LSU quarterback Zach Mettenberger might one day look back on his ACL surgery with fondness, not regret, his college offensive coordinator said.
LSU offensive coordinator Cam Cameron told the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel that Mettenberger is making a "miraculous" recovery from his surgery, which was performed Jan. 2. Mettenberger began throwing again early this month.
"I'm not saying he's Adrian Peterson, but he's going to be close," Cameron said. "With technology today and you add his work ethic, he may be one of those guys who's better off and has more knee stability now."
Mettenberger (6-foot-5, 230 pounds) threw for 3,082 yards, 22 touchdowns and had eight interceptions before tearing the ACL in his left knee in the regular-season finale against Arkansas. Cameron is a big fan of Mettenberger despite the quarterback's perceived lack of mobility.
"I don't care how mobile a guy is," Cameron said. "If he can't throw the football in critical situations with pinpoint accuracy, he's not going to win championships. ... A quarterback's not going to survive in that league unless he's pinpoint accurate under pressure. The good news for Zach is that he's pinpoint accurate under pressure."
Cameron has coached in the NFL and said Mettenberger can make the needed throws; he also said Mettenberger thrives when he can use play-action.
"In some ways, he may be made more for the NFL game than he is the college game," Cameron said.
Mettenberger is in the second tier of available quarterbacks, behind Teddy Bridgewater, Blake Bortles, Johnny Manziel and Derek Carr. Where he "resides" in that second tier likely will be determined after the combine, when Mettenberger goes through individual workouts. Prevailing wisdom seems to be that he could possibly go as early as the second round but not any later than the end of the fourth.
Mike Huguenin can be reached at mike.huguenin@nfl.com. You also can follow him on Twitter @MikeHuguenin.
