Click here to listen to Wisconsin On Demand’s interview with Utah State coach Gary Andersen.
Why would the Green Bay Packers trade up in the NFL Draft’s first round and give up a fourth-round pick to nab quarterback Jordan Love, a move that might create a rift between themselves and their future Hall of Fame starting quarterback?
Perhaps the Packers believe Love has the same qualities his college coach believes he has.
“He has that leadership ability,” Utah State coach Gary Andersen, the former head coach at the University of Wisconsin, told ESPN Wisconsin’s “Wilde And Tausch” Wednesday.
“Last year, we played seven games that went down to the wire. We won five of them,” he explained.
“Every single time we got in those situations, all he does is look over at you, give you a wink and say ‘Coach, we got this thing’ and goes out, and the team believes in him.”
Andersen believes that beyond that key intangible part of a quarterback’s job, he also has the two most important tangible pieces of a quarterback’s performance – his mind and his arm.
“Jordan is very sharp, is very intelligent. He wants to learn the ins and outs of quarterback play and the ins and outs of offense,” said Andersen.
“He’s got the wow factor in that arm. You’ll see that real quickly.”
Andersen also believed that despite his junior status, Love would be a first round draft pick. The first round quarterbacking pick Andersen compared Love to is, shall we say, a very interesting name considering the draft saga Aaron Rodgers went through before becoming a Green Bay Packer in 2005.
“The only other quarterback I’ve been around that’s like him is Alex Smith,” said Andersen.
“Alex did a lot of things extremely well and had a great career. Jordan has had a lot of comparisons.”