Only Time Will Teel*

*Forgive me. Please forgive me.

Leading up to the draft, there was a reasonable quantity of verbiage spent talking about the quarterback drafting process. Not only did we learn that first round QBs are more likely to win Superbowls, but also that expecting a late round pick to become Tom Brady is foolhardy. After all that, the Hawks had the gall to go and pick Mike Teel anyway. How disrespectful.

As you may or may not have noticed, Mike Teel was a 6th round pick. Mike Teel was not invited to the combine. Mike Teel played his football on the Eastern seaboard. Sound like anyone we know?

In 48 career games, Teel threw for 9,383 yards and 59 touchdowns -- both school records. He finished his career 29-13 as the starting quarterback for the Scarlet Knights.

Seahawks offensive coordinator Greg Knapp said Teel could eventually replace Hasselback, another sixth-round pick of a decade ago. The 33-year-old Hasselbeck, a three-time Pro Bowl passer, missed nine games with a back injury last season.

Big East Thursdays were an awful lot of fun in the fall of 2006. Not only was Rutgers good, but Louisville, West Virginia, and USF all had fantastic seasons. The 2006 season saw the emergence of Ray Rice, Pat White, Matt Grothe, and continued stellar play from Brian Brohm. Every Thursday, at least one of those teams would put on a show. Rutgers had easily the most effective defense of any of the Big East teams, and Ray Rice ran like a man possessed. Brian Leonard was fun. Why didn't Rutgers compete for a National Championship? Mike Teel. He just was not an effective enough quarterback to push the Rutgers offense over the top.

Rutgers lost twice in the 2006 regular season. Against an inferior Cincinnati team, Teel threw four interceptions, gutting his team's chances.  In their seminal 41-39 loss to the Pat White-less West Virginia Mountaineers, Teel played efficiently but the team mostly ran. It was fairly clear that the team would rather run than trust Teel to throw. He hesitated and he missed open receivers. The kid looked overwhelmed.

Mike Teel was a sophomore in 2006. Last year, Rutgers began the year as a train that flew off the tracks and smashed orphanages. They lost 5 of their first 6 games, including a two point loss to Navy. Their only win came against Morgan State. Then, Teel went crazy. John covered that nicely here, but he looked like a different quarterback. He found confidence. If you mostly watched Mike Teel extensively early in his career like I did, you are probably underwhelmed with the idea of Teel. If you watched him late this season, you probably love the selection. 

It's unlikely that Teel has the chance to make an impact. He'll need time to grow and develop. Even if Matt Hasselbeck looks healthy this season, the team may use their first round resources to draft a QB next year, and that would make Teel the next David Greene. Still, the underdog always makes for a fun story. Chop that wood, Mike.