East-West Shrine Game Preview: Quarterbacks

The Senior Bowl has received a lot of hype from Redskins fans since Mike Shanahan and his staff will be coaching the South team; but this week another All-Star Game will take center-stage in St. Petersburg, Florida. This week the East-West Shrine Game will bring in senior all-stars from all across the country, once again. The game will take place Saturday at 4PM and will be aired on the NFL Network, where you can also catch the practices at various times this week. This year's coaching staffs are headed up by a pair of former NFL head coaches, Brad Childress and Bobby Ross. Hogs Haven will keep you up to date throughout the week on news from St. Petes, as well as an overview on who to keep an eye on. Today we'll kickoff our Shrine Game coverage with a look at the six quarterbacks who will partake in the game.

Chandler Harnish, Northern Illinois, 6'1, 219lbs: We've profiled Harnish a couple of times here at Hogs Haven, most recently for the GoDaddy.com Bowl . Harnish ended up leading the Huskies to a 38-20 victory in the bowl game and finished the season with 3,216 yards passing, 26 touchdowns, 6 interceptions, and a completion percentage of 61.7. Harnish measured in slightly below 6'2 (6014) for the Shrine Game but he is still, arguably, the best pro prospect quarterback in St. Pete for the week. He's extremely athletic and has shot up draft boards with a very impressive 2011 campaign.

Projected Draft Round: 5th

BJ Coleman, UT-Chattanooga, 6'3, 234lbs: The Mocs' BJ Coleman is the most intriguing quarterback prospect at the Shrine Game, in my opinion. The Tennessee transfer will have one of the strongest arms at the combine and he ran a pro-style offense in college (similar to Arkansas). He also has just enough mobility to make people miss in the pocket. Coleman has been banged up a bit and needs to improve on his pre-snap reads and command of the offense, but the FCS prospect should be a solid pick up for a team late in the draft.

Projected Draft Round: 6th

Austin Davis, Southern Miss, 6'1, 221lbs: Davis finished his final year in Hattiesberg with nearly 3,500 yards, 30 touchdowns, 11 interceptions, and a completion percentage of 60.2. He lead the Golden Eagles to a Conference USA Championship victory over previously undefeated Houston, as well as a Hawaii Bowl victory over Nevada. Davis has an over-the-top release and is fairly mobile in the pocket. Some of his downsides are arm strength, footwork, and the fact he took almost every snap out of the shotgun.

Projected Draft Round: 7th, UDFA


John Brantley, Florida, 6'2, 219lbs: Brantley has been one of the most disappointing prospects over the past two years. It seems like all the physical tools are there but something just doesn't "click". Todd McShay puts it best:

"I’ll be surprised if he gets drafted, but he still has a chance as a free agent and can get a couple years to plug away, He looks at times like he’s got a shot. He has a nice delivery and can make all the throws. I just question that he gets it. He’s a little bit late with his reads."

Projected Draft Round: UDFA

Dan Persa, Northwestern, 5'11, 212lbs: It's hard not to root for Dan Persa. It seems like he's always coming back from injury, he's hardworking, a leader, extremely athletic, and a creative football player. Persa finishes his career as a Wildcat completed 72 percent of his passes and 34 touchdowns to 13 interceptions. There were high hopes for him a couple years ago, but now it looks like he needs to resurrect his career just to get a shot at the NFL.

Projected Draft Round: UDFA


Tyler Hansen, 6'0, 222lbs: Hansen has fairly impressive numbers considering what has been around him at Colorado. This past year alone he passed for about 3,900 yards, 20 touchdowns, 11 interceptions, with a completion percentage of 56. He doesn't have the physical tools to excel at the next level, but he did switch to a pro-style offense this year and did marginally well considering it didn't play to his strengths at all.

Projected Draft Round: UDFA