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Published: Thursday, April 26, 2007
Teams showing interest in Washington's Stanback
By Scott M. Johnson
Herald Writer
SEATTLE - Within seconds of his arrival at the University of Washington's Dempsey Center for a Thursday workout, Isaiah Stanback was greeted by a pair of curious well-wishers.
They asked the former UW quarterback if he was excited about this weekend's NFL draft. They asked him if he had any preferences as far as which team drafted him.
And then they asked him a question he's heard all too often as of late: "How's the foot?"
The foot.
Sometimes it seems like Stanback's right foot has received as much interest as any injured body part since Nancy Kerrigan's knee.
"I hear it a lot," Stanback said. "It's good that people are interested. It shows that people care."
Whether he's walking around the UW campus, hanging out in the other parts of his Seattle hometown, or talking to personnel people for the upcoming NFL draft, Stanback knows that the question is coming.
And so this is what he says, much like he did to the interested parties at the Dempsey Center one day ago: "It's coming along."
Since undergoing surgery to repair an injury known as Lisfranc, Stanback has been as interested as anyone to see how his foot recovers.
He's also interested to see how the injury will affect him in this weekend's NFL draft.
"It's really up in the air," he said. "A lot of people are saying early fourth (round), but I believe third.
"There are a lot of teams showing interest. Teams are competing. And when teams compete, you go higher."
Asked where he would have expected to go had it not been for the October injury, Stanback said: "I'd have gone in the first. We would have had a great season, I would have been able to run at the (NFL) combine and get all my (40) times. But now I just have to get healthy and make my impact in the league."[/B]
The standard recovery time for Lisfranc - the injury involves a fracture and dislocation in one of the foot's most important joints - is eight to 12 months. That would put the former UW quarterback back on the field in June at the earliest, but could keep him out until a month into the regular season. While Stanback just started jogging last month and has recently incorporated sprints into his daily workouts, he believes that the June target is a realistic one.
"My doctor says I'll be ready to do everything in June," said Stanback, who had three screws removed from the foot six weeks ago. "That's eight months (out from the surgery), and so far everything has been going real well."
But the question is not when Stanback thinks he'll be ready, but when NFL teams think he will be ready.
And, perhaps more important, how much they believe the injury will affect him.
Early mock drafts had him going on the second day of the draft - in the fourth, fifth or sixth rounds. He was generally regarded as anywhere from the seventh- to the 10th-best quarterback prospect available.
But lately Stanback's name has come up as a possible third-round pick.
"There's a lot of buzz on the guy," Seahawks team president Tim Ruskell said last week. "He's such a good athlete."
Stanback has so much athleticism that several teams have inquired about using him as a multi-positional player as he learns to play NFL quarterback. His agent compiled a highlight DVD that includes some of his play as a sophomore wide receiver, while teams also think he can contribute on special teams.
"My whole thing is that all I ask for is an opportunity to play the (quarterback) position," he said. "As long as I feel like I'm getting the opportunity, I'll help out anywhere. I feel like I'm a team player, and I'd rather be on the field helping out at wide receiver or on special teams than learning to play QB while sitting on the bench.
"... If I go out there and try, and I fail at it, then that's on me. But I just want the opportunity."
The most intriguing question, of course, involves Stanback's foot. The NFL is an impatient league, so teams will want his services as soon as possible.
Stanback isn't a very patient man, either. He started lifting weights for his upper body while still on crutches shortly after suffering the Lisfranc injury in a loss to Oregon State in October.
"I had to take out the aggression somehow," he said.
Stanback said he doesn't mind playing through pain - he admitted Thursday that he almost got held out of that Oregon State game because of a hernia and hip flexor - but he will be careful not to come back too soon.
"My health is my first concern," he said. "I'm not about re-injuring it. And I'm pretty sure that whoever gets me doesn't want me to get halfway there and injure it again."
Stanback doesn't know when he'll be back, or when he'll hear his name called this weekend, but he's pretty certain that he'll be playing in the NFL soon.
"I'm going to work my butt off to be the best," he said, "and then I'm going to keep working harder.
"Whoever drafts me, they're going to be happy."
http://www.heraldnet.com/stories/07/04/26/100spo_d1stan001.cfm
Teams showing interest in Washington's Stanback
By Scott M. Johnson
Herald Writer
SEATTLE - Within seconds of his arrival at the University of Washington's Dempsey Center for a Thursday workout, Isaiah Stanback was greeted by a pair of curious well-wishers.
They asked the former UW quarterback if he was excited about this weekend's NFL draft. They asked him if he had any preferences as far as which team drafted him.
And then they asked him a question he's heard all too often as of late: "How's the foot?"
The foot.
Sometimes it seems like Stanback's right foot has received as much interest as any injured body part since Nancy Kerrigan's knee.
"I hear it a lot," Stanback said. "It's good that people are interested. It shows that people care."
Whether he's walking around the UW campus, hanging out in the other parts of his Seattle hometown, or talking to personnel people for the upcoming NFL draft, Stanback knows that the question is coming.
And so this is what he says, much like he did to the interested parties at the Dempsey Center one day ago: "It's coming along."
Since undergoing surgery to repair an injury known as Lisfranc, Stanback has been as interested as anyone to see how his foot recovers.
He's also interested to see how the injury will affect him in this weekend's NFL draft.
"It's really up in the air," he said. "A lot of people are saying early fourth (round), but I believe third.
"There are a lot of teams showing interest. Teams are competing. And when teams compete, you go higher."
Asked where he would have expected to go had it not been for the October injury, Stanback said: "I'd have gone in the first. We would have had a great season, I would have been able to run at the (NFL) combine and get all my (40) times. But now I just have to get healthy and make my impact in the league."[/B]
The standard recovery time for Lisfranc - the injury involves a fracture and dislocation in one of the foot's most important joints - is eight to 12 months. That would put the former UW quarterback back on the field in June at the earliest, but could keep him out until a month into the regular season. While Stanback just started jogging last month and has recently incorporated sprints into his daily workouts, he believes that the June target is a realistic one.
"My doctor says I'll be ready to do everything in June," said Stanback, who had three screws removed from the foot six weeks ago. "That's eight months (out from the surgery), and so far everything has been going real well."
But the question is not when Stanback thinks he'll be ready, but when NFL teams think he will be ready.
And, perhaps more important, how much they believe the injury will affect him.
Early mock drafts had him going on the second day of the draft - in the fourth, fifth or sixth rounds. He was generally regarded as anywhere from the seventh- to the 10th-best quarterback prospect available.
But lately Stanback's name has come up as a possible third-round pick.
"There's a lot of buzz on the guy," Seahawks team president Tim Ruskell said last week. "He's such a good athlete."
Stanback has so much athleticism that several teams have inquired about using him as a multi-positional player as he learns to play NFL quarterback. His agent compiled a highlight DVD that includes some of his play as a sophomore wide receiver, while teams also think he can contribute on special teams.
"My whole thing is that all I ask for is an opportunity to play the (quarterback) position," he said. "As long as I feel like I'm getting the opportunity, I'll help out anywhere. I feel like I'm a team player, and I'd rather be on the field helping out at wide receiver or on special teams than learning to play QB while sitting on the bench.
"... If I go out there and try, and I fail at it, then that's on me. But I just want the opportunity."
The most intriguing question, of course, involves Stanback's foot. The NFL is an impatient league, so teams will want his services as soon as possible.
Stanback isn't a very patient man, either. He started lifting weights for his upper body while still on crutches shortly after suffering the Lisfranc injury in a loss to Oregon State in October.
"I had to take out the aggression somehow," he said.
Stanback said he doesn't mind playing through pain - he admitted Thursday that he almost got held out of that Oregon State game because of a hernia and hip flexor - but he will be careful not to come back too soon.
"My health is my first concern," he said. "I'm not about re-injuring it. And I'm pretty sure that whoever gets me doesn't want me to get halfway there and injure it again."
Stanback doesn't know when he'll be back, or when he'll hear his name called this weekend, but he's pretty certain that he'll be playing in the NFL soon.
"I'm going to work my butt off to be the best," he said, "and then I'm going to keep working harder.
"Whoever drafts me, they're going to be happy."
http://www.heraldnet.com/stories/07/04/26/100spo_d1stan001.cfm
