By Ernie Gonzalez — Executive Editor
Joe. Justin. Jordan. Jalen. Jake. Jacob. Beautiful isn’t it? A quarterback draft class and most of their names begin with the same letter.
Something is not right. Someone’s left out. And quite honestly, it’s disrespectful.
Josh, yes a name that obviously starts with a “J” as well. So throw that name in the club.
Whether the letter “J” stands for jackpot or joke is to be determined, but San Jose State quarterback Josh Love’s name needs a larger dose of respect next to it.
I’m not stupid. These are multi-million dollar decisions that are going to be made by NFL executives over the next couple of days. There is less of a risk factor with Power-5 signal-callers.
To simplify it, here is the formula. Big-time quarterback plus primetime program equals first-round fireworks.
That’s the category that Burrow, Tagovailoa, Herbert, Hurts, Fromm and Eason fit into.
But what about big-time quarterbacks and not-so primetime programs?
Well, Jordan Love, Utah State’s glamour boy whose name continues to strike sleeper headlines, has gotten so much praise that it’s a shame to call him underrated.
“Jordan is getting a lot of attention because he went to the combine and performed well, but as far as I know, Josh Love was the all-conference quarterback in the Mountain West,” SJSU head coach Brent Brennan told ABC 7’s Dustin Dorsey this week.
Everyone is overlooking Josh now. And yes, Josh and Jordan both competed in the Mountain West, obviously a non-power-5 conference.
Of course, there are a handful of other Group-of-5 quarterbacks that deserve more attention too, but as everyone knows this is a stacked QB class.
Certainly, Jordan is a polarizing prospect. In 2018, his touchdown-to-interception ratio was a ridiculous 32-6 while he led the Aggies to a team-record 11 wins and No. 22 final ranking in the AP poll.
Granted, Josh never put the Spartans back on the top-25 map like they last were in 2012, but while fully healthy his senior season, he did help turn around a gritty SJSU team that won three combined games from 2017-18 to five alone last year.
But Josh was awarded Mountain West Player of the Year in 2019. He has more experience. He’s been in college since 2015. He’s a former walk-on. He’s adapted not just different offensive coordinators, but a pair of head coaches. He also edged Jordan in QB rating 141-129 last season.
“I absolutely believe in Josh Love,” Brennan told ABC 7’s Dustin Dorsey. “He’s a fantastic young man and what a great player. I think that he’s one of those guys that you have to believe in because he found a way to persevere and get better every year.”
To any NFL general manager, a non-Power-5 quarterback is high-risk, high-reward. According to experts, Jordan will be a late Day 1, early Day 2 selection while Josh is a Day 3 take at best.
No, Josh probably will not play a snap next season in the NFL, but just take a look at some depth charts and there are significant gaps around the league behind center.
The Bears, the Patriots, the Falcons or even the Texans — who have drafted Spartans in two of the previous four years on the third day — might not be out of the question.
Josh’s former teammate Bailey Gaither, who will play his sixth season with the Spartans as a graduate student predicts Josh will land a very notorious position in the draft order.
“Sixth round … 199th [overall],” Gaither told The Spear Wednesday.
For background, Tom Brady was selected 199th overall in the sixth round in the 2000 NFL Draft. Love replicates a lot of his game from the six-time Super Bowl champion.
Assuming Gaither is a wizard and Love does end up going 199th, he would land in Los Angeles as a member of the Rams. That’s just 45 minutes from where he grew up in Mission Viejo, Calif.
Listen. Outside of San Jose, Josh Love is just a name. A name that starts with the letter “J” and sounds cute. But the guy is a stud.
Josh is experienced. He’s a fighter, leader and a student of the game. Heck, he told me last October he doesn’t have a TV. He’s an iPad Pro film junkie.
The Spear has covered nearly his entire collegiate playing career. Not drafting someone because he wasn’t on national TV enough or because he plays for one of those California schools that puts the word ‘state’ at the end of a city is a travesty.
It’s like crumpling up the man’s resumé.
So for all that noise, or lack thereof around Josh, he has sure tuned out. Even without a combine invite he controlled what he could. Guess the SJSU numbers and accolades will have to do the talking for him, which I’m sure if you ask him, he wouldn’t mind.
He’ll take it.
Going into the NFL Draft, Josh will be self-quarantined just like the rest of us. Isolated, waiting on a ringtone and wondering what the future holds.
Follow Ernie on Twitter @superego1012