Dallas Cowboys Draft: NFL Prospects from the Dallas-Fort Worth Area

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 UNT Prospects: QB Mason Fine

The senior quarterback is the Mean Green’s all-time leading passer in just about every category. So why isn’t he garnering more attention? He’s pretty tiny…

Fine was measured in at 5’9 3/4″ at the Shrine Game, which left me feeling dead inside. For a league that doesn’t often take a chance on undersized quarterbacks, I’m not sure how they would feel about a quarterback who measured in 1.25 inches shorter than his listed height in college.

However, Fine is a bit different from the rest of the pack. While Fine is small in stature, his arm is adequate. Fine can throw the ball deep and has adequate touch, but he lacks the zip necessary to complete some tight window throws. This might be where his height and length let him down a bit. The lack of physical traits affected his accuracy throwing balls too high or a bit short. In his best season Fine completed 65% of his passes. Last season he completed just under 63%.

The 63% was affected by some drops and miscommunication, but to have a middle of the pack completion percentage against some the worse talent the FBS has to offer, there isn’t much of a compelling case to teams looking for his services.  For comparison, Baker Mayfield in his Heisman season completed 70%. Kyler Murray in his only season completed 69% of his passes. Even Gardner Minshew, not necessarily the most athletic of quarterbacks, completed 71% of his passes albeit on a pedestrian 7.2 yards per attempt.

Sure the Big-12 and PAC-12 aren’t conferences known for their elite defenses but there is a big difference between completing 65% of your passes in the Big-12 versus Conference USA and AAC talent.

There is a very real possibility Fine has a successful NFL career, but what are the odds that starts with a team calling his name in April?