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Brigham Young quarterback John Beck is among the players who raised his stock with an impressive showing at the Indianapolis scouting combine.
As much as he impressed with his arm, Beck proved to be a sharp decision-maker, too, perhaps best exemplified when confronted with one of those combine brain-teasers.

Beck, who is expecting his first child with wife Barbara in April, was asked, “What will be the bigger April event, becoming a father or getting drafted?”

Said Beck: "The correct answer is my baby being born. On draft day, I’ll probably be holding my son in my arms while I’m watching on TV.

“I probably won’t be getting a lot of sleep that month.”

His answer proved as sharp as his arm.

Beck impressed with his vision, accuracy and velocity, soaring up the charts from middle of the pack to among those in the mix after the top two prospects at the quarterback position.

“There’s JaMarcus Russell and Brady Quinn, and it’s John Beck next,” says Rob Rang, a senior draft analyst for NFLDraftScout.com. “He’s very accurate. He really helped himself by throwing well at the combine.”

Beck’s ball speed of 61.1 mph was second best among quarterbacks and better than Heisman Trophy winner Troy Smith’s 58.5 mph, Michigan State’s Drew Stanton’s 55.7 or Stanford’s Trent Edwards’ 55.2. (Neither Russell nor Quinn threw at the combine.)

Beck threw 32 touchdown passes and eight interceptions during his senior season for the 15th-ranked Cougars. He also has that all-important touch that separates the best from the rest.

“You look at guys like Joe Montana and Tom Brady, and they don’t have rocket arms,” Beck says. “The biggest thing for a quarterback is decision-making, timing and accuracy. I think I surprised some people with the way I threw.”

The Rams, Ravens and Panthers have set up personal workouts with Beck, and other teams will attend his March 21 pro day.

Entering the combine, as much a question as “Who’s No. 1?” between Russell and Quinn is “Who’s No. 3?”

“I took the combine as my shot to show how I compare with the other guys,” Beck says. “The thing I wanted to go in and focus on was my throwing and my interviews because that’s when teams get to know you.”

Beck, who spent two years on a Mormon mission to Portugal, brings more life experience to the table than his peers.

“I turn 26 in August,” Beck says. “At BYU, everyone goes on a mission, and I sat out 2½ years. I feel like that was something unique about me. I took a longer road than most. It’s an experience that made me tougher. Teams want to see how you face adversity.”

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/football/draft/2007-03-07-john-beck_N.htm