VAUGHT: Woodson's slide upsets Brooks

Kentucky Sports Report's Larry Vaught recently spoke with Kentucky football coach Rich Brooks regarding the significant drop in the draft status of Kentucky's star quarterback Andre Woodson. Brooks had no problem expressing his opinion on the matter.

Rich Brooks didn’t have any trouble describing his mood Sunday when he watched quarterback Andre Woodson not get drafted until the sixth round by the New York Giants.

“Angry and disappointed,” Brooks said when describing his mood. “I have no comprehension of it. I told Andre today that was another quarterback taken in the same round named Tom Brady and another quarterback (Ryan Leaf) that year got picked second overall and is not in the league.

“You have no idea what goes through people’s minds. But to ignore what he did and the accomplishments he had in this league (Southeastern Conference) and have him fall where he fell amongst other quarterbacks makes no sense to me.”

Brooks should know. Not only did he watch Woodson lead UK to back-to-back bowl wins, but he also was head coach of the St. Louis Rams and defensive coordinator with the Atlanta Falcons. So he obviously knows big-time talent.

“The quarterback position is a different position than others. Every team will not take a quarterback,” Brooks said. “I think he was the 12th quarterback taken. The difference between the 12th quarterback and the 12th receiver or offensive tackle is probably two, three or four rounds.

“It is just too bad somebody out there had some things they felt he would have a hard time making the transition to the NFL. I would say it is a bunch of baloney and I told Andre that.”

However, Brooks says not to write off Woodson yet.

“The good news is he had a chance to prove everybody wrong. He was drafted and is on a team. Now he can just prove all the doubters wrong just like he did here at Kentucky,” Brooks said.