That's G

Making the NFL case for Two former High School Gatorade Players of the Year

Three weeks from now the likes of Sam Bradford, Jimmy Clausen and Tim Tebow will hear their names called by Roger Goodell at Radio City Music Hall in New York City, symbolizing the start of their NFL careers. Bradford will likely sign the largest rookie contract in NFL history but for the quarterbacks likely to be picked later in the draft, a career in the NFL is by no means guaranteed. Greg Paulus and Ryan Perrilloux are two intriguing players that fall into this category.


Greg Paulus was born in Medina, Ohio but moved to Manlius, New York and attended high school at Christian Brothers Academy in Syracuse. While at Christian Brothers, Paulus played both football and basketball and excelled at both. As a senior, Paulus was named Gatorade National Football Player of the Year as well as Gatorade Male Athlete of the Year for his performance in both football and basketball. He was invited to the US Army All-American game and was the ninth ranked quarterback prospect in the country according to Scout.com. Paulus was even better in basketball and was the #1 ranked point guard prospect in the country. When the offers started pouring in from Notre Dame, Miami, Duke and Florida to name a few, Paulus had to decide which sport he would pursue. Ultimately he chose basketball and accepted a full scholarship to Duke University.

Paulus enjoyed a very successful four year career at Duke, but saw his minutes cut short in his senior season due to the development of younger players. After his final game as a member of the Duke Blue Devils, Paulus began contemplating a return to football. After a workout with the Green Bay Packers last spring, Paulus chose to attend Syracuse University and was named the Orangemen’s starting quarterback only weeks after joining the team. In his only season of Division 1-A football, Paulus broke Syracuse records for completion percentage and completions in a season. Take a look at how his numbers stack up against two other excellent first year quarterbacks this season (keeping in mind that both Barkley and Forcier did not take four years off from competitive football and have more talent on their respective teams than Paulus):
 
 

Paulus took part in Syracuse’s pro day earlier in March and showed that he has been hard at work since the football season ended. He measured just under 6’2 and weighed in at 210 pounds, 30 pounds heavier than at the start of the season giving some insight into his work ethic in the gym. Scouts point to a lack of poise in the pocket and some questionable decision making on film as the main reasons he will likely go undrafted this April, but to me those critiques are common to most first year starters as they try and adjust to the higher level of competition. In my opinion, the fact that he spent four years away from the game and had a higher QB rating than USC’s Matt Barkley this year is reason enough to take a chance on this kid. He doesn’t have a rocket arm but he is extremely accurate and would fit very well into a west coast offence. This kid is well worth a seventh round pick where he can sit on the practice squad and try and make up for lost time. He has the athleticism, size and smarts to play in NFL. He just needs time to develop.

If Paulus sounds like he was a great prospect coming out of high school, Ryan Perrilloux was even better. He was the top quarterback prospect of the 2005 high school class alongside a guy named Mark Sanchez (Yup, that Mark Sanchez). Perrilloux’s yardage totals for passing and rushing ranks second on the all-time Louisiana State list. He was named Offensive Player of the Year by USA Today and Louisiana Gatorade Player of the Year. After a bizarre recruiting process he accepted a full scholarship from Les Miles to play for LSU.


Perrilloux redshirted his first season and then saw very limited playing time as a freshmen playing behind JaMarcus Russell and Matt Flynn. Before the start of his sophomore season, Perrilloux was suspended by Coach Miles for using a fake ID to try and get on a gambling boat. He was reinstated before training camp and subsequently lost the starting job to senior Matt Flynn. He started two games that year due to injuries to Flynn and was 40/55 for 541 yards with 4 touchdowns and only one interception. One of those starts was in the SEC Championship Game in which he led the LSU Tigers to a win and was named player of the game by CBS Sports. Following the season, Perrilloux was dismissed from the team by Les Miles for “not fulfilling his obligation as an LSU student-athlete”. Reports indicated that he tested positive for marijuana, missed classes and was late for team events.

Perrilloux transferred to Jacksonville State University, a Division 1-AA program, and excelled in both his Junior and Senior seasons. As a senior he completed 58.5% of his passes for 2345 yards while throwing 23 touchdowns to only 2 interceptions. He was named the Ohio Valley Conference Player of the Year in 2009. Perrilloux was suspended once at Jacksonville State but head coach Jack Crowe stressed that it was a team issue and did not accurately reflect his accountability during his time at JSU.


At Jacksonville State’s pro day, Perrilloux showed off his NFL calibre arm strength and accuracy. He has NFL size at 6’2 ½ 230lbs and ran a 4.79 40 yard dash. There is no doubt that he has the physical skills to be an NFL superstar, but the big question remains about his maturity and off field issues. It appears as though he cleaned up his act while at Jacksonville State and given he will be playing for his livelihood, I suspect he will make every effort to be a model teammate. It is also worth nothing that he has a two year old daughter and anyone with children knows how that can impact a person’s maturity. Coach Crowe likened Perrilloux’s ability to a former player of his. “Ryan is a Bo Jackson,” Crowe Said. “I coached them both and they are different from the rest.”

Perrilloux is slated to come off the board in the sixth or seventh round of the draft, while it is unlikely Paulus will be selected at all. Teams with established starters would be wise to consider both of these former superstars in the late rounds as developmental players. Although these former high school superstars’ careers progressed very differently and not a-typically, they have the talent and athleticism to play at the next level. In the NFL all decisions are business decisions and these two projects are definitely worth the risk.

-Jansen-