Done on 11-7-02
Background- Byron Leftwich was born on January 14th 1980 to Brenda Leftwich. He went to high school at H.D. Woodson in Washington D.C. He played Basketball, Baseball, and Football there. As a freshman at Marshall Byron was the backup QB. His best game of the year was vs. Bowling Green where he went 5 for 5. In 1999 he received a medical red-shirt due to an ankle injury. Byron became the starting QB at Marshall in 2000. In 2001 Byron put together the best single-season for a quarterback in Mid-American Conference history. As a senior Byron is a leading candidate for the Heisman trophy.
Positives- Byron is a very accurate passer evident by his 66.8% accuracy. I also think he has very good touch on his short passes. I don't think Leftwich will have a problem picking up a pro offense, since he understands the Marshall offense very well. I also like Byron's leadership ability. His teammates believe in him, and know if they are in a tough situation that their QB can get them through it. Although Byron missed the 1999 season with an ankle injury, I don't think he will be injury concern since he gets up after some big hits. One last thing you have to like about this QB is his very strong arm. His arm strength will allow him to throw any pass.
Negatives- There are not many negatives with Byron. That being said I would like to see him work on his mechanics. He also does not have Michael Vick type speed, but most QB's don't.
What Others Are Saying-
Mel Kiper, Jr. of ESPN said...
"Leftwich has huge, Daunte Culpepper-like size at 6-foot-5½, 240 pounds. He also has a great arm. He needs to develop a little more touch, but last season he completed 67 percent of his passes and was second nationally to David Carr with 4,132 passing yards and 38 touchdown passes compared to only seven interceptions. Next season he is primed for another huge season because all of his receivers and running backs return. Leftwich could be in the mix as the No. 1 overall pick. He is a better NFL prospect than former Marshall quarterback Chad Pennington, a first-round pick of the New York Jets in 2000."
Redskins coach Steve Spurrier said...
"Byron is a big time quarterback who will obviously go down in the Marshall record books as one of the best. I think his talents will enable him to be a very effective NFL quarterback in the future."
Midterm Judgment- I think Byron Leftwich is the number one QB, although Dave Ragone is a close second. Leftwich could fit in with almost any offense, although the West Coast offense may be better off with a more mobile QB. I would take him in the top 5 of the draft although I don't think he is worth the #1 pick at this time.
I would like to thank Marshall University for the information, and photo's they provided.
