Stafford, Sanchez mum on draft status

Jan 2, 2009 - 5:31 AM By Jim Ralabate PA SportsTicker College Football Editor

Matthew Stafford and Mark Sanchez both could potentially make millions of dollars in the NFL next season.

But, as both quarterbacks pointed out, playing in college sure is fun.

Stafford and Sanchez, two of college football's highest-touted quarterbacks, both enjoyed outstanding bowl performances on New Year's Day to undoubtedly improve their respective stock in next April's NFL draft.

The only question remaining is: will either Stafford or Sanchez pass up NFL riches for one more year of college stardom?

"It's going to be an extremely hard decision for me," Stafford said after throwing three second-half touchdowns in Georgia's 24-12 Capital One Bowl victory over Michigan State. "My time at Georgia has been great and it's been an awesome time. It's something that I am contemplating."

Hours after throwing four TDs in Southern Cal's 38-24 rout of Penn State in the Rose Bowl, Sanchez also sounded torn about his future.

"I'm excited that I have a great coach to talk about it with," he said. "He's the one who has brought up everything to me, and he'll give me all the right information. But it's going to be hard to say good-bye to this place. I don't think I can do it."

Projected by some as a potential No. 1 overall selection in the 2009 draft, Stafford delivered a performance that epitomized his entire up-and-down career at Georgia.

After essentially sleep-walking in a first half chock full of errant throws and questionable decisions, Stafford rebounded in the second half, making plays that no other college quarterback can make.

The most impressive play gave Georgia the lead for good late in the third quarter. With the Bulldogs facing a 6-3 deficit from Michigan State's 35-yard line, Stafford pump-faked to his left as he stared down a blitz.

Then, with a defender bearing down on him, Stafford zipped a side-arm throw over the middle that hit Michael Moore in stride for a touchdown.

Stafford also showed off his passing touch and accuracy, especially on the 21-yard TD lob to Knowshon Moreno that sealed the victory for the Bulldogs.

The 6-4 Dallas native, who improved to 3-0 in bowl games and has every NFL scout drooling, has only two weeks to make a decision on his future. The deadline for underclassmen to declare for the NFL draft is January 15.

"Obviously, there is the lure of the NFL," Stafford said. "But to tell you the truth, I am 50-50 right now and I really don't know what I want to do.

"I love playing for Georgia, and it has been an outstanding time. I am going to take this next couple of days - it's really not too much time - to think about it and figure out what I want to do."

Although his arm is not as strong as Stafford's, the 6-3 Sanchez has wowed NFL teams with his mobility and downfield accuracy - two attributes that repeatedly were on display in the Rose Bowl.

Facing one of the top defenses in the Big Ten, Sanchez had his way with the Nittany Lions, completing eight passes of 20 yards or more.

The California native punctuated his Rose Bowl MVP performance by rolling right to evade a blitz and lofting a perfectly-placed 45-yard TD to Ronald Johnson, giving USC a 38-14 lead in the fourth quarter.

Sanchez claimed that he has not given much thought to the prospect of skipping his senior season at USC.

"I haven't thought about it," said Sanchez, who passed for a career-high 413 yards Thursday. "I'm going to celebrate this victory first and worry about it somewhere down the line."

"We'll go through it and really take our time doing it," USC coach Pete Carroll added. "This should not be an emotional decision. We have to get away from the emotion to make sure we make a very clear-cut decision for him."

Judging from their words Thursday, that decision is not clear-cut for either quarterback.

But several NFL teams (see: Detroit Lions, Kansas City Chiefs, San Francisco 49ers) are hoping that Stafford and Sanchez ultimately choose NFL playbooks over college textbooks.