QBs at podium at NFL combine
INDIANAPOLIS — A day after John Lynch said he “blew the doors off ” his combine interview with the 49ers, Notre Dame quarterback DeShone Kizer was asked Friday what he said that wowed the general manager.
“I answered the questions that were asked,” Kizer said. “His response to that was awesome. I’m glad that he did enjoy that. I look forward to throwing in front of him Saturday and trying to impress him there.”
Kizer, Clemson’s Deshaun Watson and North Carolina’s Mitch Trubisky are all hoping to be impressive enough this week to become the first quarterback drafted, perhaps by the 49ers, the owners of the No. 2 pick.
The potential problem for the QBs, all of whom were grilled about their perceived shortcomings Friday at the NFL combine? What they say — and
how they throw — in Indianapolis, isn’t nearly as important as how they played before they got here and this year’s QB class is viewed as underwhelming.
On Wednesday, 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan put it plainly when he discussed the evaluation of college quarterbacks: “If you don’t like what you see on the tape,” he said, “then nothing else matters.”
Shanahan didn’t have time to study tape of the college prospects before this week, but he’s been trying to determine who they truly are as people during interviews.
It’s not an easy assignment. Many of the combine prospects arrive after spending time at training facilities, where they hone both their skills and their answers to the questions NFL teams will pose during 15-minute interviews.
The result? Allow Shanahan to explain.
“I try my hardest to get a guy just to talk like a human because they don’t the first 12 minutes,” Shanahan said. “And there’s like 2 ½ (minutes) left and you finally see a guy be a normal person. They’re all so schooled up that it’s like talking to a robot.”
Shanahan’s words echoed when the top quarterbacks took to their podiums Friday.
First up was Trubisky, who grew up in suburban Cleveland as a rabid fan of the Browns, who have the No. 1 pick. Of course, he wants to be first player drafted and play for his favorite team, right?
“I’m going to be excited wherever I go,” Trubisky said. “I have a lot of pride of where I’m from, that being my hometown, but no matter what team selects me I’m going to be super excited.”
In case he didn’t make his point, Trubiksy later added he was “going to be excited wherever I go” and “wherever I end up, I’m going to be really excited.”
Oh, boy. That set the tone for a host of scripted answers.
For his part, Watson played up his reputation as a winner to deflect criticism of the 17 interceptions he tossed last season. Watson went 28-2 as a starter the past two seasons and nearly single-handedly toppled Alabama in the national-championship game in January by totaling 463 yards and four touchdowns in the win.
“At the end of the day, winning solves everything,” Watson said. “You can’t take that away from anyone. You can talk bad about their techniques, the bad decisions, but if a guy wins, you can’t really say anything.”
The knock on Trubisky: He was only a starter for one season and NFL teams have just 13 starts and 572 pass attempts to examine. Trubisky noted he often came off the bench during two seasons as a backup.
“I think I definitely have enough experience,” he said. “I only have 13 starts but I played in 30 games. I’ve come in off the bench and I’ve seen significant time … I feel like I’m in a really good spot right now to take my game to the next level, and I feel really confident.”
And then came Kizer, who made such an impression on Lynch during their sitdown.
It’s possible Lynch was struck by Kizer’s candor. In a rarity at the combine, Kizer didn’t attempt to spin his way to a sunny answer when asked about Notre Dame’s record last year. The Irish went 4-8, their secondfewest wins since 1963, and Kizer completed just 58.7 percent of his passes in his second season as a starter.
“I didn’t make plays,” Kizer said. “The ball is in your hand as a quarterback every single play. If you’re going to win games in the fourth quarter, then you’ve got to be the guy making the plays.”
His answer suggested he was willing to be held accountable, which is an important quality for a quarterback.
But most important is the tape, which means blowing the doors off an interview in March might not mean much in April. Eric Branch is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: ebranch@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @Eric_Branch