Prospects are trying to turn any weaknesses, perceived or real, on their resume into a strength this time of the year, and DeShone Kizer made his case on Monday morning, with a few days to go until the 2017 NFL Draft (April 27-29 in Philadelphia).
One of the knocks against Kizer is that he struggled through a losing (4-8) season in 2016.
However, the former Notre Dame quarterback says that experience, coupled with the success he had in 2015 in helping lead the Fighting Irish to the Fiesta Bowl, actually gives him an edge over other QBs who haven't gone through the kind of ups and downs they might face in the NFL.
"I think the biggest question right now is the 4-8 factor. If you're supposed to be this elite guy and you're gonna declare (for the draft) early, how do you go 4-8 this past season? I would say that's probably my biggest advantage in terms of comparing me to other quarterbacks in this draft is that I do have the experience of losing," Kizer told Good Morning Football. "If you're gonna take a guy in the first round and you're gonna call him a franchise guy, you'd have to be able to go into a situation that necessarily isn't the best for you. To be able to experience 4-8 and also experience a 10-win season Fiesta Bowl trip, I'm able to compare the two seasons and determine the different things that go into winning-- the leadership things, the culture things, how do I approach my teammates.
"Comparing those two seasons where you have Will Fuller and Ronnie Stanley on one team, and you have KJ Stepherson, a true freshman playing receiver, on another. Being able to determine what it takes to be a winning quarterback I think is my biggest asset going into whatever situation I do go into."
Kizer caused a stir last week, when he said he could be the greatest QB of all-time, with the potential to combine Tom Brady's intellect with Cam Newton's body.
On Monday, he said he was simply expressing his aspirations.
"The conversation I was having was more on the potential -- where do you want to be, what's your ultimate goal? We were just discussing how if I'm gonna go out there and I'm gonna model myself after people, I'd model myself after the best," Kizer said. "I think we all understand that Brady's preparation, his intellect, his understanding of defenses and offenses, and how he fits in the game -- it's one of the best. And then Cam obviously is one of the bigger guys out there. So I was just trying to have a little bit of a discussion of where I see myself one day. If I'm gonna play this game, I want to be great. And those two guys are guys who exhibit greatness."
Kizer slid down NFL Media draft expert Mike Mayock's list of the draft's top QBs in the most recent installment, going from No. 1 to No. 4.
Between the blowback he received from the Brady-Newton comments last week, as well as his former head coach, Brian Kelly, questioning his NFL readiness earlier this month, it's been a turbulent few weeks for Kizer leading up to the draft.
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