Blaine Gabbert Pro Day: Interview with Top Prospect about His Draft Preparation

One of the most important pro days for the 2011 NFL draft is Mar. 17, as the Missouri Tigers will have numerous NFL teams flocking to the facilities.

Odds are, just about every top 15 team will likely be in attendance to see one of the top one or two quarterback prospects in this draft, former Tiger Blaine Gabbert.

I got a chance to talk to Blaine as he was preparing for the NFL draft process about his college career, his draft preparation and what he's been working on prior to the final evaluation process in his pro day.

We first talked about the time before Blaine was the face of the football program, in his first two years. He got a chance to learn behind a Heisman Trophy finalist and current NFL backup in Chase Daniel.

"It helped a lot. He taught me how to watch film and bring that to the practice field and to game day."

That experience behind such a successful college quarterback set up Blaine's success in his two years as the Missouri starting quarterback. Back-to-back to 3,000-plus-yard seasons and 40 TDs combined in the past two years are impressive for any quarterback, especially one in the short-passing offense that was run at Missouri.

"The offense evolved every year, especially this year with the running game. We molded our offense around (short passes)."

After it was announced that Andrew Luck of Stanford was not going to declare early for the NFL draft, the door opened for the other top underclassmen quarterback prospects to test the waters and that's exactly what Blaine chose to do.

"I feel like I can challenge myself there better. That's why I made the jump."

As is the case with many quarterbacks coming from a spread offense, Blaine will need to show how far along his technique is for a spread quarterback, as well as answering the spread offense.

"First off, I've always taken drops from under center, whether it's in practice or with my brother in the indoor practice facility. At Missouri, I was running through multiple progressions in a complicated spread offense, so I don't think it was a one-read system. I don't think the transition should be too hard."

Gabbert is viewed as a top quarterback prospect because of his size and arm, as he throws down the field with good accuracy, but some have concerns about his consistency outside the hashes as well as being able to take over a game.

"I have a strong arm, but that's not enough. I have to show I can be focused on and off the field. I've been fine-tuning my throwing motion, working on my strike point in my throws as well."

Blaine hasn't thrown in front of potential NFL personnel since his final game at Missouri, so working out at his pro day on Mar. 17 will be both his chance to show how developed of a passer he is as well as a last chance for NFL teams to get their final thoughts on the passer.

If Blaine can impress enough to show that he's on the level of a Matt Stafford or Sam Bradford in past years, he could be in strong consideration for the first overall pick, though it's more likely that he ends up someplace between picks three to five. And while it's not smart to put too much stock in pro days, any evaluation can make the difference for teams picking high in the draft and dishing out top dollar for a prospect.

While it won't be a Tim Tebow-like mob scene at the pro day, if you're in the Columbia, Missouri area, don't be surprised if you see the Panthers, Bills, Bengals, Cardinals and many other NFL teams represented across the area of the Missouri campus.