The Skinny on Skelton

Skelton was erratic in his games vs. the Lions


Fordham QB John Skelton is still getting a lot of attention from the NFL Scouts. Columbia's Austin Knowlin even helped Skelton out, (and hopefully turned a few heads himself), during a recent workout for the scouts at Fordham.

My take on Skelton has always been that he's a great kid with a lot of talent, but what the NFL guys like the most about him is his size. He's 6-5 and 241 pounds and in today's NFL, that's what the coaches want to see.

How did Skelton do in his four years against Columbia?

He did some limited duty in his freshman year of 2006 in a game Columbia won by a 37-7 score. Skelton was three of seven for 29 yards and an INT which was returned for a 41-yard TD by Drew Quinn.

Skelton played the whole game at QB the following year, but barely passed the ball at all as the Rams used a brilliant run-heavy game plan to rout the Lions 27-7. Skelton was just four of 15 for 51 yards while running backs Xavier Martin and Jonte Coven combined for nearly 300 yards on the ground.

In the 2008 29-22 win over the Lions, Skelton was 22 of 29 for 285 yards. But he also threw two INT's, (one for another pick six by Quinn), and no TD passes.


Drew Quinn caught two TD passes... from John Skelton!


Last season, Skelton let it all hang out in the thrilling 40-28 Columbia win. He went 25 of 47 for 383 yards and four TD's. But he also threw three INT's, one of which was returned for a TD by Jared Morine, and another one that was nearly returned for a score by Alex Gross.

Skelton certainly showed a lot of ability in his four games against the Lions, but you can see why some NFL scouts are questioning his decision making. He'll certainly have to cut down on the interceptions to make the big time, but we surely wish him the best!