard dash, which is no surprise, his mobility is what once drew comparisons of his play to that of John Elway, Steve Young, and Brett Favre.

After the Sooners waved bye-bye to Bomar, a former number one recruit in the nation, the quarterback returned to Texas and enrolled at Sam Houston State where he entered the 2007 season as the team's starter. 

In 2007 and 2008, while Bradford was piling up the awards and accolades, Bomar quietly was impressive, throwing for 5,614 yards and 37 touchdowns for the Bearkats, while adding over 500 yards and 12 touchdowns on the ground.

NFL Network's Mike Mayock has Bomar listed as the fourth rated gunslinger, and while it's clear that either fellow Texas native Matthew Stafford of Georgia or Mark Sanchez of USC are going to be the first quarterback to have their name called on Apr. 25, Bomar may have more to offer.  

Add that proverbial chip on the shoulder, and some team is going to get a prize in their draft cracker jack box.