He may be biased, but former Eastern Illinois head coach Dino Babers thinks Jimmy Garoppolo is "exceptional."
Now the head coach at Syracuse, Babers stopped by ESPN's Mike and Mike show where he was asked about Garoppolo, who will likely start at quarterback for the Patriots while Tom Brady serves a four-game suspension to begin the 2016 season.
"You could see it after five passes. Jimmy Garoppolo was the William Tell, to me, of college football," said Babers, who was at Eastern Illinois for Garoppolo's final two collegiate seasons in 2012 and 2013. "I've never seen a quarterback that could hit exactly what he was throwing at. And I'm not talking about putting it on a guy's body. You put your hand out there, and he's sticking the ball right in the middle of your palm.
"You take that accuracy and you put it with someone that has the second-fastest release I've ever seen -- the only release I've ever seen faster was Dan Marino's . . . second fastest release I've ever seen -- and you got an outstanding quarterback."
That's some pretty lofty company for a player who has thrown just 31 passes during the first two seasons of his NFL career. But Babers has good reason to be a believer in Garoppolo's ability. In Babers' two seasons as head coach, Garoppolo threw for 8,873 yards and a whopping 84 touchdowns, breaking the school mark for career touchdown passes set by Tony Romo.
"Dont' get me wrong," Babers added, "Tom Brady is the best of all the best. And I'm not saying he's going to take Tom's job. I'm just telling you, this young man is exceptional. If Bill Belichick put a second-round draft pick on him, he knows what he's doing."