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UB's Willy playing the waiting game

Since the clock expired on the University at Buffalo's loss in the International Bowl in January, another clock has been ticking for quarterback Drew Willy.

Now it's down to a precious few hours. The NFL draft is this weekend and Willy's future is on the line. He claims not to be the least bit nervous, something that served him well during his four seasons as a starter.

"I'm just glad it's here, it's been a lot of waiting around ever since Pro Day," said Willy, the school's career passing leader. "I've just been trying to stay in shape and clear my mind by looking at all the mock drafts. I really don't know what's going to happen."

After the season, Willy worked out with other draft contestants — Penn State's Deon Butler was one of them — at the Parisi Speed School in New Jersey. He also worked with noted quarterbacks coach Jerry Rhome, the 1964 Heisman Trophy runner-up, during weekends in Atlanta.

It is expected, if not all but assured, that Georgia's Matthew Stafford and USC's Mark Sanchez will be the first two quarterbacks taken in the draft. After that it's anybody's guess. Willy is in a group that includes Josh Freeman of Kansas State, Nate Davis of Ball State, Hunter Cantwell of Louisville and a smattering of others.

Most draft analysts expect Willy to be a second-day pick, probably in the fifth or sixth round. It's an evaluation Willy considers reasonable and several gems over the years are found late in the draft.

"I could go higher or I could go later," he said. "It's kind of hard to tell. I know a lot of teams are putting together their draft boards and I've been hearing from different teams asking for my draft day [phone] number but I'm hoping on Sunday something well will happen."

Being a second-day pick, said former NFL coach Herm Edwards, isn't necessarily a bad thing.

"There's a bunch of young players coming out of this draft, especially out of the first deck," Edwards said. "You build your core of your football team, as most coaches know, on the second day of the draft because those literally are the guys — the rank and file players. You anticipate your first-round and second-round picks to play early, some will start — but really the rank and file solidifies your football team."

Willy grew up in Randolph, N.J., where his family had season tickets to New York Giants games, and the Giants are the only team Willy worked out for prior to the draft. One of the part owners of Parisi is former Giants quarterback Phil Simms.

"I threw with Phil Simms a little before the combine," Willy said. "It was cool to be able to work with him and growing up watching him and the rest of the Giants was a good experience. That's the team I grew up watching and the team my family loves. But I would be happy to play with anyone because it's been a dream of mine to play in the NFL. Whoever I get drafted by will be my new favorite team."

Willy's stock seemed to hold steady since the NFL Combine, where he posted the ninth-fastest 40 time (4.90 seconds) among quarterbacks and scored well in the both the shuttle and cone drills. But there are still questions about Willy among draft analysts and there are some who question whether he can hone his skills enough over time to become more than a serviceable backup.

Glance over those scouting reports and you'll find plenty of positives — good anticipation and at least adequate accuracy on short and intermediate routes, inspects the field well and can look off the defender and come back to his initial target. But there's also plenty of questions like a lack of the arm strength needed to complete every NFL throw, marginal velocity and accuracy when throwing on the fly.

"I just want a chance to compete," said Willy, who will spend the days leading up to the draft with his family in New Jersey. "I've been taught very well and understand the game so I think wherever I'll land I'll put my best foot forward."

LINK >> UB's Willy playing the waiting game : Bills Pregame : The Buffalo News

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