Wonderlic Scores, part I

Today’s edition of my local paper, The Trenton Times made note of several previously unreported Wonderlic scores - including Marshawn’s - in an article by writer Mark Eckel during the course of pointing out how smart the Eagles’ new draft class is. I still can’t find a complete list anywhere now that the scores are no longer publicly available, but I’ve broken down those scores that were mentioned by position. Because Wonderlic scores are one of the few tangible things that you, me, and the average Cal fan can use to prove that we are better than our gridiron heroes in some way. (I somehow doubt this is the case for fans of, say, the SEC.) Also, it’s just fun to find out how dumb some people really are.

Quarterbacks

Drew Stanton, Michigan State - 35
John Beck, BYU - 30
Brady Quinn, Notre Dame - 29
Kevin Kolb, Houston - 28

Running Back
Tony Hunt, Penn State - 29
Nate Ilaoa, Hawaii - 22
Adrian Peterson, Oklahoma - 16
Marshawn Lynch, California - 14

Tight End
Clark Harris, Rutgers - 40
Scott Chandler, Iowa - 34
Greg Olsen, Miami - 30
Zach Miller, Arizona State - 29
Matt Spaeth, Minnesota - 29
Brent Celek, Cincinnati - 24

Defensive End
Adam Carriker, Nebraska - 28
Victor Abiamiri, Notre Dame - 27
Gaines Adams, Clemson - 7

Linebacker
Paul Posluszny, Penn State - 30
Stewart Bradley, Nebraska - 30

Defensive Back
Josh Wendling, Wyoming - 32
Josh Wilson, Maryland - 29
Leon Hall, Michigan - 27
Michael Griffin, Texas - 27
C.J. Gaddis, Clemson - 23

So what can we take from this?

- Nebraska and Penn State’s student-athletes may be smarter than we usually like to give them credit for, and good for them. Notre Dame’s also got some smart players as well, but maybe their defense should spend less time studying and more time doing speed training instead. Just a thought.

- Gaines Adams’ 7 may or may not be legitimate if the original list I got of the ten worst Wonderlic scores is to be believed, as that score would have easily placed him among the ten lowest scores. He may have just not taken it at the combine and his score was not available then. If it is legitimate, then it’s a good thing that playing defensive end doesn’t require a great deal of cognitive abilities. - All of the quarterbacks listed here went in the second round at the latest (no mention of JaMarcus Russell’s Wonderlic), and it’s no surprise, since all things being equal, you’d obviously want the man running your offense to be one of the smartest guys on the team.

- I have no idea why all of those tight ends scored so well. I’m not sure if it’s an aberration, but I guess it shouldn’t be that big of a surprise when you consider that tight ends have to be able to know most of the fundamentals of offensive line play (and offensive linemen always rate right up there with quarterbacks for intelligence) as well as learn how to contribute in the passing game.

- It was a good year for top defensive backs, and the Wonderlic appears to be another area in which Leon Hall trounced Hughes. But we still love him. Wilson, Hall, and Griffin all went off the board in the first two rounds, and while I’m not sure how much impact a Wonderlic score has on a defensive back’s draft stock - I don’t think, for instance, that Pac-Man Jones scored terribly high - a great score certainly couldn’t hurt.

- And finally, it seems pretty clear that all of the time that Adrian Peterson spent rehabbing did wonders for his academics, while Marshawn was far too busy running over defenders, mugging for cameras, ghost-riding the whip, inspiring millions, getting hyphy, and being the most electrifying man in college football (outside of DeSean) to study for something as trivial as the Wonderlic. Let that be the biggest lesson you take from this. Go Bears.