Ok, not quite there yet, but the Packers did invite former Wisconsin QB John Stocco to rookie orientation camp for what amounted to a 72 hour tryout. Speculation has abounded as to whether Stocco's invite was a good-will gesture to a UW alum who went undrafted and then went unsigned as a free agent.
Stocco thought he'd be drafted or at least signed afterward, but the cards didn't fall that way. So he's taking his chances with the Packers. He's gone on record as saying he has no idea what he'll do if this doesn't work out. It clearly never occurred to him that he wouldn't end up somewhere.
And he's probably a bit justified in that. He's at least as good as, and arguably better than Brooks Bollinger and Jim Sorgi, both of whom are currently solidly holding down backup spots in the NFL.
His stats back it up.
29-7 as a three-year starter, ranked second in yards (7,021), completions (520), completion percentage (.578), attempts (900), touchdown passes (45) and efficiency rating (135.4) on the school's career passing lists.
From JSonline.com:
The Packers had two quarterbacks in camp during their three-day rookie orientation camp, which ended Sunday. Jerry Babb, a 6-foot-2, 225-pound four-year starter at Louisiana-Lafayette, was signed as an undrafted free agent and former Wisconsin starter John Stocco was present on a tryout.
Neither was particularly impressive, but McCarthy said he wasn't making any judgments because both were overwhelmed with playbook material and weren't focusing as much on mechanics. McCarthy said Stocco did a nice job handling the offense.
"As far as him coming back here, that's something we'll sit down here in the next two days and decide," he said. "But it would surprise me if he doesn't have an opportunity in the National Football League."
From the Wisconsin State Journal:
Based on what coach Mike McCarthy has seen so far in meetings and practice, Stocco at least has a chance. He shared snaps with former Louisiana-Lafayette quarterback Jerry Babb, who signed as an undrafted free agent and received a $2,000 signing bonus but did little to distinguish himself from Stocco in Friday's workout inside the Don Hutson Center.
"I was very impressed with John," McCarthy said. "He has excellent recall, (and) I thought he picked up the verbiage very well the first day on the job, compared to other guys I've worked with. So we'll evaluate him after three practices. We'll sit down Sunday and we'll talk about all the guys that have been here."
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