The 2012 NFL Draft’s Mr. Irrelevant Is….

You know everybody has been talking about the #1 overall pick in the 2012 NFL Draft Stanford (now Indianapolis Colts) QB Andrew Luck for god knows how long. Sure he put up impressive numbers during his time at Stanford, sure he came close to winning Heisman trophies, and he was taken #1 overall in the draft. 

But did he get a parade dedicated to him, a week vacation to Newport Beach, California, an invitation to a golf tournament, a shiny new trophy, or even a trip to Disneyland for being taken #1 overall? Nope, that goes to his teammate and fellow QB Chandler Harnish from Northern Illinois University, the 253rd pick overall and this year’s Mr. Irrelevant. 

During his 4-year career with the NIU Huskies, Mr. Harnish played in 47 games, starting in all of them. He threw 687 completions out of 1110 attempts for 8,944 yards, 68 touchdowns, and 26 interceptions and a career QB rating of 145.1. Harnish also rushed the football 538 times for 2983 and 24 touchdowns, including rushing for 1,351 yards and 11 scores in 2011 alone. However due to playing for a ‘small school’ in a ‘weak conference’, those numbers are overlooked by many NFL scouts and he plummeted down all the way to 253.

So what if Mr. Harnish was taken 253rd overall, so what if he has to sit behind the Colts’ new  ‘Golden Boy’ QB, so what if he came from a weaker conference. All that means is that he has less pressure to worry about being a franchise’s savior and he can go in and do what he does best: play football to his fullest extent. And when Andrew Luck gets smacked around and needs to be taken out for a few games (which won’t be a surprise at this point for a struggling rebuilding team), Mr. Harnish will get his chance to come and work his magic. But for now while Andrew Luck is worrying about the pressure of being a franchise's savior, Chandler Harnish will be chilling at Disneyland, get his own parade dedicated to him, and be living life for he is this year's Mr. Irrelevant of the 2012 NFL Draft. 


- Ryan Fox

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