Harrell, Tech exes on hold with NFL teams
By Don Williams | AVALANCHE-JOURNAL
Texas Tech’s undrafted free agents who got minicamp tryouts with NFL teams last weekend didn’t immediately attract contract offers. Perhaps none was more disillusioned than quarterback Graham Harrell, the NCAA record holder for career touchdown passes.
“I guess it’s kind of frustrating,” said Ennis coach Sam Harrell, Graham’s father. “It’s more bewildering as much as anything. There’s not a single spot anywhere for a guy that not only threw for a lot of yards and led tremendous comebacks, but has a good, clean background and his character is good.”
Harrell worked out with Cleveland, safety Daniel Charbonnet with Chicago and center Stephen Hamby with Washington, all in three-day minicamps.
“They said they would get in touch with us if they wanted to bring us back to camp over the summer,” Charbonnet said of the Bears’ minicamp invitees. “I’m keeping my options open. My agent’s talking to Canadian (League) teams and stuff like that, too, so we’ll see.”
Hamby said he was one of six linemen the Redskins looked at at center during their minicamp, but he and one other were the only two rookies.
“I don’t have a good feeling about it,” Hamby said.
I live and officiate football in East Texas. I have worked many games for Sam Harrell and many games that Graham played in. It amazes me that a team would at the very least not give him a shot at making a team. He has that “intangible” that everyone talks about. It is a sad thing for Graham and the Harrell family.
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Again, the NFL is blatent about their treatment of former Tech players, especially quarterbacks. With all of the rediculously bad QB’s in the NFL that cannot win one would think they would be excited to sign Graham to a contract. His abilities are exceptional and easily better than at least half the QB’s in the NFL. When will the NFL take off those blinders and quit taking their degrading actions against Texas Tech? It just makes me sick to my stomach, especially when there are teams that need a shot in the QB position’s arm to step it up. Sad affair no doubt.
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The NFL makes me sick! When an very intelligent, clean, hard-working, and talented QB who often led the nation in passing as well as captained the number 2 ranked team in the entire United States does not even GET DRAFTED as a free agent then something is terribly, seriously wrong. He was among the five Heisman candidates, and he still does not get a chance? It is outrageous. The fact that Texas Tech was trounced by Oklahoma and then lost in the Cotton Bowl certainly did not help his case, but his body of work is rock solid. Harrell has a good mind as well as a good arm. He is a student of the game, and his quick intelligence was apparent when he tried out for Cleveland and picked up their offense so quickly. I can only hpe that some glimmer of common sense and justice will come out of this and that Harrell will be picked up by some team.
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It may be time for Graham to head north and play CFL. His combine showing must have turned most scouts away. The senior bowl also didn’t help. Zip it up north, and show the NFL teams what they could have had. Good luck Graham, you deserve better than this.
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dont give up. good thinks can happen to those who keep the faith and beliveve…sign warren, fultie, and warner.
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You have to be kidding me. Josh Freeman gets drafted because of size and arm strength, and is the 10th rated passer in the 12,please. It is a good thing Montana isn’t coming out of college today, he would be looking for a grocery sacking job like Warner. Graham Harrell the most prolific passer in the NCAA, and can’t get a shot, wow, what has the league turned in to?
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I can’t believe the Cowboys drafted Stephen McGee when Harrell was available. Warren Moon couldn’t catch on with an NFL team at first, so that tells you how good they are at judging talent.
Go play in Canada if you have to, Graham, and show ‘em all what they’re missing. Then, when they come calling, stick it to ‘em.
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in the nfl if u dont produce in their combine you dont make it they have their standards and he didnt work hard enough to make it. im not saying hes not great qb im just saying they dont wanna bring someone in who didnt perform at their tryout when they can bring someone else in. and i now its been said but all the other qbs from tech have had similar seasons in the past and they didnt go anywhere so why would they wanna take a chance with him
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taylor,
Wisdom escapes you. NFL scouts are not perfect. For every story you can tell me about a player not being taken because they would be a bust I can give you a story about a player that was taken and was a bust. Scouts use combine results as a waiver of liability. If they recommend a guy and he fails then they want to be able to say “I brought you the biggest and fastest guy that was available”. No scout wants to be seen as taking risks on smaller slower guys if they bust. This is why Graham will have to take the underdog route and fight for everything he can get and it won’t be given to him. In the end he will stand proud like Wes Welker and not one person will remember the ignorant post that “taylor” entered on redraiders.com
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Stop crying raider fan. The NFL is no place for a qb who is the master of the 5 yard short pass… even with a “clean” record.
It is obvious to Leach that his words to the press have not helped any of his players, so he is suddenly QUIET. Ha ha !
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LONGHORNS BASEBALL
Texas A&M has become quality rival for Texas’ power program
By Alan Trubow
AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF
Friday, May 08, 2009
In the past two years, they have won a Big 12 Conference regular-season championship and a Big 12 tournament championship.
Texas A&M’s baseball team really has started to dominate … Wait, what was that?
You thought we were talking about Texas?
OK, let’s start over.
In the past two years, they have won a Big 12 regular-season championship and a Big 12 tournament championship.
The Texas Longhorns have continued to … What? You thought that sentence was about A&M?
The truth is that sentence accurately describes both teams in this heated rivalry.
The past two years, the Longhorns and Aggies each have claimed one regular-season and one postseason conference title.
And heading into this weekend’s series, which begins tonight at Olsen Field in College Station, both teams are in line to make it a three-peat.
The No. 8 Longhorns and No. 14 Aggies each have a great chance of winning the regular-season title by taking this weekend’s series.
While the Longhorns are used to annual success and high expectations when it comes to baseball, the Aggies have been a rollercoaster ride, experiencing highs and lows.
That changed four years ago with the arrival of head coach Brad Childress.
“He really has changed the attitude and the expectations here,” senior pitcher Kyle Thebeau said. “It’s gotten to the point where now we expect to come out, compete and win every game. We expect not only to go to the postseason, but we expect to succeed when we get there.”
The no-nonsense Childress, a Gilmer native who helped Nebraska to back-to-back College World Series appearances in 2001-02 as the Huskers’ pitching coach, comes off as a serious competitor who expects a player’s best effort every day. And if any player can’t give it, he won’t mind saying goodbye to him.
“That’s kind of how he is,” senior center fielder Kyle Colligan said. “When you first meet him, he’s an intimidating guy because of how serious he is and what he expects. But now you understand that he’s that way to get the most out of his players. And he does, especially when it comes to his pitchers. He knows exactly what each of those guys can do, and he uses them in the right way.”
Which is why the Aggies have one of the top pitching staffs in the country, perhaps second in the Big 12 only to the Longhorns, who — so far — have had the best staff in the country this season.
Thebeau and Colligan were the final players recruited by former A&M head coach Mark Johnson, who was fired in 2005.
They decided to stay at A&M, but when they were arriving, most of the other players were leaving.
“I think we lost something between 16 and 19 guys in coach Childress’ first year,” Thebeau said. “Some people quit. Some people were let go. Others couldn’t deal with the new expectations. It was really rough that first year because there was a lot of turmoil.”
The Aggies finished last in the Big 12 in 2006, Childress’ first season.
“But you could see something building,” Colligan said. “You could see that the pieces were starting to be put in place to get this thing rolling.”
In 2007 the Aggies made the biggest turnaround in the country, finishing 48-19, winning the Big 12 tournament title and advancing to an NCAA super regional before getting knocked out by Rice.
Last year, they claimed the Big 12 regular-season crown and again won their regional, marking the first time in school history the Aggies won back-to-back regionals.
“I wouldn’t say that we’ve done anything,” Childress said. “We didn’t make it to the College World Series, and we didn’t win the national championship. Those are our goals. We feel that we’re one of a handful of teams that goes into every season with the goal of winning the national championship. Until we do that, I wouldn’t say we’ve accomplished anything.”
Maybe not, but the rest of the Big 12 has taken notice.
“He’s done a great job over there,” Texas coach Augie Garrido said of Childress. “He’s had them playing good baseball, they’re competing for conference championships every year and they’ve had more success than we have the past couple of years in the postseason. He’s got them in position to compete every year.”
But that’s in the future. Right now, Childress is focused on the present.
“This is going to be a great series,” he said. “You’ve got Texas and Texas A&M both competing to win the Big 12 championship. That’s exactly how it should be every year.”
atrubow@statesman.com; 445-3959
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Ohhhh…. quit your crying. So what if your precious, over-rated QB didn’t get drafted. Get over it. Let me spell it out for you, HE WASN’T WORTHY. HE WASN’T NFL MATERIAL. It looks like the football prophet is right again. Harrell might as well apply at some sports store like Academy, Big 5, or Sears. He would be great as a sales associate. Hook’em Horns!!!
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Harrell just wasn’t good enough. He might as well apply at some sports store like Academy, Big 5, or Sears. He would be great as a sales associate. Hook’em Horns!!!
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Wa-Wa-Wa, oh, quit your whining. Harrell just wasn’t good enough. He might as well apply at some sports store like Academy, Big 5, or Sears. He would be great as a sales associate.
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Harrell, a system QB, won’t play a down in the NFL! Might as well follow Cumbie’s path; play semi-pro in San Angelo then come back to Tech and teach others how not to end up in the NFL. LOL
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Wa-Wa-Wa, oh, quit your whining. Harrell just wasn’t good enough. He might as well apply at some sports store like Academy, Big 5, or Sears. He would be great as a sales associate. Longhorns # 1
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Wa-Wa-Wa, oh, quit your whining. Harrell just wasn’t good enough. He might as well apply at some sports store like Academy, Big 5, or Sears. He would be great as a sales associate.
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He might as well apply at some sports store like Academy, Big 5, or Sears. He would be great as a sales associate.
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Oh Norman,show us some more ignorance, is that all you got? When was the last OU qb to play NFL football LOL. It is proof that even the convicts with pardons(not degrees) still attend probation violation classes at OU. Sorry that Bomar couldn’t get away with what ll the other convicts (players) are getting away with at he campus adult confinement facility in Norman. Graduation is the staple of life @TTU, because there is more to life than football. However you may have a shot with Bradford, but he wouldn’t have played a down yet if Bomar didn’t get busted LOL. All that mess with all the 5-star convicts they can get eligible. Big PHIL LOADHOLT had a problem with spelling his name let alone a signature, must have come from his juco days at Garden City KS.
Yes we have a system, it is called education first, SYSTEM has a whole different meaning in Norman, Norman LOL,LOL,LOL
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wow seven you actually summed up what my wisdom was saying and you thought you cleverly insulted me. no as for the wes welker comment he obiously impressed someone in minicamps to be picked up. again like i said harrell DIDN’t do what he needed to WELKER DID!
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taylor is right it seems grahm relied on his stats to get into the nfl when it takes a whole lot more than that. just look at big house the ex tech lineman picked up by the cowboys a number of yrs back. you can be the biggest bad ass on the block but if u dont do what they want your out. and house couldnt quit eating. grahm did not do what he was supposed to period and seven your not a nfl scout and i doubt you have even touched an nfl field so what makes you think u know anymore than the next guy? because your a monday morning qb? oh pleas excuse me good sir i conceed.
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If memory serves, Welker didn’t play QB at Tech! If he had, he would be eating nachos and drinking rootbeer on Sunday just like those other QB’s coming out of Leach’s system.
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DD: Get a life pal! Norman is a name, not a place! Calm down before you have a stroke……….
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Quickly now, what do Harrell and Dolly Parton have in common? They are both known to be big busts! LOL
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lol no kidding welker didnt play qb the reason he got mentioned is because he was undersized and not what the nfl wanted at first. what the oer zealous seen forgot to mention is the difference between the two in welker working his ass off to get signed when he went to mini campwhich is what mr harrell did not get done. for christ sake he runs the 40 slower than ofensive linemen
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Well, at least Dolly scored once in awhile.
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Norman, I remember you , weren’t you that crotchity old fart in “On Golden Pond” ? Too bad you Harrell ney sayers haven’t had a chance to spend sometime with the young man, I think you would only wish your children were cut from the same bolt of material. Mr. & Mrs. Sam Harrell, you did a wonderful job of raising one of the finest young men I have had a chance to be around, you shoud be very proud, I am sure you are , and rightfully so. He will go far in whatever endeavor he chooses. These idiots only wish they had the talent Graham has.
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DD(Dumb and Dumber),
Harrell wouldn’t give you the time of day. So, move on. Go watch Oprah or something.
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i actually met graham harrell once and if you actually think hes as nice as you say your a long way off . he actually had the stuck up attitude you would think in a celebrity i was actually disappointed but not surprised maybe this not getting signed will correct the problem
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groper, good point.
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http://uk.news.yahoo.com/21/20090511/ten-dolly-parton-receives-doctorate-5f8abb3.html
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Honorary degree only; only finished high school!
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DD, once again you you shot & missed! No one questions his background, his moral values, loves his folks and apple pie; it’s his lack of QB abilities that’s keeping him on the sidelines. He may have talent, but not on the pro football field. See Kingsbury, Cumbie, Hodges, etc.!!!!!
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Norman,
Who are you to judge? Go back to Oklahoma, the “Sooner” the better.
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Jus-ten,
Where did you graduate from, Big Spring, High? By the way, you misspelled your name. It is spelled Justin.
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it’s kinda funny how Ou and Ut fans are on here like this is any of there buisness!!!! I guess the fact that harrell 2 years in a row played great games against them and knocked both teams out of the national championship games they feel this is there way of getting back at him!!!! Whats really funny to me is that Ou fans are on here running him down and calling him a system quarterback!!
The irony is that all the heisman winner quarterbacks in the stoops era at ou have never amounted to anything in the nfl and some weren’t drafted either!!! I cant wait for the sooners to come to lubbock this year and lose 3 straight in lubbock!!!!
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Thank you hairy man for coming to my defense. What do say you and I go behind Joe’s Bar and Grill and I’ll let you put your paws all over me. Let me just go to Sally’s and git a perm done.
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lol i hope tech improves a ton from this spring because if not they will have 7 game season or less this yr
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DD, what makes you think I spell my name Justin? Maybe Jus-ten means something else, you suppose??
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DD, you just can’t get over the fact that because my name is Norman I’m from Oklahoma. Does DD stand for Dallas Drake? Then you must be from Dallas. You are a mental midget!!
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DD, I remember you now! You were that little snot-nose kid that took 6 years to graduate from the Ballenger Head Start program! LOL
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Why don’t you KISS MY GRITS!!!!
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Time for another oracle…
Thus saith the Football Prophet as told by the football gods. The Texas Longhorns will win the next National Championship.
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IF ONE FREAKING TEAM ONE WOULD JUST GIVE A TECH QB A FREAKING CHANCE, TO SHOW WHAT THEY COULD DO, THEY WOULD SEE THAT THEY ARE GREAT QB’s.
PEOPLE LOOK AT THE SCHOOL NAME OF WERE SOMEONE IS COMING FROM AND NOT WHAT THEY DID AT THAT SCHOOL.
STAFFORD IS OK, BUT NOT ANY BETTER THAN HARRELL , SANCHEZ, WHAT A BUNCH OF B/S, FREEMAN IS A KID THAT HAS NO IDEA WHAT TO DO WITH A BALL.
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other tech qb’s did get chances and failed so they dont wanna spend the money on another one. one was a practice dummy another got hurt. not a good track record.
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Double – T(trailer)-Man,
Forget it, only Longhorn QB’s are worthy enough to play in the NFL. No other Texas team QB’s are worthy.
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tatylor1- when has a tech QB gotten a chance. Kingsbury did not even get a legit chance. I dont know where u get ur info from. what tech QB are u talking about?
Texas horn- what is this– Double – T(trailer)-Man
“only Longhorn QB’s are worthy enough to play in the NFL. No other Texas team QB’s are worthy.” wow, now thats a bunch of B freaking S.
LEAVE IT TO A TEXAS FAN TO BE FULL OF B/S AND FOR A GOOD LAUGH
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http://www.kffl.com/player/9421/NFL
do a little research an you’ll find that bj was released from the houston texans because of a bum knee on sept 3 2005. and signed with the bears and then sent to nfl europe. and then released in august of 2006. kingsbury was a practice dummy, cumbie is now inthe minor leagues of arena, cody hodges was just filler, and now graham is a wash and cant get signed
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oh and kingsbury got all the chances he needed 4 nfl teams gave him a chance and now he works for the univeristy of houston so pleas do some research
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taylor1- Since Kingsbury was a practice dummy, so u believe that he was given a legit chance for a spot on the team? What team kept him around long enuff to see what he would do?
And BJ, he got a legit chance too? He got hurt and they cut him from the roster. Never looked at what he could do, I know he would be a hell of a lot better than what they have now. So why dont all the NFL team just cut a play after they get hurt?
Cumbie did not get a legit chance in the NFL. You may want to look up his stats in the AFL. The only reason he is now with a minor league arena football tean is cause the AFL is closed for this year.
Hodges did not get a legit chance. I didnt think he would be good in the NFL cause he was not that tall.
Harrell should get a chance. What tha hell does he not have that McCoy, Bradford, Matthew, Sanchez, or hell even Freeman have.
O yeah now i see. Ur just as full of b/s as that Texas horn. Yall both need to take yalls heads out of yalls butts and smell the fresh air.
WRECK EM TECH!!!
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wow so what the teams need to put them in starting spots is that what your saying? wow they couldnt produce against the scrubs in the preseason games that is the time to shine for the nfl to proe your self. your a fool if you think they didnt get a shot. oh and go do some research on cumbie yourself hes going to coach college thats why hes not going back to th afl moron
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taylor1
Again, where are u getting your info, that crap is old news.
go to this wbsite
http://sanangelostampede.com/page.php?kei=106
it has some news that you may want to read. I think i will give you the same advice “go do some research on cumbie yourself “, I know what im talking about, i dont know about you.
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lol your posting of that link prove my point.
“About a month ago, I received a call from a school here in Texas about a coaching opportunity that would open up in the fall,” Cumbie said.
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oh i am grouper by the way. and his stats in the afl doesnt mean that he would have done a good job in the nfl. my point is he did great job in the afl but it is totally a different game the nfl scouts probly did take another look at cumbie when he was doing well in the afl but stats is not all they look for. hell look at rex richards who was on the scout team for the colts and then was a starter in the afl. totally different gme and in the nfl the athletes are primo. the fact of the matter is he failed in the nfl kings bury failed in the nfl and the others werent even cut out to tryout. harrell failed at the seniorbowl and in the combine and also in the brown mini camp he had his shot just like kings and cumbie and he failed. your one of the hypnotized tech fans who are dilluional an cant see past the red and black. / thread
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To the texas high school football offical from east texas ther seams to be some bias there, just how many ennis football games did you officate. The only ennis game i attented was like a wrestling match blatent holding on every play, EVERY PLAY and i’ll say it agin EVERY PLAY in ennis favor naturaly. The only people complaining on all the blogs are either TT fans or people who live in ennis. The guy who said harrell would throw 60 – 5 yd passs a game hit it on the head. A HS coach who’s team is up by 60 pts with 10 minutes left in the game and still running the no huddle and throwing those 5 yrd passes every play till the last play of the game is just trying to pat the stats of his SON, his college coach did the same. Both his HS and college caoch were creaps and are disliked for this reason.
The story of graham harrell
THE EMPERIOR HAS NO CLOTHES
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well said john martin
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why does it matter if he throws the ball 5 yds or 50 yds every time. maybe it cause no one can stop those short passes. just cause he did it a lot at TECH does not mean that he cant throw a longer pass in the NFL . if he has a open man 50 yds down the field he will throw it to him, if he got a man that is open 5 yds can throw it to him, maybe he was wide ass open and no one on him.
if your not a TECH fan or from Ennis, why are you at this site?
you must be another UT fan spreading their usual B/S
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It’s not just Tech players, the NFL has shyed away from pass happy quarterbacks ever since David Klingler and Andre Ware turned out to be huge busts. Until one of them proves that philosophy wrong, they won’t take a chance on one . Maybe Taylor Potts will be the one; he has more typical NFL size and skills than his predacessors. Harrell should not take it personally. If he wants to be the one to prove the theory wrong, he may have to take his lumps for a couple of years in the Canadian League. This is the downside to the collapse of the NFL Europe. Without that training league, no more Kurt Warners or Jake Delhommes.
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From what I had read about the browns camp harrell didnt do too bad the roster was just kind of full. Dont worry tech fans I’m sure hell end up somewhere even if he has to play ufl or whatever. I mean Kirby Freeman got signed with the 49ers and that kid wasnt even accurate in high school nor could he start at miami or baylor, (granted hes got a cannon) I went to quarterback camps when I was younger and graham was probably the best qb at all of them except for kevin kolb (backup for the eagles last i heard)
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well the funny thing is ya he may have done well at the mini camp but he didnt do well enough to push someone off the roster. one of the things that hurts him is hes as slow as christmas and in the nfl u have to be fast to get away from even the biggest d linemen. there have been alot of outstanding qb’s who lit everyone up in hs and college and ended up fizzling out in the nfl. these guys are the experts and i trust what they say. tech fans try to make it out like tech is being black balled by the nfl. i call bull shit on that because other qbs from tech have had a chance and failed. harrell had a chance in the combine and in mini camp to WOW everyone and he didnt. what he needs to do is if he wants to still play in the nfl he needs to go to canada and light it up for a year and show he can do it.
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