2003 NFL Draft Recap – Cal Players Taken

Hey all,

To celebrate the week leading up to the NFL Draft, I've decided to take my loyal readers down memory lane and revisit the last 5 NFL Drafts and see how it's worked out for the Cal players selected, and the teams who were lucky or unlucky enough to select them.

We're going to kick it off by looking at the 2003 NFL Draft.

1^st Round

19. Baltimore - Kyle Boller QB

Ahh yes, Kyle Boller. The QB who struggled, along with the rest of the team for his first 3 years, before getting a major career overhaul with the arrival of Tedford in the 2002 season. His breakout season in 2002 (2,815 yards, 28 TDs, 10 INT, and a 126.8 QB rating) helped him to break the school career TD record at 64 TDs, and put him in second on the all time career passing yard record at 7,980 yards.

His strong senior year and the much publicized pro day work out in which he threw a football through the uprights on the 50 yard line on his knees propelled Boller to the top of the draft at the 19^th overall spot, the second QB taken behind Heisman winner and 1^st overall pick Carson Palmer.

Boller started the first 9 games of his rookie season, going 5-3 before his season ending thigh injury. He saw more improvement in his 2004 season, beginning to settle into a starting QB role in the NFL. The next few years would be best described by the following 3 words: injury, mediocrity, and inconsistency. Boller would proceed to miss more games with various injuries, and would finish seasons with nearly even TD-INT ratios. Boller’s QB ratings would range from those as high as 136.8 to numbers much much lower than that * COUGH 3.5 *.

Since then, Boller’s most noteworthy achievements have been dating Tara Reid and…not much else.

Boller lost his starting job to Steve McNair in 2007, and has filled in a bit during the Ravens’ 08 season with McNair battling injuries, and filled in admirably albeit unspectacularly.

With the Ravens being incredibly public about the fact that they hope to snatch up Matt Ryan in the 8^th spot of this year’s draft as their quarterback of the future, Boller has pretty much transitioned from the “the verdict is still out on him” QB to the “First Round Bust” category. Don’t get me wrong, I still think the guy has talent, and may see some success as a backup in the near future, but it’s going to be hard for him to establish himself as a premier QB moving forward. He should still get a pretty decent shot this year, as his only competition at the starting QB spot will be Heisman winner Troy Smtih, and whoever the Ravens snatch up in the draft this year, unless they acquire a veteran QB.

In a more interesting note, one of my friends lived in the same exact apartment that Boller lived in before graduating. She would still get some of his mail years for years after. While she claims to have never opened any of his mail, I would have killed for a Kyle Boller credit card.

31. Oakland - Nnamdi Asomugha CB

Nnamdi Asomugha (pronounced /NAM-Dee Aso-MU-Wah/) began his career at Cal as a free safety before moving to the cornerback position, a position he would keep into the pros. One of the biggest cornerbacks in the 2003 draft, at 6’2 and 213 lbs, Nnamdi was a first round pick based off his safety-type toughness and superior speed. He exhibited very raw talent, and got immediate playing time as a rookie, and has proceeded to play in nearly every game since then.

Nnamdi had a breakout season in 2006, propelling himself to the elite tier of NFL cover cornerbacks, registering 8 interceptions (returning 1 for a TD), 18 pass breakups, along with 51 tackles, a sack, and a forced fumble. Geez.

Teams began looking away from Nnamdi’s side of the field, which contributed to him having a quieter 2007 season. The Raiders placed the franchise tag on him in February, and with the recent signing of DeAngelo Hall, he and Hall are expected to be the premier defensive back duo in the NFL for the upcoming year. The Raiders will probably still suck though.

6^th Round

11. (184 Overall) St. Louis - Scott Tercero G

Scott Tercero missed his entire rookie year with a knee injury. He returned in the 2004 season to play an important role filling in for the Rams’ decimated offensive line that year. Tercero played eight games during that season, starting in four of them, filling in first for Kyle Turley at the right tackle spot, and later for an injured Chris Dishman. Injuries struck Tercero again, as he was placed on the injury reserve later in the season on November 16^th with shoulder and wrist injuries.

In somewhat of a surprising move, he Tercero was released the following summer. It was surprising considering how Tercero had emerged as a legitimate candidate to start at the left guard or right tackle spot. The Rams site reported: “Tercero had lost considerable weight after being injured, and was unable to put those pounds back on. Without the ability to gain the weight in time for camp, Tercero was given his release.”

7^th Round

25. (239 Overall) New England - Tully Banta-Cain DE

First off, because he has one of the coolest names ever, and the fact that it’s fairly long, I’m going to refer to Banta-Cain as Tully for the rest of my write up on him. Tully came in to Cal as a linebacker, but made the switch to defensive end, before eventually switching back to the linebacker spot in the pros.

Some draft reports had him projected as high as a 3^rd round pick, but he eventually fell to the 7^th round. This proved to be blessing though, as he ended up with one of the best NFL franchises in the Patriots.

Played consistently in a reserve role and on special teams in all 4 seasons with the Patriots, but it wasn’t until the 2006 season that he started (in 5 games), filling in for Junior Seau after Seau went down with a season ending arm injury. Tully went from a situational pass-rusher to showing that he could be productive as a starting outside linebacker. He went on to register 43 tackles that year (31 solo) and 5.5 sacks. Taking advantage of the solid numbers he put in the last year on his contract, Tully signed with the 49ers for the 2007 season, and put up comparable numbers at 41 tackles (30 solo) and 3.5 sacks.

Tully has an explosive first step, and good speed and range, but must continue to be more instinctive and improve his overall consistency.

Alrite, that about wraps it up for 2003, so check out the site in the next few days for the next few years.