Chris Simms 22 Texas 2 QB PLAYER AGE SCHOOL NO. POSITION

Height  6'5" Weight  225 lbs. Year  Senior 2002 stats  92-164, 1,161 yards, 10 TDs, 3 INTs Career stats  392-679, 5,051 yards, 42 TDs, 22 INTs

QB SPECIFICS Arm Strength A Chris has a pro arm and has had it since he came to Texas. Watching him makes you envious of the gifts he has, and he has improved them during his career. His arm is without a doubt one of the two or three strongest in college. Escape Ability C+ This is not his game and Chris has average escape ability. He will have to learn to do it like Dan Marino did, to be able to handle the pocket with his brain rather than his feet. It's not that Chris is a standing target, but he is so focused on throwing the ball that he doesn't flash early or easily. Quick Set Up B This is something Chris need to work on. His set up is above average but needs to improve. He has gotten better over the years but still has a little way to go. Accuracy Long A Chris throws a wonderful deep ball. Beautiful to watch. He throws all different kinds of balls, from the high, deep lob to the rocket ball on an angle, and I have not seen anyone better with the deep throws in a long time. Accuracy Short B+ This is an area in which Chris seems to be hot and cold. He is a streaky thrower and when he is on his game he can throw the ball through small seams and carve teams up, but then he gets in a streak where he throws three or four in a row that you know can be better. This is affected by his confidence level, but is better this year because he finally knows this is his team and will continue to improve as he becomes more comfortable being the man. Locate 2nd Receiver B Chris is as smart as they come and he knows how to play the game. At Texas the offense runs the ball first and then throws deep, so he doesn't have to make all the intricate reads that some QBs do in five receiver sets. Chris is very good at coming down to the secondary receiver, but he has not yet learned to progress from one half of the field to the other. This is an area he can continue to improve on. Running Ability B+ Chris is fast, strong and tough but he doesn't run a lot because he is not called on to do it often. This is not a phase of his game that is going to scare anyone but it doesn't need to. Quickness of Delivery A- I wouldn't call his the quickest delivery and this is something Chris can improve on. He has the ball in the proper position and seems to know where it is going, and a lot of times quickness of delivery means knowing when and where to throw the ball, so he is fine there. For a big tall guy like Chris the delivery seems slower than it really is. Judgment B+ The only times I get to see Chris are in the big games, and his performance there has always been the biggest hurdle for him. That has been a product of having Major Applewhite behind him more than anything else, and Chris will tell you himself that occasionally he gets too aggressive and tries to do too much. This is still work in progress and he will get better. Poise A Because of what he has had to go through in his career there is no one in college football with more poise. Chris wants to be great and is putting in the necessary work. It has not been easy for him, but he had never pointed a finger at anyone else and never backed away from the challenges in front of him. This may be what puts Chris over the top, not only as a quarterback but as a man. You cannot be more impressed with that part of his game.

SUMMARY Chris has been in a challenging situation throughout his career. Even though his talent was obvious from the moment he set foot on campus, he had to play three years in the shadow of a very successful player in Major Applewhite. So I don't know if he ever felt comfortable as the starter, even though he would be the unquestioned leader for about 100 other Division I schools. There is no doubt it affected his team because it affected his confidence. But the sky is the limit for this guy. It has been a tough road for him considering the pressure of the position and who his father his, but Chris has improved every year of his career and I expect that we will see as much improvement from him in the last half of this year as we have seen in the previous 3 1/2 years.

Former NFL quarterback Gary Danielson is a college football analyst for ABC Sports.