Boeckman hoping for an NFL look

GLENDALE, Ariz. - A year ago after his junior season, just to see where he stood with the NFL, Ohio State quarterback Todd Boeckman submitted the paperwork to be evaluated for the league's draft.

The word came back that he might be a late second-day choice, Boeckman said. Some NFL draft experts projected him as going even higher than that in 2009.

But that was before the St. Henry High School graduate was demoted to second-string behind Terrelle Pryor after three games this season.

No one knows exactly how much losing his starting job will affect Boeckman's hopes of making an NFL roster. Even Boeckman himself is uncertain.

"To be honest, I really don't know right now. Once the season is done, of course, I'm going to do whatever I can to get a shot. Hopefully, there is somebody out there who will give me a chance."

Boeckman, a 6-foot, 5-inch, 244-pound senior, assesses his NFL qualifications this way: "I'm big, tall, strong, have a decent arm and am somewhat accurate. So, hopefully, I get a chance and can go out there and prove that I can get out there on the field on Sundays."

Boeckman threw for 2,379 yards with 23 touchdown passes and 14 interceptions as a junior.

So far, he has not been invited to any postseason all-star games, which means the NFL would evaluate him mainly on last season, his abbreviated season this year and Ohio State's "pro day" workouts for scouts.

He said last Friday that he is still hoping for an invitation to an all-star game. "People have been saying I'm on the borderline for everything, so I'll have to wait and see," he said.

Several NFL quarterbacks, including Tony Romo, Kurt Warner and Jake Delhomme were not drafted. All of those were three or four-year starters or had big senior years in college, though.

Maybe a better comparison would be San Francisco 49ers starter Shaun Hill, who started only his senior year at Maryland and signed as a free agent.

Buffalo Bills backup quarterback Gibran Hamdan also got to the NFL with only one year as a starter. He threw for 2,115 yards and nine touchdowns his senior season at Indiana in 2002 and was taken in the seventh round of the draft by the Washington Redskins.

"All you need is one team who likes you," Boeckman said.

BAD MARKET FOR SCALPERS: Fiesta Bowl tickets, which Ohio State sold for $155, were being offered for $20 and less by scalpers an hour and a half before Monday night's game.

The game was announced as a sellout by Fiesta Bowl officials last week.

Ohio State offered tickets to the general public, with no limit on the number that could be purchased, for only the third time since 1995.

GREAT RECRUITING: When Texas' Colt McCoy started for the second time in college as a red-shirt freshman against Ohio State in 2006, his backup was a true freshman, Jevan Snead.

Snead later transferred to Mississippi, where he threw for 2,762 yards and 26 touchdowns this season and led the Rebels to a 47-34 win over Texas Tech in the Cotton Bowl.

NICE GIFTS: Ohio State and Texas' players each received several hundred dollars worth of gifts from the Fiesta Bowl, including Myvu personal movie viewing glasses, an Apple iPod nano, a watch and a game hat.

BROWN'S SUCCESSOR WAITING: Texas defensive coordinator Will Muschamp has been designated as head coach Mack Brown's successor, but don't expect Brown to be leaving anytime soon.

Brown's contract runs through 2016 and he says there is no timetable for a change. Also, he makes $2.91 million in base salary, plus bonuses.