Locker could have lost several hundred thousand $$ in draft money today (maybe millions). He was the consensus #1 pick in the 2011 NFL draft prior to today.
He did very little to justify that.
He has a ++ arm (which is why the comparison to Tebow makes little sense; Tebow has a chicken-wing. Locker can probably throw the ball 85 yards in the air) Lockers arm is what makes NFL scouts drool; in fact he probably has the best arm since Matt Stafford was drafted #1 by the Lions.
The problem is that Locker is simply not an accurate passer and maybe more telling, is that as a senior, it's his responsibility to keep a clear head and never lose his cool. He looked tired, shaken, and never comfortable in the second half. ( a ton of credit goes to Jamie Hill and the D for that too) He turned down a top 5 or better pick in the NFL draft last year to spend a summer learning to play QB from Sark and today was all he could give?
BYU has gone up against many NFL quarterbacks over the years, and the ones that have been successful in the NFL (success meaning they had relatively long NFL careers) are the guys that could manufacture big plays when they needed them in our matchups with them.
For example ,Matt Ryan willed his team to a win vs BYU. His talent, composure, leadership and accuracy were very evident that day (sadly BYU should still have won that game) Chad Pennington was also an obvious NFL quarterback in the 99 Motor City bowl (in spite of having a pretty average day, there was no doubt that he would be special) same for Shaun King of Tulane in the 98 Liberty bowl (it was freezing cold that day) he just looked and played like a future NFLer. (I just picked out guys that I saw in person and left an impression, I'm sure there are others I didnt' see in person that also played very well against us) Those guys just outclassed us and we didnt' have an answer for them, particularly on 3rd down.
Locker today was abysmal on 3rd and 4th down. For a senior that was the favorite for the Heisman and top pick in the draft, that is completely unacceptable.
The way that Christian Ponder handled BYU last year makes me think if I were an NFL gm, I'd set my sights on him in the late 1st early 2nd rather than risk my franchise and wallet on someone as raw as Locker with such an expensive pick as the #1 (all 1st round picks are wayy overpaid imho and very few end up justifying the money they make)
Ideally, UW turns out to be really really good and BYU gets credit for this big day. (I just dont' see it, I think they're an ok team that plays well at home and terrible on the road) Hopefully Locker puts it together and UW pushes for a Rose Bowl; however if they turn out to be average or mediocre, i'd rather them be terrible (average does us no good). UW has turned out to be a formidable opponent in recruiting and I wouldnt' mind seeing Sarkisian exposed as a mediocre coach and UW as paper tigers. UW has ridden the "Sark as savior" bandwagon long enough and they've been raking in recruits as a result. So far very little of what they've done on the field merits that; though I realize that Sark inherited a relatively empty cupboard (and I'll never forget the amazing day in Dallas for the Cotton Bowl). After what and how Sark handled BYU questions leading up to today, I'm willing to write him off it it benefits BYU. (what is it about Pac-10 snobs never giving BYU any credit? Even when they earned their stripes with us)
So if UW is going to be good, I hope they're amazingly good. But if they're going to be so-so; I'd rather them be just plain terrible. In reality I think they're just so-so and will win games at their place and lay eggs on the road all season. Locker has a lot of the tools, but I'm not sure he's that good a technician and that's what good NFL quarterbacks have to be (ala Peyton Manning) or at least if you're going to be a big armed gun slinger (Favre, Romo) you have to be accurate and confident.
Guys with prototypical size and arms can get chewed up and spit out in the NFL if they can't handle the mental game; in fact some of the biggest busts in NFL history are can't miss Pac-10 quarterbacks with top notch physical tools. (Ryan Leaf, Akili Smith, Joey Harrington, Kyle Boller, and now Matt Leinart have all nearly single handidly set their franchises back half a decade when teams gamble on them- of all those teams, the only one that didn't fall apart for several years after drafting them was Arizona, and that's only because of Kurt Warner; who I feel had another couple pro-bowl level seasons left in him)
One caveat here: A lot of us thought that BYU set back Sam Bradford a couple million $ too; so maybe the scouts and gms know something we don't about Locker. I guess we'll see...
