Leak, Smith now are facing taller obstacles

MOBILE, Ala. - Could it be just 17 days ago that Troy Smith and Chris Leak, as the starting quarterbacks in the first BCS national championship game, were the central figures in the college football universe?

Smith entered that contest as the Heisman Trophy winner from Ohio State, a creative sort whose senior season had played out like a personal highlight reel. Leak was the record-breaking passer for Florida who outplayed Smith on the big stage in Glendale, Ariz., as the Gators dominated the Buckeyes to earn the crystal football that went to the best team in all the land.

But here, during the lead-up to Saturday's 58th annual Senior Bowl in Ladd-Peebles Stadium, Smith and Leak no longer are larger than life. In fact, they have shrunk.

Smith, who had been listed as 6-1 and 215 pounds by Ohio State, was officially measured at 6 feet and 222 pounds by NFL scouts who presumably did not allow him to stand on his press clippings.

Leak, a 6-foot, 195-pounder in the Florida media guide, has been downsized to 5-11 7/8 and 203 pounds, a seemingly insignificant change unless you're an NFL personnel guy clinging to age-old taboos against drafting short quarterbacks.

"There's something magical about being 6 feet as opposed to 5-11 1/2 or 5-11 7/8," said Chris Mortensen, an NFL analyst for ESPN. "Don't ask me why."

And if that eighth of an inch is a magic canyon separating Smith from Leak, consider the yawning chasm of 6 inches and 43 pounds that separate Smith from LSU quarterback JaMarcus Russell, who could be taken by the Oakland Raiders with the first pick in the April 28-29 draft.

Mike Mayock, an analyst for the NFL Network, said he would be "shocked" if the Raiders, in their never-ending search to identify the next Kenny Stabler or Daryle Lamonica, opted to select 6-4, 227-pound Notre Dame quarterback Brady Quinn over the 6-6, 265-pound Russell.

"I've never seen a quarterback throw so effortlessly," Mayock said of Russell, whose howitzer arm is reputed to be strong enough to fling a football 85 yards while standing, 60 yards while kneeling and 40 yards while sitting. "He's like Daunte Culpepper, only bigger."

As a junior who is coming out a year early, Russell - a native of Mobile - isn't eligible to play in college football's most prestigious all-star game. Brady was, but he cited a minor knee injury for withdrawing.

Mortensen said surefire high No. 1 draft picks increasingly elect to skip games like the Senior Bowl, the idea being that they can only start out at the top and work their way down. That's why other senior players rated as the best NFL prospects at their respective positions - LSU free safety LaRon Landry and Wisconsin tackle Joe Thomas among them - have joined Quinn in sitting this one out.

"You know most of this is agent-directed," Mortensen said of the no-shows. "They're telling some of the top guys, 'Don't go. You can only hurt yourself.' And you know what? They're probably right. But I hate to see it.

"I love it when a Jay Cutler [the Vanderbilt quarterback who was the 11th pick in the 2006 draft, by Denver], who would have been a high first-rounder regardless, says, 'Screw it. I'll go to the Senior Bowl, throw the ball around and compete.' I love it when guys come here to test themselves against other quality players."

Given their modest height, Smith and Leak really didn't have a compelling reason to stay away. Unlike college, they are not dealing from a position of strength as they prepare to move up to the next level.

"I don't listen to [criticism]," said Leak, who will split time with Houston's Kevin Kolb and Texas-El Paso's Jordan Palmer for the South. "I've always been a guy who focuses on preparing myself to play the game and making sure my teammates are prepared. This [Senior Bowl] is just another game week for me."

"My reason for being here is to be around the best of the best," said Smith, one of three QBs on the North roster along with Michigan State's Drew Stanton and Pittsburgh's Tyler Palko. "And that's exactly what it's like here."

One scout, the Cincinnati Bengals' Greg Seamon, was quoted on a Web site ridiculing Smith as an overhyped Heisman-winning quarterback who would flop in the NFL or not make it at all, joining a list that includes Terry Baker, John Huarte, Gary Beban, Pat Sullivan, Andre Ware, Gino Torretta, Danny Wuerffel, Chris Weinke, Eric Crouch and Jason White.

"Really, he's not that fast," Seamon said of Smith. "He gets run down by defensive ends. He's not real big. He kind of stares down his targets. You didn't see those breathtaking, thread-the-needle throws [against Florida] that you'd hope to see from a top-of-the-draft quarterback."

Few had placed Smith on the same plateau as Russell and Quinn, from whom major success will be expected. Smith is a shorter guy taking a longer shot at his NFL dream. In that respect, he and Leak are more than ever in the same boat.

"Troy Smith, I think, will be a mid-second to third-round pick," Mortensen said. "He has an NFL-caliber arm, and he had an outstanding career at Ohio State. He'll get his chance to play in the league.

"Leak is a great student of the game, but he has to overcome a lot of the same obstacles as Smith. I see him being taken in the third or fourth round, maybe even on the second day."

Smith said he is mindful that quarterbacks like Drew Brees, Jeff Garcia, Marc Bulger and Rex Grossman, whose relatively slight physiques don't fit the NFL prototype, are demonstrating that there is no definitive blueprint for a pro quarterback.

"Not everybody comes out of the same mold," he said. "But you know what? I can't fight that battle. I'm 6 feet tall. This is what I am. Take it or leave it." *