Omar article -- USA Today

[hammb]

This is not a very positive article, but I'm not surprised by it either. I thought he was a 2nd/3rd round prospect when he declared, and I thought he made the right decision. As others have said I don't think that another year could've helped his stock all that much. What's worse, another non eye-popping season would've been detrimental to his stock. I think it is VERY wrong to say his stock would not have gotten worse than it was after this season.

However, the more draft stuff I read the more I'm thinking he's gonna go lower and lower. There just seem to be too many QBs that are getting a lot more attention. Yeah, it could be that some team(s) is/are disguising their interest in him, but I'm betting it's only a couple teams that are doing that. If they have players they like better on the board where they wanted him (guys they didn't think would drop) he'll continue to slip. I still think it'll be 3rd/4th, but 5th/6th would not surprise me at this point.

The visit thing isn't necessarily a big deal, though. Last year the Browns didn't draft a single player that they had invited in on visits.

[Falcon52]

Is it too late for him to come back for the Wisky and OSU game next year?

[orangeandbrown]

I don't know. He probably did the right thing. Remember that a good season doesn't help a MAC QB. You have to be dominating. And if he comes back and has a good season, then it looks like you've topped out. So, you might as well go and leave the question unasnwered.

No doubt, he should have left after 2004. But, with the guys coming back, you had to figure he could have had a good 2005.

I'm rooting for him, but I have other things I'm more worried about.

[Falconboy]

I am sorta on Hammb's side of things. I think Omar definitly shoulda stayed. The more I read and hear about whats going on with the qb position, there seems to be more qb's I've never heard of or never thought would be better thean Omar leapfrogging him in the progostications and really that is all they are.

I think Omar got a little to ahead of himself after this last year. Next year's Draft crop has probably only Quinn ahead of Omar if he would've stayed. Ther'es alot more money too in being a top 20 pick. But who knows, maybe Omar really didn't care at all where he went as long as he did get drafted. If he's fine with getting drafted 5th and 6th or Godforbid 7th Rd. then great. But as I see it my expectations are set really low right now. It certainly seems that there is no chance for Omar to be the highest NFL Draft pick from BG ever, especially if we had CB go 3rd Rd. in '95, which is somewhat shocking to me to say the least. I can't believe we even had NFL Draft worthy players on our roster in '95 , especially on defense.

All in all , I'm hoping Omar goes where he can eventually make an impact somewhere down the line.

[BGDrew]

Maybe Jacobs needed to support his family. Far too often we assume when athletes come out that they're doing it for the money. I do remember hearing Jacobs say supporting his mother was a big reason for trying the NFL route.

What round did Harris expect?

[TG1996]

But as I see it my expectations are set really low right now.

Well hell, Betsy, there's a shock!


As for the rest of the post... ever hear of Bernie Casey? What about Phil Villapiano? 1st and 2nd round picks, respectively. (Bob Zimpfer was a first rounder as well, but I'll give ya a pass on that.)

Who knows what would have happened with Omar? It was a gamble, and a calculated one at that. Yeah, he had seen his stock slip over the last few weeks of the season, and a little more as some of these other QB's have put in solid workouts, but it's his decision, it's done, and I wish him the best. (Though I'm still a little disturbed at the passive attitude he seemed to take toward BG in that Cold Pizza interview, but that might have just been my interpretation.) There are a whole lot of "what if's" around his situation, and he did what he thought he had to do. Maybe he passed up millions by hitting the draft this year, or maybe he saved himself a life in the arena league by getting in the draft now. We'll see what happens this weekend.

[Falconboy]

Maybe Jacobs needed to support his family. Far too often we assume when athletes come out that they're doing it for the money. I do remember hearing Jacobs say supporting his mother was a big reason for trying the NFL route.

What round did Harris expect?

Well, if thats your only reason for entering the NFL Draft I think its silly just to do it on those merits alone , unless were talking about your relatives being in absolute poverty and desalation. I don't know if Omar has a wife and kids or not. From what I know he doesn't. Is his mom that strung out for cash? Ther's nothing wrong at all for wanting alot of dough to help make your parents life alot easier and more luxurious, but a 22 year-old should not have to support his parents at that age unless there are some harsh cercumstances surrounding that family member.

Waiting a year to be drafted and Omar could give his mother alot more money for being near assured 1st rounder if thats one of the major reasons.

[hammb]

Waiting a year to be drafted and Omar could give his mother alot more money for being near assured 1st rounder if thats one of the major reasons.

Omar would not have gotten into the first round of the draft by playing this year. Our team has too much rebuilding to do. The only first round picks from the MAC have come from extremely successful team.

[fulch]

Leaving school early for anything but life changing money is foolish. What kind of money does a 4th rounder make? Maybe 400,000 a season? (just guessing here) And with the way a young NFL player is going to spend, this really won't last very long at all. It seems like a lot of money to us, but what is the league minimum anyway? I can't imagine it's a lot less than 400 gs. Would you have sold your senior year in college, where you were a stud and everyone knew who you were, for money you'd probably blow through in a couple of years?

It's hard to see how his stock could have plummeted a lot more than 4th or 5th round for next year's draft. You'd think that with a great year he would have been able to move himself up to at least the 2nd round. Charlie Frye was early third, and I believe he was not on a very good team. Why couldn't Omar have cracked the 2nd? I would imagine a 2nd rounder makes significantly more than a 4th or 5th rounder, and it seems like staying another year clearly would have been the smarter move.

I still contend that it is foolish to leave for anything but life changing money (millions), what do you guys think?

[Jacobs4Heisman]

Leaving school early for anything but life changing money is foolish. What kind of money does a 4th rounder make? Maybe 400,000 a season? (just guessing here) And with the way a young NFL player is going to spend, this really won't last very long at all. It seems like a lot of money to us, but what is the league minimum anyway? I can't imagine it's a lot less than 400 gs. Would you have sold your senior year in college, where you were a stud and everyone knew who you were, for money you'd probably blow through in a couple of years?

It's hard to see how his stock could have plummeted a lot more than 4th or 5th round for next year's draft. You'd think that with a great year he would have been able to move himself up to at least the 2nd round. Charlie Frye was early third, and I believe he was not on a very good team. Why couldn't Omar have cracked the 2nd? I would imagine a 2nd rounder makes significantly more than a 4th or 5th rounder, and it seems like staying another year clearly would have been the smarter move.

I still contend that it is foolish to leave for anything but life changing money (millions), what do you guys think?

400,000 a year would sure as hell change my life. All I really did my senior year was hang out w/ friends, go to quarters 4-5 nights a week, and play video games and intramurals all year. I barely even went to class. I would have left if somebody would've given me a one-time check for 400,000, let alone an opportunity to make that much and more for the next ten years.


Omar is still going to go in the third-fourth round. As we've seen with twominutedrill.com, any jackass on the web or crappy journalist can spout off uninformed decisions about the draft. How about you wait until Omar gets drafted before you call him a fool and silly for wanting to help out his family instead of getting a relatively meaningless recreation degree (that he could easily grab next summer or whenever he chooses).

He got a fourth-round grade from the committee, and decided that was enough for him to declare. I would have done the same thing. He is not going to fall to the end of the draft, and he would not have improved his stock to get higher than the third round unless he put up numbers and had success like what happened in 2004. I'm gonna say that was pretty much impossible on this year's team.

As far as whoever said Quinn is the only QB ahead of him, not so fast. Leinart was supposed to be the only QB ahead of him going into last year. How'd that work out? There are a bunch of other QB's that will get more press playing in BCS conference that would've passed Omar toiling away in obscurity in the MAC. Now -- what if Omar had gotten injured again, god forbid more seriously than before. He would barely have been drafted, if at all. What if he put up 2005 numbers or slightly worse? Everybody then says 2004 is a fluke and he gets drafted in the 7th round and doesn't make the team. IMO. he had a ton more to lose than gain by playing here instead of in the League next year. Leaving school under these circumstances is neither foolish nor silly.

[Schadenfreude]

Leaving school early for anything but life changing money is foolish. What kind of money does a 4th rounder make? Maybe 400,000 a season?

That would change my life, which has been spent trying to get to one-tenth of that.

[orangeandbrown]

It will take many of his fellow classmates 10 years to earn that kind of money.

[Falcon52]

Omar was also in the Sports Illustrated I received today. Nice little picture. it's real easy to be greedy, like I am. I said way back when he should have stayed. More for selfish reasons. I loved hearing BG in the news all the time. I wish he was still with us, however I am very grateful for all the free publicity he has brought BG. ESPN, USA Today, SI random newpapers and TV shows around the country. WOW! Thank you OMAR! Thanks for bringing BG to the nation. I am tickled pink every time I see the Orange & Brown or BG mentioned. Hell up until Harris then OMAR, we couldn't get the Plain Dealer to mention our scores. F- the PD by the way.

Well I wish him greatness for the sole notion that it would keep BG's name out there.

Good luck on Saturday Omar and thanks!

[MACMAN]

i tell ya my take on this situation is this.
with the mac being flat in qbs and Omar having had a quote bad year end quote BGSu with Omar could have run the mac table...in the opinion of many and he would have a big story.
i honestly believe the media is F$#ing with him intentionaly.
We all know how good he is, and he will adapt well and excell at the next level...this is simply a case of MId major BCS prejudice by a bunch of bcs brain washed analyists, who hate that the MAC has put so many good Qbs over the recent years.

Omar will do just fine tomorrow or even the next day...he will play in the NFl and the story will be
Here he is Omar Jacobs out of BGU (leaving the s out cause thier morons) a kid who came out many say to early and went vertually unnoticed in the draft and is now having a record setting season...How does this make you feel...
Omars answer will not be a smack down of the BCS bullshiters but
just as I knew it would be, i am a good Qb surround be great players and very happy to be playing for.....the green bay packers

[BGDrew]

I'm thrilled for Omar and wish him all the best. But I just don't know how much he really liked going here. I might be really off on this, but I get the feeling he saw BG as a means to an end (NFL).