Two years after watching his last quarterback at Texas A&M be chosen in the first round of the NFL draft, Tim DeRuyter is about to see his first at Fresno State be drafted as well. And between Miami Dolphins quarterback Ryan Tannehill and Derek Carr, the coach sees plenty of comparisons.
"He reminds me a lot of Ryan Tannehill personality-wise, awareness of the game, athleticism, maturity -- very, very similar guy," DeRuyter said during an Damon Amendolara radio show interview. "I think he can have a career just like Ryan."
DeRuyter, Fresno State's head coach since 2012, was Texas A&M's defensive coordinator and interim head coach in 2011, when Tannehill parlayed his final season as the Aggies' starting quarterback into becoming the No. 8 overall pick of the Dolphins. At the time, some critics panned Miami for the pick, suggesting the team reached for him. Tannehill endured first-year struggles common for a rookie, but improved last season in multiple areas as the Dolphins went 8-8.
Like Tannehill, Carr's potential place in the draft is the subject of widely varying opinions.
NFL Media analyst Charles Davis sees Carr being drafted outside the first round in his latest mock draft, while analyst Daniel Jeremiah has Carr going to the Arizona Cardinals with the No. 20 overall pick. The Cleveland Browns' second first-round pick, No. 26, has also been strongly speculated as a potential fit for Carr if the Browns don't draft a quarterback with the No. 4 pick.
If the early stages of Carr's NFL career indeed mirrors Tannehill's as DeRuyter suspects, some growing pains could be ahead before Carr finds consistent success -- Tannehill threw more interceptions than touchdown passes as a rookie.
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