Russell Wilson can brag that he's number six and, of course, that's confusing because who wants to be number six. The number six solace in the 2012 NFL draft is a satisfying thing because, of course, he made it to the big time; he was the sixth quarterback chosen. He probably feels better about himself when he crawls into his number three Seattle Seahawks jersey.
The most visible position on the NFL field in the Fall is that of quarterback and he was the sixth quarterback chosen. Those ahead of him had some impressive credentials and some big, humongous pre-draft hype in 2012.
Andrew Luck was the overall number one pick in 2012 and he wasn't even the reigning Heisman Trophy winner...Robert Griffin III was, amazingly, not picked number one but number two and that ain't so bad. At number three was Ryan Tannehill who was drafted by the Dolphins via Texas A & M and he got significant playing time as a rookie. The number four quarterback drafted was Brandon Weeden who went to the Cleveland Browns who hoped, yet again, that they've picked a good-enough quarterback because they have never won a Super Bowl. Those four guys were all first-round picks.
In the second round Brock Osweiler of Arizona State was picked by the Broncos: he was the only quarterback picked in the second round.
Our hero, Russell Wilson, via the University of Wisconsin, North Carolina State and the Collegiate School in Richmond, Virginia was picked--number 75 overall and as the 12th pick--in the third round. Russell Wilson had detractors who looked at his height--he's 5' 11"--and said wait a minute...so, despite his gaudy numbers in college he was not given full credit for his nearly 12,000 yards of passing.
Money is heaped on first-round picks so perceived gambles are pushed down the list: that's where we find our hero Russell Wilson. He attended the same school as Eric Cantor who isn't a football player but Speaker of the House of Representatives. This private school was where my brother first taught high school in the mid 1980s.
This school imparted on our hero an academic urge to do it in the classroom as well as on the playing field which some would say builds students up but for the wrong reasons: he graduated from NC State in four years and played for the Wisconsin Badgers in 2011-12 as a graduate student by utilizing a little-talked-about rule available to those who have graduated but haven't used their four years of eligibility up.
Enjoy this article? Subscribe for free at the top of the page: you'll receive similar sports stories by me in your email account.
Comments