Listen up: 4 busts with advice for this QB class
Buckle up your figurative chin straps, boys.
That in essence is the advice for Sam Darnold, Josh Rosen, Josh Allen and Baker Mayfield — the four quarterbacks widely expected to be taken among first top 10 picks of the 2018 NFL draft Thursday — courtesy of four retired quarterbacks who headed down a similar path long ago: Heath Shuler. Akili Smith. Joey Harrington. Kelly Stouffer.
All of them have been labeled busts, highly drafted quarterbacks who failed to live up to expectations, and each told USA TODAY the transition from draft day to the NFL is critical. “It happens so fast, you don’t have time to react,” said Shuler, picked No. 3 overall by the Washington Redskins in 1994. “It’s like drinking through a fire hose.”
Here’s some of what Shuler, Smith, Harrington and Stouffer remember and some of what they think might help this year’s crop of prized quarterbacks.
Heath Shuler
Shuler finished as runner-up to Charlie Ward for the 1993 Heisman and held nearly all the passing records at Tennessee before bypassing his senior year and entering the 1994 draft. He played for four seasons, throwing for 15 touchdowns and 33 interceptions, before a foot injury ended his career in 1998.
“My biggest enemy was myself,” Shuler said. “Push, pressure myself. From high school to college, I had always been successful. Very fortunate that I’d always been with a winning team that had a tot of talent. So I put this added pressure on myself.”
But Shuler said much of what took place after the draft was beyond his control: “To be truthful, I think there’s so much emphasis put on those first three or four picks or even the first 10 picks. When in reality, if you’re a quarterback, it’d be much better to be drafted at the end of the first round. Because that means you’re going to be with a team that has been far more successful and a team that has had some playoff experience. And if they’re looking to bring you in as the next quarterback … that’s a better opportunity than it is to be a highly drafted first-round pick.”
When Shuler joined the Redskins, they were coming off a 4-12 season. They also had a first-year head coach, Norv Turner, and first-year quarterbacks coach, Cam Cameron.
“We were all rookies, so we were pressing ourselves,” Shuler said. “I needed a veteran guy to put his arm around me and say, ‘Hey, you know it’s going to take some time.’ ”
Akili Smith
After starting just 11 games at Oregon but throwing for 30 touchdowns, Smith was taken No. 3 overall by Cincinnati in the 1999 draft. Less than six years later, he was playing in NFL Europe. He finished his NFL career with five touchdowns and 13 interceptions.
“The money you get and the fame and things of that nature, you have to put all of that stuff to the side and make sure you get acclimated with your new organization, with your new city, with your teammates.”
That wasn’t easy, Smith said, after he signed a contract that was worth up to $56 million and included a $10.8 million signing bonus. “Oh, my God, I had an uncle that had a $1 million ‘Price Is Right’ check and he was on his front lawn and taking pictures thinking that I was going to give him $1 million. And then you got other aunties and parents and brothers, everybody is just expecting something. And it’s not fair to that individual.”
Although Smith also said he doesn’t think any young quarterback could have succeeded with the Bengals at that time, he cites his own behavior as part of the problem. “I ran from Cincinnati to come back to San Diego to party and do things like that, looking for temporary pleasure. If you go to a Cleveland Browns or something like that, obviously things aren’t where they need to be. You don’t run from that situation. You go to a local Boys & Girls Club. You go to an at-risk or group home or something like that and you start working with the people in the community. It will keep you grounded. It will keep you humble.”
Joey Harrington
In 2001, a billboard in Times Square read “Joey Heisman.” Harrington, then racking up yards and touchdowns at Oregon, finished a respectable fourth in the Heisman voting before being picked No. 3 overall by Detroit in the 2002 draft. He played six seasons and passed for 14,693 yards but had a subpar passer rating of 69.4 while throwing for 79 touchdowns and 85 picks.
“I think the biggest piece of advice that I could pass on to anybody is don’t ever lose belief in yourself. When you get to the level where you’re theoretically one of the 32 best people in the world at what you do, you’re competing against the best in the world, and not everything’s going to go right all the time. And there may be some significant stretches where you struggle. ... The moment you lose belief in your ability to play and your ability to compete in the NFL is the moment you’re done. Because doubt breeds hesitation, and hesitation creates mistakes.”
Kelly Stouffer
By the end of his senior year at Colorado State, Stouffer was the career leading passer but suddenly in limbo. Picked No. 6 overall in the 1987 draft by the then-St. Louis Cardinals, Stouffer held out when contract negotiations fell apart. A year later Seattle acquired his rights. He threw for seven TDs and 19 interceptions during his five-year career.
“All of the sudden you’re hurt and out for six weeks,” he said. “Well, for me that was a huge challenge because I didn’t know how to take that. So what begins to happen to me is I begin to lose my confidence, I begin to just feel differently about myself even though it was things out of my control. ... I think the best advice I could give is you have to realize it’s going to be a completely different animal and there really isn’t anyway to circumvent the learning curve you’re going to experience.”