ESPN’s Mark May: Bruce Arians must have seen ‘the diamond in the rough’ in Logan Thomas

The NFL Draft is over.

The Arizona Cardinals selected seven players over the course of the three-day event, but none of them generated a wider variety of opinion than Virginia Tech quarterback Logan Thomas, the team’s fourth-round pick.

Thomas is considered an intriguing prospect by many, a unique blend of size (6-foot-6, 248 pounds) and athletic ability. Supporters compare Thomas’ skill set to that of Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton. Critics say he’s not accurate enough and didn’t improve during his three years as a starter for the Hokies.

Most agree, however, that Thomas is a project.

ESPN college football analyst Mark May believes that Thomas is in the perfect spot to start his NFL career.

“With (assistant head coach) Tom Moore handling the duties out there, he’s been great with quarterbacks throughout his entire career, you go back to Terry Bradshaw with the Pittsburgh Steelers, he’s had a long history in the NFL,” May told Burns and Gambo Monday on Arizona Sports 98.7 FM. “I think if Bruce Arians and Tom Moore can’t bring the best out of this young man as a quarterback, then he’s not going to be playing quarterback in the NFL.

“This will be his chance and I think most people in the NFL look at his opportunity to play — if he can’t play quarterback (in Arizona), he’ll be a tight end.”

Those who didn’t like the Cardinals’ pick of Thomas cite the fact that more experienced and polished quarterbacks like Alabama’s A.J. McCarron, Georgia’s Aaron Murray and LSU’s Zach Mettenberger were still on board.

But May believes that Arians saw something in the quarterback when he ran him through a private workout in Blacksburg in early April.

“He’s had some good games, he’s had some bad games. But if Bruce Arians flew out there and spent time with him and worked with him, he must have been able to see the diamond in the rough,” May said.

“He must have been able to see something that says ‘you know what, if I can get him to correct a few things, maybe it’s his footwork, maybe it’s his eye coordination, maybe it’s his reaction time, because he’s not a very accurate quarterback, maybe it’s his decision making. If we can smooth some of those difficulties out that he has, he could make it in this league and be a heck of a quarterback.'”

Thomas’ progress remains to be seen, but May believes that’s immaterial since it’s a low-risk selection.

“Look where they got him,” he said. “It wasn’t really that great of a pick — it was the fourth round. If he ends up being a bust, it was the fourth round.”

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