Beck's stock goes up after strong combine

John Beck's NFL draft stock is rising since the Las Vegas Bowl win over Oregon and his appearance at the NFL combine in Indianapolis this past week.

He is already booking team workouts heading into BYU's Pro Day workouts on March 21 in Provo.

While LSU's Jamarcus Russell and Notre Dame's Brady Quinn are listed among the two top quarterbacks in the draft, Beck is battling Stanford's Trent Edwards and Michigan State's Drew Stanton to be No. 3 or 4.

On Thursday, Beck took time out from a day-filled workout schedule to report on his combine experience.

"There are two things I wanted to really do well in at the combine," said Beck. "I wanted to do well in the interviews and all my throws. I walked away from every interview feeling I'd done my best. On my throws, I think I hit every one of them but my last, and that one kind of slipped out of my hand. It bugged me. But throwing 25 out of 26 isn't too bad when I wanted to be perfect."

Beck had the second-best throwing speed at the combine, a radar measured 61.1 miles an hour. Neither Russell nor Quinn threw at the combine. Since the workouts, Beck has received numerous calls from NFL teams, lining up personal workouts at their expense.

Beck, the MWC Player of the Year, also registered a 4.75 time in the 40-yard dash. According to published reports, Beck was impressive with all his throws, both long and short.

According to Rob Rang of NFLDraftScout.com, "Beck was the most impressive quarterback I viewed inside the RCA Dome on Sunday.

"He has a compact delivery and generates good zip on his passes. He was consistently among the most accurate passers of the Group Four quarterbacks, showing particularly sound velocity on his curls, quick slant and the out routes.

"His deep balls had touch and effectively led the receivers over the outside shoulder towards the sideline and away from where the safety worked."

The SportingNews.com reported, "BYU's John Beck ran a great 40 (4.70) and was the most consistently accurate passer among the quarterbacks. Beck hit all his targets and displayed a quick, compact release. ... "

"I, personally, view him as one of the more underrated players in the draft and one of the few QBs capable of contributing quick," said Rang.