Brett Hundley’s Fall From Grace

Like the old saying goes, when life gives you lemons, you make lemonade.

Brett Hundley has enough for a lot of lemonade.

UCLA Bruins

What many will remember as the greatest sports weekends to date, I will remember this is the weekend that Brett Hundley fell from grace.

From top high school prospect to Heisman hopeful, Brett Hundley has seen some high peaks during his young football career. However, he has seen some valleys as well. Such as a painful outing against Stanford that could have gotten his team a Pac 12 Championship game, to being the 5^th Quarterback taken in the 2015 NFL draft.

In the 5^th Round!

Apr 30, 2015; Chicago, IL, USA; NFL commissioner Roger Goodell addresses the crowd in the first round of the 2015 NFL Draft at the Auditorium Theatre of Roosevelt University. Mandatory Credit: Jerry Lai-USA TODAY Sports

What should have been the most anticipated time of his life turned into 48 hours of agony waiting for his phone to ring.

Marcus Mariota and Jameis Winston where a given to be first round selections. Brett knew it, I knew it, and the whole nation knew it.   What happened after was something that I could not believe.

Every pick probably felt like hours. Who knows if he was actually watching the draft, but if he was, then I give him huge amounts of respect.

If I where him I do not think I could have watched as Garrett Grayson and Sean Mannion where drafted before him.

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Garrett Grayson and Sean Mannion. Let that settle in.

People have been making arguments for  Bryce Petty vs Hundley, who is going third, and to be honest I was fully expecting Petty to be the third QB taken. But no, you could have tried to convince me until you were blue in the face, no one will ever convince me that Grayson and Mannion are better.

Sean Mannion,  the Oregon State prospect, did become the all-time Pac 12 leading passer, all while leading the Beavers to an underwhelming 5-7 record. If breaking the Pac 12 all-time passing record is that significant to translating to the pros, then Matt Barkley would not have to worry about being one of five quarterbacks trying to make the Eagles roster.

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As hours turn into days, Brett Hundley finally got the call. Three days into the draft, Brett Hundley is going to Green Bay. Not only does he slip far into the draft, but goes to the team with arguably the best quarterback in the game.

With all that aside though, Brett Hundley should feel lucky, very lucky.

He not only becomes the first UCLA QB drafted since McNown in 1999, but he goes to a top notch organization where they will teach him to be a pros pro. He also gets to learn from one of the best Quarterbacks in the game. Brett Hundley will not only learn how to play the position the right way, but learn the value of patience. The guy he’s backing knows about slipping in the draft and waiting his turn to play, all while being behind a future Hall of Famer on the depth chart.

Aaron Rodgers knows a thing or two about patience.

Dec 28, 2014; Green Bay, WI, USA; Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers (12) reacts after officials ruled a 2-point conversion attempt by the Detroit Lions failed in the fourth quarter at Lambeau Field. Mandatory Credit: Benny Sieu-USA TODAY Sports

I am a realist though. Hundley is a project. He holds onto the ball, and has shown poor pocket presence at times. However, he is in a good situation. You see Winston and Mariota both have huge amounts of pressure on their backs. They are now responsible for turning two bottom-feeding teams into winning organizations.

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The other two, well to be honest I do not even know much about them to comment so we will leave it at that.

The draft is the best and worst days of a young football star’s life. Sometimes the expectations one has for themselves are not the same as the ones the world has for them.

Yet, Football is played on the field, not the draft room.

So for now Brett take a seat and make sure you take notes, because this time your name might be called sooner than you think.