MENU
SECTIONS
OTHER
CLASSIFIEDS
CONTACT US / FAQ
Advertisement

The call from the NFL

The call from the NFL

IT'S not always easy for football teams from the Mid-American Conference to get the respect they deserve from the sports writers and coaches who vote in the national polls every autumn. But the National Football League knows all about the MAC and the individual talent that abounds there.

Two of the best quarterbacks in the recent history of the league - the University of Toledo's Bruce Gradkowski and Bowling Green's Omar Jacobs - moved into the professional ranks Sunday on the NFL draft's second day.

Jacobs was picked in the fifth round by the Pittsburgh Steelers and Gradkowski was a sixth-round selection by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Advertisement

Four other MAC players also were drafted, all of them ahead of Jacobs and Gradkowski. And a truly homegrown talent, Bedford High School's Chris Morris, a starter at Michigan State the last three years, was chosen in the seventh round by the Oakland Raiders.

For Jacobs, his selection by the Steelers had to be a bittersweet moment. After a dazzling sophomore year he was being touted as a sure first-round pick at some point in the future. But despite a serious shoulder injury that tarnished his junior year, he elected to leave BGSU a year early and enter the NFL draft.

With the benefit of hindsight, it was probably a mistake in judgment, but once eligibility is relinquished, it is gone.

Jacobs also will not be playing quarterback for the Steelers any time soon. Pittsburgh has its franchise quarterback in place - Ben Roethlisberger - which attaches a bit of irony to the Steelers' choice. Jacobs and Roethlisberger faced each other in college; now they're teammates.

Advertisement

And although Gradkowski might have pondered the prospect that he would be the MAC quarterback headed to Pittsburgh - his hometown - he may have inherited the better situation in Tampa. He'll learn under one of the NFL's best coaches, Jon Gruden, whose post-draft comments suggest the former Rocket will have a real shot.

Both young men have a chance to reaffirm the quality of MAC football. We wish them well.

First Published May 2, 2006, 10:03 a.m.

RELATED
SHOW COMMENTS  
Join the Conversation
We value your comments and civil discourse. Click here to review our Commenting Guidelines.
Must Read
Partners
Advertisement
Advertisement
LATEST opinion
Advertisement
Pittsburgh skyline silhouette
TOP
Email a Story