Well, the return to Washington for his senior year didn’t end up hurting Jake Locker quite as much as anyone thought it would.
With thoughts on him all over the board, it took only one team to like him, and that team turned out to be Tennessee, which stunned a lot of people by picking him eighth overall.
He goes to a team with a strong running game, which could help him if he is thrown right into the starting lineup.
The Titans were just as smitten with Locker as Husky fans have been.
“I just pictured myself in the huddle with this guy and thought, ‘Man, these guys will love playing for this guy,’ ” new coach Mike Munchak told reporters. “I think he has got something special like that that he’ll bring out the best in other players. I think they’ll want to play hard for him. … He’s one of those guys who’s going to find a way to win for us, and I think that the guys in this building will believe in him.”
That’s all great, but if new offensive coordinator Chris Palmer can’t get Locker to throw the ball better, they won’t believe in him for long. The Titans made a big gamble that Locker can overcome that one glaring deficiency in his game (and stay healthy in the NFL).
But kudos to Locker for having his cake and eating it, too: a bowl victory in his final year as a Husky and a top-10 pick in the NFL draft.
Original Story:
http://outsidethepressbox.com/?p=4036
