| Chiefnj2 |
12-09-2012 09:56 PM |
There's little doubt that University of Tennessee junior quarterback Tyler Bray has the physical skills to have a productive National Football League career.
At 6-6, 215 pounds, he has one of the strongest arms in college football. And no one has disputed his courage in playing hurt.
But what can be called into question - once again - is his lack of judgment and a tendency for his focus to wander at the worst of times.
It's happened several times off the field, twice this past summer when Bray and a friend vandalized two cars at an apartment complex where he was living by throwing beer bottles and golf balls from a balcony.
He was also ticketed for recklessly operating a jet ski on July 4.
College athletes - no, make that mostly college football players - sometimes have a tendency to think they are bulletproof, maybe because of the physical nature of the sport and the perceived Big Man on Campus status.
A few players think they aren't subject to laws, rules or using common sense.
Bray's latest brain cramp came after the Vols' 41-31 loss at Mississippi State last Saturday to fall to 3-3 overall and 0-3 in the Southeastern Conference. Upset by criticism on Twitter, Bray tweeted: "We got some bandwagon fans. Hopefully my apt. isn't egged."
One of Bray's friends, Georgia quarterback Aaron Murray, found his house egged and rolled a couple of weeks ago after the Bulldogs lost to South Carolina. Murray also discovered that day that his father was diagnosed with thyroid cancer. But a poised Murray never took a shot back at the fans in any form of media.
Bray deleted his tweet and issued a Twitter apology on Sunday, saying he was frustrated by the loss and added publicly on Tuesday that "it's been two weeks in a row we could have won, and I was just frustrated."
Tennessee third-year coach Derek Dooley, as he has with Bray's other incidents, gave his only viable quarterback the benefit of the doubt.
"It is classic impulse control, when you are angry, lonely, tired, hurt," Dooley said of Bray's tweet. "It could have been a good tweet if he had left out the first part. He should have just said, 'I hope my house doesn't get egged tonight.' It could have been kind of funny."
What's not funny is the lack of maturity in a 21-year-old who has started 18 college games as a quarterback, who still reacts with thin skin and who has a head coach who basically dismisses it.
It shouldn't be a big deal. But little things add up when you're losing and can't stop.
Quarterbacks are supposed to be leaders, supposed to set the example on and off the field. If a quarterback can't keep focus and discipline off the field in the offseason, or after a tough loss, can his teammates count on him when games are on the line?
Apparently not, since Bray is 4-6 in 10 career starts in SEC games. In the fourth quarter of those league contests, he has completed just 45 percent of his passes - 40-of-89 - for 489 yards, four interceptions and three TDs while being sacked four times.
Bray has lost six of his last seven SEC starts. This season, he has completed just 9-of-27 passes for 120 yards, two interceptions and lost a fumble in the fourth quarters of losses to Florida, Georgia and Mississippi State.
But it's all great with Dooley, because it has to be. He doesn't have another QB with Bray's raw skills, and Dooley, with a 4-15 career record in SEC play and 0-13 vs. ranked teams, needs every win he can get to save his job.
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