Standing Pat: The Case for Mountaineer No. 5

The GhostwriterFeb 27, 2009

Talk all you want about the “potential” of Matt Stafford and Mark Sanchez, but if you’re looking for an immediate impact quarterback in the 2009 draft, look no further than the diminutive Pat White of West Virginia.

To use the old cliche that probably became a cliche because it used to be considered an invaluable trait, the guy is simply a play-maker. Sure, he “only” stands 6′0 1/4 and weighs 197 lbs., but this is a player who isn’t afraid to put the team on his back in crunch time and make the game-deciding play.

Still, the story of his life has been one of under-appreciation, and the tale of this year’s draft is looking like yet another chapter.

When White graduated from high school, he wasn’t highly recruited. Four years later, he’s college football’s all-time leader in rushing yards for a quarterback. Of course, that isn’t enough for some professional scouts.

Ask any of the doubters what the biggest knock on Pat White is and they will exclaim in unison: “His size!!” Yet, Drew Brees, who arguably played at the highest level in the NFL this year, is 1/4 of an inch shorter than White. Huh?

The way I see it, either a 6′ pro quarterback can or cannot scan the field and make his necessary reads. How many times did you see Brees drop back in the pocket–only to realize that his field of vision was completely blocked! Oh no!

Or how many times did you see the Saints quarterback try to complete a pass–only to have the ball ricochet off the backs of his gigantic linemen?!

I’m not saying that Pat White is anywhere near as accurate a passer as the best quarterback in the NFL, but the height is either an issue or it’s not. And, given the evidence, it doesn’t actually seem to be.

Given his tradition of overcoming adversity, could the last couple of months gone any differently for White? A come-from-behind 31-30 victory over North Carolina in his last ever bowl game, in which he threw for 332 yards and three touchdowns. A weekend of getting dogged by the media at the Senior Bowl until the game actually started and he emerged as the clear-cut MVP.

Now, we have the Combine, where going in much was made about his reluctance to transition to a wide receiver. No one was really surprised to see that he blazed a 4.5 forty–easily tops among the quarterbacks in attendance.

Still, I saw certain websites go out of their way to avoid mentioning that accomplishment. Apparently, he didn’t “count” as a quarterback so he wasn’t really the fastest one there.

However, the more drills he was put through, the more noise his play made. Mark Sanchez was supposed to be the Golden Child of this year’s Combine, but when it was time for the passing drills he was reportedly upstaged in embarrassing fashion by…Pat White.

I’ve seen multiple mini-reports leak out that Mr. White actually threw the deep ball better than anyone in attendance and may have been the most accurate as well, while Sanchez looked surpisingly erratic. Oops!

Look, I’m not saying that Pat White is the Next Coming. I just think that, based on all of his accomplishments, he deserves a shot to be a quarterback at the next level. At the very least, he’ll run an extremely dangerous Wild Cat Formation and return punts.

So, really, the worst case scenario is you draft Josh Cribbs. That’s not bad at all. But this guy has all the potential and raw athleticism in the world. Give him a shot. That’s all he asks.