SoonerShark
4/28/2006, 07:08 AM
http://newsok.com/article/1828352/
Wonderlic test no problem for Dvoracek
By George Schroeder
The Oklahoman
NORMAN - He entered the room tired, anxious and hungry - “starving,” Dusty Dvoracek said. Definitely not the way he would have chosen to prepare for the test.
But 12 minutes and 50 questions later, the former Oklahoma standout emerged, all smiles. He had aced the Wonderlic test. His score - 41 of a possible 50 - was the highest this year among players at the annual NFL Combine in February.
Not that it should have surprised anyone, maybe. The all-Big 12 defensive tackle had already made a pretty smart decision, and passed a tougher test.
Want another smart move?
Dvoracek said he doesn’t plan to watch television coverage of the NFL Draft, which begins Saturday and ends Sunday. Various draft projections have Dvoracek as the 10th-best defensive tackle, which equates to somewhere around the 100th-best player overall. He’s expected to be a third- or fourth-round selection.
So there’s no sense waiting around, fretting over when his name might be called.
“I’ll probably go fishing or something,” Dvoracek said.
At issue is his size and speed. Dvoracek said he believes his past will play a role, as well. He was suspended for the 2004 season after allegations of alcohol-fueled violence, then played in 2005 only after receiving a medical waiver from the NCAA.
But NFL.com analyst Gil Brandt said Dvoracek’s reputation had been rehabilitated.
“I haven’t heard any concern from anybody,” Brandt said. “He’s made a remarkable recovery for a guy that had the problems he did.”
Dvoracek returned from a torn biceps muscle suffered in the 2005 spring game, then put together an all-Big 12 senior season, leading the nation’s interior linemen with 17 tackles for loss and four sacks.
Off the field, he earned academic all-Big 12 honors. Last December, he graduated with a 3.41 grade-point average and a degree in business management.
As you’d expect, Dvoracek has no regrets about his decision to return to OU rather than head for the NFL Draft a year ago.
“Absolutely, it was a good decision,” Dvoracek said. “I had a great year, my favorite year in college. I got to come back and restore my legacy at Oklahoma, got to right the wrong that happened, and at the end of the day I probably made myself a lot of money.”
Here’s what he means. Although Dvoracek’s draft stock isn’t as high as he would like, he believes it’s much higher than it would have been a year ago.
“I’m going to be drafted a lot higher than I would have last year,” he said. “It’s worked out from every standpoint possible. It’s the best decision I could have possibly made.”
What effect Dvoracek’s Wonderlic score might have on his status isn’t certain. Although it is an often-publicized number - remember the buzz when Texas’ Vince Young reportedly scored in the single digits, then retook the test and scored 16? - it is also just one of many factors considered by NFL teams when evaluating prospects.
“I don’t think (the Wonderlic) is a big deal,” ESPN analyst Chris Mortensen said. “You put together a big puzzle on every prospect. It involves the physical, the psychological, behavior - it’s all a piece of the puzzle, and if something in there is alarming, then they’ll dig deeper.”
And it’s also, according to Brandt and Mortensen, much more important for a quarterback than for a defensive tackle. Mortensen laughingly suggested some coaches might wonder if Dvoracek is too smart - with the idea that the best defensive tackle be someone whose credo is: “Me Dusty. Like Meat.”
“If a guy is too smart, they wonder, ‘Is he a football player?’ Does he think too much?” Mortensen said.
Dvoracek laughed, too. Not many who have watched him play, with a face painted in something resembling a poor man’s KISS mask, would be concerned about his intensity.
“I don’t think there’s any question about how I play the game or my intensity, or anything like that,” Dvoracek said. “If anything, I think (the Wonderlic score) will be a good thing.”
Brandt seems to think so, too.
“I don’t think being too smart can ever hurt you,” Brandt said. “All you have to look at is what kind of competitor he is. This guy is one of the great competitors of all time.”
Wonderlic test no problem for Dvoracek
By George Schroeder
The Oklahoman
NORMAN - He entered the room tired, anxious and hungry - “starving,” Dusty Dvoracek said. Definitely not the way he would have chosen to prepare for the test.
But 12 minutes and 50 questions later, the former Oklahoma standout emerged, all smiles. He had aced the Wonderlic test. His score - 41 of a possible 50 - was the highest this year among players at the annual NFL Combine in February.
Not that it should have surprised anyone, maybe. The all-Big 12 defensive tackle had already made a pretty smart decision, and passed a tougher test.
Want another smart move?
Dvoracek said he doesn’t plan to watch television coverage of the NFL Draft, which begins Saturday and ends Sunday. Various draft projections have Dvoracek as the 10th-best defensive tackle, which equates to somewhere around the 100th-best player overall. He’s expected to be a third- or fourth-round selection.
So there’s no sense waiting around, fretting over when his name might be called.
“I’ll probably go fishing or something,” Dvoracek said.
At issue is his size and speed. Dvoracek said he believes his past will play a role, as well. He was suspended for the 2004 season after allegations of alcohol-fueled violence, then played in 2005 only after receiving a medical waiver from the NCAA.
But NFL.com analyst Gil Brandt said Dvoracek’s reputation had been rehabilitated.
“I haven’t heard any concern from anybody,” Brandt said. “He’s made a remarkable recovery for a guy that had the problems he did.”
Dvoracek returned from a torn biceps muscle suffered in the 2005 spring game, then put together an all-Big 12 senior season, leading the nation’s interior linemen with 17 tackles for loss and four sacks.
Off the field, he earned academic all-Big 12 honors. Last December, he graduated with a 3.41 grade-point average and a degree in business management.
As you’d expect, Dvoracek has no regrets about his decision to return to OU rather than head for the NFL Draft a year ago.
“Absolutely, it was a good decision,” Dvoracek said. “I had a great year, my favorite year in college. I got to come back and restore my legacy at Oklahoma, got to right the wrong that happened, and at the end of the day I probably made myself a lot of money.”
Here’s what he means. Although Dvoracek’s draft stock isn’t as high as he would like, he believes it’s much higher than it would have been a year ago.
“I’m going to be drafted a lot higher than I would have last year,” he said. “It’s worked out from every standpoint possible. It’s the best decision I could have possibly made.”
What effect Dvoracek’s Wonderlic score might have on his status isn’t certain. Although it is an often-publicized number - remember the buzz when Texas’ Vince Young reportedly scored in the single digits, then retook the test and scored 16? - it is also just one of many factors considered by NFL teams when evaluating prospects.
“I don’t think (the Wonderlic) is a big deal,” ESPN analyst Chris Mortensen said. “You put together a big puzzle on every prospect. It involves the physical, the psychological, behavior - it’s all a piece of the puzzle, and if something in there is alarming, then they’ll dig deeper.”
And it’s also, according to Brandt and Mortensen, much more important for a quarterback than for a defensive tackle. Mortensen laughingly suggested some coaches might wonder if Dvoracek is too smart - with the idea that the best defensive tackle be someone whose credo is: “Me Dusty. Like Meat.”
“If a guy is too smart, they wonder, ‘Is he a football player?’ Does he think too much?” Mortensen said.
Dvoracek laughed, too. Not many who have watched him play, with a face painted in something resembling a poor man’s KISS mask, would be concerned about his intensity.
“I don’t think there’s any question about how I play the game or my intensity, or anything like that,” Dvoracek said. “If anything, I think (the Wonderlic score) will be a good thing.”
Brandt seems to think so, too.
“I don’t think being too smart can ever hurt you,” Brandt said. “All you have to look at is what kind of competitor he is. This guy is one of the great competitors of all time.”