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As far as draft prospects in need of a great showing this week at the NFL Scouting Combine, few have situations as similar as Cardale Jones of Ohio State and Christian Hackenberg of Penn State.
At 6-foot-5, 250 pounds, Jones fits the physical profile of an NFL quarterback. He can throw the ball 80 yards and rifle it on a line underneath and to the sideline.
He was undefeated as a starter at the college level and helped his team win a national championship.
But he only started 11 games, and he struggled with consistency and accuracy at times. He also committed 11 turnovers, including five interceptions in the first five games of the 2015 season.
Hackenberg is also blessed with NFL size and arm strength, but he might prefer some of Jones’ potential problems to his own.
There is plenty of tape on the 6-foot-4, 228-pounder, and a lot of it is not good. The best is probably the oldest, too.
He showed exactly why he was a highly regarded prospect as a true freshman starter in 2013, but his results the last two seasons under a new coaching staff in a new scheme left a lot to be desired.
Hackenberg showed some progress last season as a junior, though it probably wasn’t as much as he or anyone else would have liked as the offense was still plagued by poor line play and coordination.
While he cut his interceptions from 15 in 2014 to six last season, his completion percentage also declined from 55.8 to 53.5.
On the bright side, Hackenberg's quarterback rating climbed from 109.4 to 123.9.
And yet his best marks for completion percentage, yards per game, yards per attempt and touchdowns still all came during his freshman season when Bill O'Brien was the head coach of the Nittany Lions.
Mike Mayock of the NFL Network called both Jones and Hackenberg wild cards during a conference call Tuesday to preview the Combine.
"They both scare me because they're really talented, big arm, big-body kids that you want to believe in but the tape is really bad," Mayock said. "So I don't know how long either of them, Hackenberg or Jones, will take to go from where they are today to what you would need in a functional NFL quarterback."
With their uneven tape, Jones and Hackenberg both need to ace the physical tests in Indianapolis to avoid raising any more red flags that could be devastating to their draft stocks.
Unfortunately for fans and media alike, the most interesting information could be revealed behind closed doors, though.
While both are undoubtedly eager to show they really do have first-round talent, their biggest opportunity to answer questions and impress NFL personnel is likely to come in private interviews.
Jones and Hackenberg could both argue they were put in difficult situations last season.
While Hackenberg had to play behind a porous offensive line in a system designed more for a running quarterback, Jones rarely looked comfortable after coach Urban Meyer named him the starter but showed no hesitation in warming up J.T. Barrett at the first sign of trouble last season.
With little to lose and no proven backup during the 2014 postseason, Jones was more effective even against generally tougher competition than he faced as the starter last fall.
Only each player knows how his situation affected him, and both will get the chance to explain that to potential future bosses.
How each performs in chalkboard sessions with pro personnel people could be informative, too.
If they pass those tests, Hackenberg and Jones could shoot up draft boards.
If not, they could be looking at a long wait to hear their names called on draft weekend.
