Joe Flacco has been proving himself to be elite since college
Before Joe Flacco as a Super Bowl MVP, he showed off his arm against college football’s elite.
Delaware’s own Joe Flacco said he deserved to be considered among the elite quarterbacks in the NFL. After leading the Baltimore Ravens to a Super Bowl championship and being named the game’s most valuable player, any argument against that idea, for now, is rendered moot. To be honest, I now readily admit I view Flacco in a much different light today than I did prior to Flacco’s Super Bowl performance. But should it really be a surprise to see Flacco now entering his name in the mix alongside the top quarterbacks in the NFL today? After all, this is a player who has had to prove himself his entire career, and a player who has thrived on having to do so among other quarterbacks considered to be superior.
We all know Flacco’s story by now, probably. The New Jersey native started his collegiate career at Pittsburgh, where he was unable to get playing time ahead of Tyler Palko. Perhaps this was one of the biggest mistakes, especially in hindsight, of Dave Wannstedt’s tenure in Pittsburgh. Flacco transferred to Delaware and was not given a transfer exception from Pitt, meaning Flacco had to sit out an entire season without a scholarship despite moving from FBS to FCS. Pittsburgh would go on to have three straight bowl-less seasons while Delaware moved Flacco in to the starting job under center and eventually grew in to an FCS title contender. Flacco led the Blue Hens to the national championship game in 2007 but fell short against the powerhouse from Appalachian State, 49-21. This was the season Appalachian State toppled Michigan to start the season. It must have been something about those winged helmet designs.
Unfortunately I did not get a chance to watch a whole lot of Flacco at Delaware, a result of not being able to watch FCS football too closely until the playoffs kick off. This means I am left with the few highlights I can recall of Flacco’s college career, which means a flash back to his performance in the college football all-star skills competition.
