If a Div. 1-A head coach is looking for a way to convince his quarterback to remain in school for another year instead of jumping early into the NFL draft pool, all he needs to do is pull up the bio of Jevan Snead.
The former Ole Miss quarterback left school early following a very pedestrian 2009 season that saw his draft stock plummet. He was advised by those around the program to stay in school for another season in order to repair his tattered QB image.
Still, in spite of the urging, Snead announced in early January that, "[a]fter much prayer and deliberation, I have decided to forego my final year at Ole Miss and enter the NFL Draft.”
Snead added that he “had to do what is best for me and my family. ... I look forward to the challenge and hard work that comes with pursuing my dream of playing quarterback in the NFL.”
Unfortunately for Snead and his family, he’s facing a monumental challenge the likes of which he certainly didn’t expect if he’s to realize that dream.
The NFL’s seven-round draft concluded this evening, and a total of 255 names were called. And, in a cruel blow by the draft gods, not a single one of those 255 names even remotely rhymed with the words “Jevan” and “Snead”.
Now, if Snead is going to go about “pursuing his dream”, he’s going to have to do it as an undrafted free agent. Maybe he’ll be Kurt Warner, v2.0, or the next Jake Delhomme, and have the long and productive career he dreams of even as he begins the steep uphill climb as an UDFA.
Then again, maybe the odds are so stacked against him that, at this moment, Snead’s kicking his own ass for a decision that, at this point in time, looks dead wrong.
There’s a lesson here, and we’re quite certain that, come the middle of next January when the deadline for draft-eligible players gets closer, more than one college coach will utter the name “Jevan Snead” a couple (thousand) times.
UPDATE 6:26 p.m. ET: According to the Twitter page of Scout.com‘s Adam Caplan, Snead has signed a contract with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
