North Dakota State QB Coach On Carson Wentz: 'Impressive At Line Of Scrimmage'
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- Carson Wentz has all the tools.
A 6 foot, 5, 240-pound intelligent quarterback who runs a 4.77-40-yard dash. But with just two years of starting QB experience at FBS Divison 1's North Dakota State, question marks about his competition level exist.
North Dakota State quarterbacks coach and 1977 Tampa Bay Buccaneers QB Randy Hedberg says Wentz, a projected top-10 overall pick, is ready for the NFL.
"I think he's gonna be a great fit in the NFL," Hedberg told Michael Barkann and Ike Reese on the 94WIP Mike & Ike Show. "We're a pro style offense. We're under-center. We're a huddle team. We're not a team that looks to the sideline with the quarterback and looks over to the coach on the sideline to get the next play, or looks at different pictures on a board on the sideline. He's been in a huddle and he's commanded a huddle, and he's also commanded at the line of scrimmage."
Listen: North Dakota State QB Coach Randy Hedberg on the 94WIP Mike & Ike Show
Wentz, a 4.0 high-school and college student, scored a 29 on the Wonderlic test -- one point higher than Peyton Manning.
"The impressive thing about Carson Wentz is his ability to process quickly at the line of scrimmage," Hedberg said. "He does that extremely well for us, for the last two years, and I think he's going to be able to do that the next level also."
CBSSports.com ranks Wentz as the No. 2 QB prospect, behind Cal's Jared Goff and his Pac-12 experience. Wentz's FBS track record certainly creates some uncertainty.
"We can compete with a lot of teams at the FBS level," Hedberg said. "We've beaten a lot of teams at the FBS level. His first start in 2014, his first start in college in 2014 was against Iowa State and we won the game 34-14 and he played very well. That was his first college start, at Iowa State.
"This kid is very talented. He was able to pick up the speed of the game. I think he can handle [the NFL]."
The Eagles own pick No. 8 in this year's NFL Draft. Will Wentz make it there?
"I don't think so," Hedberg said. "I would think Philadelphia would have to climb."
