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Bucs upgrade competition at QB
Posted: Sunday April 18, 1999 09:01 PM
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) -- Shaun King is the highly regarded quarterback who wasn't taken in the opening round of the NFL draft, the one scouts say has all the qualities of a big-time pro, except size. The former Tulane star doesn't buy the argument, and neither do the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. "There have been a lot of 6-foot quarterbacks in the Super Bowl," coach Tony Dungy said after the Bucs used the 19th pick of the second round -- No. 50 overall -- to select the 6-foot, 221-pound King. "I can think of [Bob] Griese and [Fran] Tarkenton for a couple who are smaller than I am, and they played in a bunch of Super Bowls," said Dungy, a former quarterback who's just over 6-feet tall himself. "So it can be done. I think if you've got a good quarterback, he's going to win for you, whether he's 6-foot or 6-5." King, a life-long Bucs fans who grew up in neighboring St. Petersburg, led Tulane to a 12-0 record despite playing much of last season with a broken left wrist. A highly-accurate passer, he completed 68 percent of his attempts for 3,232 yards and 36 touchdowns. He threw just six interceptions in 12 games, finishing the season with a string of 166 consecutive passes without an interception. Tampa Bay had eyes for Daunte Culpepper and Cade McNown, two of the five quarterbacks taken in the first 12 picks, but was unwilling to pay the price it would have taken to move up from 15th in the draft order to get one of those players. The Bucs coaching staff worked with King during the Senior Bowl in January, and were happy to see him still available in the middle of the second round. The selection, coupled with the trade that brought Eric Zeier from Baltimore to Tampa Bay, sets the stage for better competition for the backup job behind starter Trent Dilfer. King, who broke Danny Wuerffel's NCAA single-season passing efficiency record last season, is comfortable with the fact that it figures to be a while before he figures to play. The Bucs insist they're not ready to give up on an inconsistent Dilfer, who was a Pro Bowl selection two years ago. Zeier is more experienced, too, with 11 starts in five NFL seasons. "The Bucs are a young team. They're talented. They're going up. Only positive things are waiting on the organization," King said. "I just want to fit in. Wherever I fit in, that's where I'll be happy." Despite a disappointing 8-8 finish in 1998, the Bucs are in a position to be patient and not rush King's development. Dungy points out that Peyton Manning had as good a year as any recent rookie quarterback, and Indianapolis only won three games last season. The Bucs were drawn to King's poise, leadership and knack for making big plays in crucial situations. They also liked that he entered losing programs in high school and college and helped turn them around, and that he picked up Tampa Bay's offense quickly during preparation for the Senior Bowl. "All of those things, I think in this day and age, speak a little more highly of how a quarterback's going to do than height, weight, arm strength and that type of thing," Dungy said. "The thing you like is he played in a complicated scheme [at Tulane] where they did a lot of reading of coverages. You like his arm strength ... and he's a very accurate guy," general manager Rich McKay said. "The question mark is always going to be size. Is his size going to effect him? ... We don't think it will be an issue." Neither does King, who also shrugs off questions about the level of competition he faced at Tulane. "I go out and I just try to perform every time I get on the field. And I did that last year," King said. "Every time we went out, we won. You can't ask any more of a quarterback. Wherever people had me rated, that was up to them." King was one of three players the Bucs selected on the first day of the draft, along with first-round pick Anthony McFarland and third-rounder Martin Gramatica. Tampa Bay added six players Sunday, selecting Florida State safety Dexter Jackson in the fourth round, California defensive end John McLaughlin in the fifth and Florida State fullback Lamarr Glenn in the sixth. The team made three picks in the seventh round -- Virginia offensive lineman Robert Hunt, Notre Dame running back Autry Denson and Kansas State receiver Darnell McDonald.
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