Watch out for Arkansas Signal Caller Tyler Wilson

Watch out for Arkansas underclassman Tyler Wilson.  Wilson is the top SEC quarterback.  An SEC quarterback has been selected in the first round of the NFL Draft 8 of the last 9 years.  Could Wilson make it 9 for 10?  He may forgo his senior year at Arkansas under the right circumstances.

Besides Andrew Luck, Matt Barkley, Robert Griffin III, and Landry Jones there is only one other underclassmen at quarterback who has a remote shot of being selected in the first round.  That quarterback is Arkansas’s Tyler Wilson.

Do not be surprised if Wilson pulls a fast one.  If Matt Barkley and Robert Griffin III both opt to return for their senior seasons then I could see Tyler Wilson jumping ship now and declaring as a junior redshirt.

There have been quarterbacks who pulled fast ones in years past.  In 2009 there was speculation by some that Sam Bradford, Tim Tebow, Jevan Snead, or Colt McCoy would come out and declare.  Due to all 4 players returning Mark Sanchez and Josh Freeman both pulled a fast one by leaving college as underclassmen.

The result both quarterbacks went in the first round.  Bradford was projected to go where Sanchez went as a sophomore redshirt while Sanchez was projected to go where Freeman went if he declared.  Bradford’s return to Oklahoma created a chain reaction for the 2009 NFL Draft.

In 2011 you saw the same thing when Andrew Luck returned.  Blaine Gabbert declared and was a top 10 pick.  Some people had Gabbert as a mid round pick in the event that Andrew Luck declared if Gabbert decided to declare as well.

Wilson may end up pulling a fast one leaving school a year early.  I have not wrote a scouting report on Wilson yet because I think he returns for his senior year.  I better get on this soon because you cannot rule out the possibility of Wilson declaring if both Matt Barkley and Robert Griffin III return.

Griffin has hinted at returning even though no decision has been made.  USC is off of bowl probation after this year and they could make a serious title run if both Matt Barkley and Matt Kalil opted to return to school because they would have star wide receiver Robert Woods draft eligible for 2013 in addition to adding the top high school recruit at offensive tackle to play next to Kalil in Arik Armstead.

Matt Barkley led USC to a Bowl Game as a freshman under Pete Carroll.  He never played in a BCS Bowl game for USC after there were high expectations of Barkley prior to USC’s recruiting violations.

Tannehill has been talented for A&M as a senior, but he messed up in the clutch against Missouri on Saturday. Tannehill has the potential to be a very good starter.  I do not see pro bowl ability with him though which is why I cannot see him going in the first round.  Tannehill is more of a 2nd round pick at this point.

2011 is Tyler Wilson’s only year as a starter so I cannot see him declaring unless Barkley and Griffin both return.  Since the NFL went to 32 teams only 2 NFL Drafts since 2002 went without an SEC quarterback in the first round.  Those drafts were the 2002 NFL Draft with David Carr and the 2008 NFL Draft with Matt Ryan.

At the same time if you consider the fact that since 2003 only one NFL Draft has had no SEC quarterbacks go in the first round which was 2008 with Matt Ryan of Boston College an ACC school and Joe Flacco playing for an FCS school with Delaware.

You may be inclined to believe that Wilson comes out this year for 2012, with Tyler Bray going pro in 2013, and Florida freshman Jeff Driskel declaring in 2014.

The SEC went to 12 schools in 1991.  For anyone who only watches the NFL who wants a history lesson those 12 SEC schools are Florida, Georgia, Tennessee, South Carolina, Kentucky, Vanderbilt, Alabama, Arkansas, LSU, Auburn, Ole Miss, and Mississippi State.  Now Texas A&M and Missouri will join making the SEC have total schools.

A year later in 1992 the SEC became the first conference to have a conference championship.  The SEC has a huge list of first round quarterbacks drafted since 1993.

1994 Heath Shuler QB Tennessee

1998 Peyton Manning QB Tennessee

1999 Tim Couch QB Kentucky

2003 Rex Grossman QB Florida

2004 Eli Manning QB Ole Miss

2005 Jason Campbell QB Auburn

2006 Jay Cutler QB Vanderbilt

2007 JaMarcus Russell QB LSU

2009 Matthew Stafford QB Georgia

2010 Tim Tebow QB Florida

2011 Cam Newton QB Auburn

The SEC has produced a first round quarterback 8 out of the last 9 years.  Since 1998 the SEC has produced 6 #1 overall picks in a 12 year span.  Do you ever wonder about the science behind this?  Your lying to yourself if you find nothing remotely fascinating or nothing shady about this.

Look at the SEC’s track record for developing quarterbacks who go in the first round.  The SEC’s record practically speaks for itself.

You may be inclined to believe that Wilson comes out this year for 2012 along with Tennessee’s Tyler Bray going pro in 2013.  With 2014 still a long ways away 3 SEC quarterbacks including Aaron Murray QB Georgia, Auburn true freshman Kiehl Frazier, and Florida true freshman Jeff Driskel could make their case for 2014.

Among all the conferences in college football the SEC clearly generates the most revenue.  I have wondered if they have corporate partners who try to talk underclassmen from opposing conferences into returning to school because almost every year you see an SEC player go in the first round because someone at quarterback from another conference gets bumped down.

This theory about the SEC sounds crazy, but hear me out.  Luck would have gone #1 if he came out last season.  He obviously wanted to finish his degree.  Sam Bradford could have been the top pick if he came out as a sophomore redshirt after winning the Heisman.  Bradford was repaid the favor by being the top pick in 2010 despite getting injured, but there is amid debate that Bradford would have rivaled Georgia’s Matthew Stafford to be the top pick.

Jake Locker returned and scouts bashed Jimmy Clausen which probably influenced Tim Tebow an SEC quarterback playing for Florida to go ahead of Jimmy Clausen to a certain degree.

Brady Quinn may have gone in Jay Cutler’s spot if he opted to declare early by leaving Notre Dame as a junior pushing Jay Cutler back.   The golden domer Brady Quinn returned to South Bend and Jay Cutler came out of nowhere at Vanderbilt when the 2006 NFL Draft process initially began and continued to soar up draft boards.  Campbell got first round consideration in 2005 because he led Auburn to an undefeated season.

Bradford wanted to win a National Championship for Oklahoma along with Tebow and McCoy wanting that same success plus Locker wanted to get Washington to a bowl game.  I realize this.  I just find it slightly suspicious that an underclassmen from a non SEC school returns so that an SEC signal caller can position themselves for the first round.  The shady thing about this is it happens in years when an SEC player isn’t projected to go in the first round.

Tebow was projected as a 2nd-3rd rounder.  The fact that Locker returned while scouts bashed Clausen with someone reaching for a quarterback who happened to go to an SEC school kind of makes you wonder because many people including myself liked Clausen better than Tebow coming out of college.

You could make the same case in 2006 with Brady Quinn returning which propelled Vanderbilt senior Jay Cutler to soar up draft boards.

Its not crazy to believe that the SEC may have had some influence on whether underclassmen in opposing conferences returned to school over the past few years.  If an SEC school gets a player drafted it gives their conference as a whole a good rep.  Some initial mock drafts have no SEC players listed in round 1 so in order for an SEC player to move up someone has to move down by returning to school potentially hurting their draft stock.

I swear I am not trying to sound like a conspiracy theorist.  I just find it so astounding that we see an SEC quarterback go in the first round year after year in the NFL Draft.  The SEC has produced 5 straight national champions and this year could be 6.  Its clear that the SEC has emerged as a conglomerate super power in college football that wants to dictate the past, present, and future of the sport.

With all the recruiting violations, conference realignment, and refusal to have a BCS playoff.  You have to wonder as a fan what kind of shady shenanigans are occurring behind the scenes.

I would not be shocked if Wilson went either way here.  Its so tough to project which way Wilson goes.  If he declares then you wonder if an SEC team goes to a BCS National Title in a year from now and if he returns the SEC realizes no quarterback will go in the first round.

Either way the SEC could take a hit down the road when it comes to producing a first round quarterback or a school with a National Title when it comes to establishing a winning tradition.  The SEC is a power house.  At the same time their conference does not have the firepower to continue to produce first round quarterbacks and National Championships on a yearly basis.  Trends are meant to be broken at some point.

If programs compensated their high profile student athletes for their hard work instead of keeping all profits for themselves then maybe I would not be ripping these schools in my NFL Mocks feature by speculating the SEC’s rise to power.  Still one has to wonder about where these NCAA schools stand in general on big issues.

To find out whether I think Wilson leaves early or stays on campus you have to see if he gets mentioned in my 2013 NFL Mock Draft.