With all of the hoopla surrounding top quarterback prospects Andrew Luck and Robert Griffin, not much focus has been put on arguably the third best QB prospect in this years’ draft: Oklahoma State Quarterback Brandon Weeden. The problem is not his accuracy, character, physical tools, smarts or work ethic, because Weeden has all those in spades. The simple question is how will NFL GM’s evaluate a player who turned 28 last October?
Weeden hopes those teams will look past his age and towards the positives of how his experiences have transformed him into a player that will be ready to start in the NFL on the first day of training camp. Weeden was kind enough to sit down with Pro Player Insiders and give us his thoughts leading up to one of the biggest days of his life.
Weeden has always been gifted; he’s a former two sport prospect who was drafted by the Yankees as a pitcher in the 2nd round of the 2002 draft. He has always been a hard thrower but admits there’s more to pro baseball than gunning fastballs down the middle of the strike zone (his specialty). The good news is, in football throwing strikes is just what the doctor ordered.
Even though he decided to go back to football, Weeden thinks his baseball experiences will help him at the next level in the NFL. “It’s definitely helped me out a lot as far as just maturing,” says Weeden. “You’re 18 or 19 years old and you are kind of thrown out on your own. You have to fend for yourself and it definitely makes you grow up as a person. I’ve also already been through a draft so I have an idea how they work. There are a lot of similarities and it’s definitely helped me get where I am today.”
Weeden has been working on this dream a long time. “I always dreamed of it. Obviously as a kid you dream of playing in the NFL. You keep pushing for those dreams but you never know if they will become a reality. I knew about half-way through my junior year that I would at least get an opportunity to play and continue to improve. I guess it all started when I was a kid and it became a reality my junior season.”
The person who keeps him grounded and constantly working towards that dream is definitely his wife Melanie, whom he married back in 2009. “I think there’s a stability factor there. When you’re young and you get a chunk of money, there are a lot of temptations out there. When you’re married and you have somebody at home, it keeps you level headed and focused on what your task really is, and that’s playing football. So yeah, that will definitely help me going forward.”
So there you have it. Weeden is still the down to earth kid from Oklahoma who went and played big time BCS football in his own back yard. He plans on watching the draft at home, “around my family and friends.” And that’s the part Weeden’s most looking forward to, “Just being there with my family and friends when my name is actually called. Last time when I was drafted for baseball, I was out of the country.”
Here at PPI, we get the feeling that whoever does call his name on draft day couldn’t be getting a better leader to represent for their organization for years to come.
