Test scores may put Young back to work
[SIZE=-1]03:39 PM CST on Monday, February 27, 2006
Rick Gosselin
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INDIANAPOLIS – Southern Cal couldn't tackle Vince Young in the Rose Bowl in January. But a piece of paper apparently tackled the Texas quarterback in February.
Young apparently took a Wonderlic test last weekend at the NFL scouting combine. He apparently scored in the single digits, reportedly a 6. He apparently took it again a day later and scored higher, reportedly a 16.
All these "apparentlys" and "reportedlys" are because Wonderlic scores, like drug tests, are supposed to be kept confidential by the NFL. No one in the league will go on record to say that Young scored a 6, 16, 26 or 36 – although NFL officials moved quickly Sunday morning to deny reports that Young scored a 6.
"I have been told it was inaccurate by a source good enough for me to stand up here and quote it," said Charlie Casserly, the general manager of Young's hometown Houston Texans. "Otherwise I wouldn't get up here and just say it."
The test, created by Wonderlic, Inc., has been around since 1937. Wonderlic describes the exam as "a short-form measure of cognitive ability designed for simple administration and interpretation." In short, it's a general intelligence, multiple-choice, time test.
There are 50 questions with a 12-minute time limit. You add up the number of correct answers for a composite test score. If you answer 37 questions in the 12 minutes and only 20 of them are correct, your score is 20.
The questions start off easy and become harder as the test progresses. Here's a sample question: If Sunday is the first day of the week, then Wednesday is the ____________ day. Then there are five multiple choice answers to choose from.
"It's basically a reading-comprehension test," Kansas City Chiefs president Carl Peterson said. "It's an indication that a young man may or may not have a reading comprehension problem.
"How important is that to us? We do a lot of teaching from playbooks. (The Wonderlic test) gives you an indication that there may be a problem here, so let's examine this further."
Former Cincinnati Bengals tight end Pat McInally, who played from 1976-85, reportedly is the only NFL draft prospect ever to score a 50 on the test. McInally went to Harvard. So did quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick, who reportedly scored in the 40s at last year's scouting combine.
The NFL would prefer quarterbacks to score in the 30s (or higher). The 20s are acceptable. The teens would be a red flag on a quarterback's draft stock – but not a fatal flaw.
"Anyone who uses the Wonderlic has to start with the premise that this is a reading comprehension test," Peterson said. "It's not an intelligence, knowledge test. You want to know how a guy learns best. It's usually a combination of reading, visualizing and walking through it."
Just as prospects prepare for the physical drills at the combine, their agents prepare them for the Wonderlic test as well. Many agents provide their players sample tests. Some take them two and three times per day in the weeks leading up to the combine to sharpen reading comprehension against a clock.
It is not known whether Young's inexperienced representation team of family and friends had prepared him for the Wonderlic test he would take at Indianapolis. But the rule of thumb is the more often you take the test, the better you score.
"It's just another piece of the puzzle," Peterson said. "We're not going to get too excited about it. It's not an indication whether a guy can play football or not.
"Some guys over the years have scored well, some not so well. I don't remember what Joe Montana scored, but I do remember he completed a lot of passes."
Young was one of 25 quarterbacks invited to the combine and showed up with an impressive portfolio – the Maxwell, Manning and O'Brien awards plus an All-America certificate.
Young was an early projection as a Top 5 draft pick, so he elected not to participate in any of the on-the-field drills. His participation was limited to the individual player interviews conducted by the teams – and the two Wonderlic tests.
Young's draft stock shined before the combine. It now appears he has some polishing to do before his campus workout in March.
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