Josh Freeman is an amazing physical specimen. 6′6″ 240 pounds. Awesome arm strength. Very good speed. Elusive. All that good stuff. But Freeman is 20 years old and coming out of Kansas State with a losing record overall, a very inconsistent performance, questionable leadership skills, and is more than likely going to disappear in the NFL – at least for a while.
Josh likely would not have come to the NFL if it wasn’t for the coaching change at Kansas State and a number of other factors, including:
- An overall losing record in his tenure at Kansas State
- A decline in his numbers from his sophomore to his junior year
- No chance at any kind of BIG12 championship next year
- The daunting task of learning a new offense under a new coaching regime
- The new coaching staff will be using 2009 as their first year of rebuilding
- A weak NFL draft at the quarterback position
Put all of this together and the young Freeman will be moving up to the pros. There is no way he will be ready to make an impact in the NFL. His downside?
- Accuracy was abysmal in junior year
- Locks on to receivers and shows below-average field vision
- Wildly inconsistent; runs hot and cold
- Questionable leadership
Ummm….not good. Still he’s projected to be the third quarterback taken in the draft behind Mark Sanchez of USC and Matt Stafford of Georgia. Well, it’s a pretty weak recruiting class for quarterbacks since many of college football’s superstar juniors decided to remain at school for one more year.
Freeman put up average stats for K-State as a three-year starter. Last season, Freeman threw 20 touchdown passes and eight interceptions while running for 404 yards for 14 touchdowns. Not anything that’s going to set the world on fire, but with his size, speed, and potential, Freeman could have a very bright future as an NFL quarterback. But I can’t understand why so many people value the athletic ability of quarterbacks coming out of college when the top NFL quarterbacks have shown time and time again that decision making, consistency, and accuracy are what make great NFL quarterbacks.
The argument says that you can’t teach athletic skills – players are born with them. But you can teach cerebral skills. Is that so? How did that work out for Ryan Leaf? How about Rob Johnson? How about a million other quarterbacks that were graced with all the athleticism God could pack into one man only to find out they can’t find a receiver downfield and they can’t lead an NFL team.
I don’t blame Freeman for going to the NFL. He couldn’t control the circumstances at Kansas State and he doesn’t want to get lost in the shuffle of next year’s NFL draft. But there is very little chance you’re going to hear much out of him for a long time – until he goes the way of another great college quarterback with amazing physical skills that made it to the NFL – Antwaan Randle El – as a receiver.
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