College Football: Top 10 QBs Who Made the NFL Wait

After a tremendous 2010 season Andrew Luck decided to pass up on the opportunity to play in the NFL to stay in college for another year.  Although Luck is a tremendous talent people have debated whether or not this was a good decision.

Luck was not the first quarterback to make the NFL wait a year or two and he won't be the last.  Of the quarterbacks who have decided to stay in college there has been mixed results.

Here is a list of the top ten quarterbacks to make the NFL wait.

10. Tim Tebow, Florida

Tim Tebow is one of the best college football players of all-time.  He was the first quarterback to both pass and run for 25 touchdowns in a single season. 

After leading the Gators to the 2009 National Championship Tebow declared that he would return for his senior season. Tebow would go on to lead Florida to the Sugar Bowl and became a first round draft pick of the Denver Broncos. 

He is one of the most likeable players in football but is still unproven on the NFL field.

9. Daunte Culpepper, Central Florida

At Central Florida quarterback Daunte Culpepper was an absolute beast.  At 6’4” 250 pounds Culpepper looked like a linebacker playing quarterback. 

His rocket arm and speed outside the pocket impressed many scouts but Culpepper wanted to stay at UCF for his senior season to play one final season with his Knight teammates. 

Waiting a year didn’t hurt Culpepper’s stock as he was drafted 11^th overall by the Minnesota Vikings in the 1999.  Culpepper went on to play seven great years with the Vikings including two playoff appearances.

8. Eli Manning, Ole Miss

Had Eli Manning declared for the 2003 NFL Draft he would have been one of the first quarterbacks selected.  Instead he decided to stay at Ole Miss for his senior season. 

That turned out to be a good decision.  Manning was selected first overall in 2004 and was later traded to the New York Giants. 

In 2007 Manning led the Giants to a Super Bowl victory over the previously unbeaten New England Patriots.

7. Drew Brees, Purdue

After finishing fourth in the 1999 Heisman voting Purdue quarterback Drew Brees made a promise to his teammates.  He announced his desire to return to Purdue for his senior season and vowed to win the Big Ten and lead the Boilermakers to the Rose Bowl. 

Thanks to a phenomenal senior season Brees was able to accomplish both goals.  In the 2001 NFL Draft Brees was the second quarterback taken behind only the number one overall pick Michael Vick. 

Today Brees is one of the most accurate quarterbacks in the NFL.  He has led his New Orleans Saints to one Super Bowl victory and is a perennial Pro Bowl selection.

6. Danny Wuerffel, Florida

Danny Wuerffel is one of the best players in Florida Gator history.  He put up outstanding numbers in head coach Steve Spurrier’s offense throughout his carrer. 

Wuerffel decided to stay all four years at Florida which ended up being a good decision as he won the Heisman Trophy as a senior. 

NFL scouts were not very impressed with Wuerffel’s intangibles and he would slip to the fourth round.  After six seasons as a backup, Wuerffel retired from the NFL.

5. Matt Leinart, USC

Of all of the guys on this list Matt Leinart may have had the best junior season.  He led the Trojans to a National Championship victory and won the Heisman Trophy. 

Instead of entering the draft where he would have been a top five pick Leinart decided to stay in college for one more year.  That decision cost him a few bucks as he fell to number ten overall in the 2006 draft. 

He was relegated to a backup role behind Kurt Warner for many years and he is now a backup for the Houston Texans.  Leinart has failed to have the same success in the NFL as he did in college due to his lackluster arm strength.

4. Sam Bradford, Oklahoma

Following an outstanding junior season Sam Bradford was projected to be the first overall pick by the Detroit Lions.  Bradford instead elected to come back for another year to make a run at the National Championship. 

Unfortunately Bradford would be plagued by a right shoulder injury for most of his junior season. 

The injury did not hurt his draft stock however.  He was selected first overall by the Saint Louis Rams in the 2010 draft and appears to be on his way to a successful NFL career.

3. Jim Plunkett, Stanford

Had he gone pro Jim Plunkett would have been one of the first quarterbacks taken in the 1970 NFL Draft.  Plunkett decided to make the NFL wait one more year which turned out to be a great decision for Plunkett and the Cardinal. 

In the 1969 Heisman voting Plunkett finished eigth but he was able to win the award as a senior and lead Stanford to the first Rose Bowl appearance in almost 20 years. 

Plukett was drafted number one overall in the 1971 draft and would go on to lead the Oakland Raiders to two Super Bowl wins.

2. Andrew Luck, Stanford

The Carolina Panthers were not happy when Andrew Luck decided to come back to Stanford for his junior season.  Like Sam Bradford before him Luck would’ve been the first overall pick but decided to go back to school. 

In 2011 Luck will have to learn to play without the help of former head coach Jim Harbaugh who now coaches the San Francisco 49ers.  With his accuracy scouts believe Luck will have no problem adjusting this season and should have another spectacular year. 

Barring any unforeseen injury Luck will likely be the first overall pick of the 2012 NFL Draft.

1. Peyton Manning, Tennessee

Although Peyton Manning earned his degree in three years at Tennessee, he decided to return to Knoxville for his senior season.  He would go on to lead the Vols to the Orange Bowl and would win several individual awards along the way. 

Manning is one of the best college quarterbacks of all-time and will likely go down as one of the best quarterbacks at any level. 

He has played his entire career with the Indianapolis Colts who selected him with the first-overall pick in the 1998 draft and won his lone Super Bowl with them in 2007.