Seahawks coach Pete Carroll knows some people think Russell Wilson is too short to play quarterback in the NFL. But Carroll knows something else: Wilson was a good enough player in college, first at North Carolina State and then at Wisconsin, that there’s a chance he could be a great player in the NFL. And if you have a chance to take a quarterback who might be great in the third round of the NFL draft, you take him.
“More than anybody else that was alive in the draft, this guy gives you a chance to have a great player,” Carroll said, via the Seattle Times. “It’s going to be really exciting to see what he can bring. All he’s ever done is be great.”
The Seahawks took Wilson in the third round, No. 75 overall, making him the highest drafted quarterback in Seattle since Rick Mirer was the second overall pick in 1993. Carroll thinks he may be a steal.
“This is such an incredible athlete that has had extraordinary, historic success,” Carroll said. “He has done things that people had never thought of before. The fact that he was also such an extraordinary kid, he can handle all of the pressure that he’s going to be under, and all the scrutiny that he already has.”
Wilson will likely serve as the Seahawks’ third quarterback behind Matt Flynn and Tarvaris Jackson this year, but if Carroll is right, Wilson has what it takes to become a starter in Seattle.