Brad Kaaya’s accuracy might be an issue for at least one NFL personnel executive, but it was no issue in the State Farm All-Star Football Challenge. The former Miami quarterback, who entered the 2017 NFL Draft as an underclassman, won the accuracy competition among several top college quarterbacks on an ESPN broadcast at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.
Kaaya struck six stationary targets from varying distances in 19.5 seconds to win the competition, with Texas A&M’s Trevor Knight finishing second at 23 seconds. Other quarterbacks competing included Iowa’s C.J. Beathard, Texas Tech’s Patrick Mahomes, Western Michigan’s Zach Terrell and Cal’s Davis Webb.
Kaaya earned $5,000 as the winner of one of four individual competitions, but now he’ll look to make serious money by impressing NFL scouts at the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis next month. Kaaya said he’s already looking forward to interviewing with NFL clubs.
"I’ve played in a pro-style scheme, I’ve played in a spread scheme, I went back to a multiple scheme this year, and it’s taught me a lot," Kaaya told ESPN. " … it taught me a lot of checks that I think will help me at the next level. It’s taught me a lot of schemes and checks, even protections that will help me at the next level. I think in interviews coming up, I’ll be able to show my stuff."
Here are five other things we learned from the skills challenge:
2. Perine on percussion. Oklahoma RB Samaje Perine can play more than football — he can play the drums, as well.
"I’ve been playing the drums longer than I’ve been playing football. I started when I was 4 or 5, started playing in church, and it’s stuck with me throughout the years," Perine said. "Back in Norman, I have a small electric drum set. I can’t get an acoustic one — it’s too loud for the apartment."
Here’s guessing Perine’s residence as an NFL rookie will have more than enough privacy for a real drum set. Perine won the obstacle course competition with a time of 26.5 seconds, beating out FSU’s Dalvin Cook, Temple’s Haason Reddick, Northwestern’s Anthony Walker, UCLA’s Takkarist McKinley and Missouri’s Charles Harris.
3. Talib wants do-over. Denver Broncos CB Aqib Talib was one of six NFL players who served as team captains in the competition. As captains and their teams played in corresponding college conferences, Talib, of Kansas, was captain of the Big 12 team. In a reflective moment about his draft preparation, he lamented how he handled combine interviews.
"The verbal part, the questions coaches ask you, that’s super-important. I probably went in there and was too honest. They would ask me something like, ‘If you’re walking with your mother and someone pushes her, what are you going to do?’ I’m like, ‘Knock him out’," Talib said. "I was too honest — they just want to see what kind of personality you have. If I could go back … I would have taken the verbal part more seriously."
4. Winners: Wormley, Westbrook. Michigan’s Chris Wormley and Oklahoma’s Dede Westbrook won the lineman challenge and the hands competition, respectively, to take home $5,000 of their own. Wormley navigated the lineman challenge in 22.7 seconds, showing the kind of athleticism that will surely serve him well at the combine. Westbrook, meanwhile, blazed through the hands course in 16.1 seconds to nip Louisiana Tech’s Trent Taylor (16.7).
5. Quotable. "I can throw the football better than Baker (Mayfield) … any day. And I hope he sees this." – Oklahoma WR Dede Westbrook.
6. Conference pride on line. In order to spice up the competition, players were divided into six teams by conference, with each Power Five league fielding a team and a sixth team coming from the Group of Five conferences. A quick look at the rosters:
ACC: FSU RB Dalvin Cook, Miami QB Brad Kaaya, Clemson CB Cordrea Tankersley, Pitt OT Adam Bisnowaty (captain Luke Kuechly)
Big Ten: Iowa QB C.J. Beathard, Northwestern LB Anthony Walker, Michigan WR Amara Darboh, Michigan DE Chris Wormley (captain Melvin Gordon)
Big 12: Texas Tech QB Patrick Mahomes, Oklahoma RB Samaje Perine, Oklahoma State DL Vincent Taylor, Oklahoma WR Dede Westbrook (captain Aqib Talib)
Pac 12: Cal QB Davis Webb, UCLA LB Takkarist McKinley, Pitt DE Elijah Qualls, Washington S Budda Baker (captain DeSean Jackson)
SEC: Texas A&M QB Trevor Knight, Missouri DE Charles Harris, Florida CB Quincy Wilson, Auburn DL Montravius Adams (captain Landon Collins)
Group of Five: Western Michigan QB Zach Terrell, Temple LB Haason Reddick, Western Kentucky OL Forrest Lamp, Louisiana Tech WR Trent Taylor (captain Josh Norman)
Follow Chase Goodbread on Twitter @ChaseGoodbread.
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