• Originally published August 27, 2010 at 3:06 p.m., updated August 27, 2010 at 4:18 p.m.

Sunday 8-29 release () -

By Rick Gosselin

The Dallas Morning News

(MCT)

GREEN BAY, Wis. - Graham Harrell watched as Kliff Kingsbury, B.J. Symons, Sonnie Cumbie and Cody Hughes all failed to transform magical college careers into NFL success.

All were quarterbacks for Mike Leach at Texas Tech and all generated spectacular statistics, combining to throw 3,927 college passes for 28,231 yards and 220 touchdowns in the 2000 decade. But they also combined to throw just two NFL passes - both by Kingsbury in one 2005 game.

Harrell is hoping his four predecessors at Tech do not have to watch him suffer their same fate.

"Kingsbury, Symons, Cumbie - they were all good players," Harrell said. "For whatever reason, it didn't work out for them (in the NFL). That doesn't mean they couldn't play at this level. That just means they weren't in the right spot at the right time or didn't get the right opportunity.

"I feel I'm now carrying the flag for those guys and for Coach Leach, because I'm the last of the true Leach guys. Hopefully I can make it and give his era some credibility at this level."

Leach and Texas Tech parted ways last December, dropping the curtain on one of the most explosive aerial attacks the NCAA has ever seen. Kingsbury and Symons both passed for 5,000 yards in a season, and Harrell is the only quarterback in NCAA history to do it twice.

Despite leading the NCAA in passing yards (5,017) and touchdowns (45) in 2002, Kingsbury became a lowly sixth-round NFL draft choice by New England in 2003. Despite leading the NCAA in passing yards (5,833) and TDs (52) in 2003, Symons became a lowly seventh-round pick by Houston in 2004.

And despite leading the NCAA in passing yards in both 2007 (5,705) and 2008 (5,111), Harrell went undrafted by the NFL in 2009. NFL talent evaluators dinged him as a system quarterback and questioned his arm strength.

So Harrell spent 2009 in the Canadian Football League but has resurfaced stateside in the camp of the Green Bay Packers. He is the most talented of the Tech passers. If anyone can provide credibility to the program, it's Harrell.

Harrell set NCAA record with his 134 touchdowns. Only Timmy Chang of Hawaii has bettered his 15,793 career passing yards.

Harrell also set NCAA records for completions in a season (512), 400-yard passing games in a season (11) and consecutive games with a touchdown pass (36).

Harrell is running third string on the Packers behind Pro Bowler Aaron Rodgers and Matt Flynn, a seventh-round draft pick in 2008. But Green Bay carried two only quarterbacks last season, so Harrell may be competing for a roster spot this summer that doesn't exist.

"Experience is the biggest thing I need," Harrell said. "Hopefully I can stay around, continue to learn and develop in this offense, in this system and show I can play at this level."

Speaking for Tech quarterbacks, he added: "Sooner or later, one of us is going to land in the right spot and get an opportunity. Hopefully that will flip the mojo for us."

___

(c) 2010, The Dallas Morning News.

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Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.

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