He's on their radar
Korrodi's arm has opened eyes
Toby Korrodi is the 2007 NFL draft's version of a Hail Mary.
The 6-foot-3 1/2-inch, 234-pound quarterback from Division 2 Central Missouri State has taken a circuitous route to the threshold of pro football, bouncing from San Antonio to Aberdeen, S.D., to Warrensburg, Mo. But the most important stop for the 23-year-old lefthander was Indianapolis, where he took part in the NFL Combine in February in preparation for this weekend's draft.
Korrodi, who ended his college career fifth in Division 2 in touchdown passes (112) and eighth in passing yards (10,846), opened eyes with his combine performance. In a drill used to measure arm strength, Korrodi was clocked throwing a 15-yard pass at 63 miles per hour, the highest speed recorded by any quarterback at the combine (the draft's top two rated quarterbacks, LSU's JaMarcus Russell and Notre Dame's Brady Quinn, did not throw).
"No matter how hard I throw, if I'm not invited they wouldn't have known," Korrodi said. "Thank God they did that radar deal, that got my name out there. It made it much better for me being drafted."
After the combine, six teams went to San Antonio to watch Korrodi work out, including the Patriots. Some scouting reports say Korrodi doesn't have quick feet and needs to improve his strength and muscle tone. Those were similar marks against a certain quarterback out of the University of Michigan in 2000 who has gone on to win three Super Bowl titles with the Patriots.
Maturity isn't an issue. Korrodi became a father during his senior year of high school, and he and his wife, Laura, who were high school sweethearts, now have three children.
Korrodi said he won't be listening this weekend, opting to take a family trip to South Padre Island. Korrodi is expected to be a late-round pick at best, or he could hook on as an undrafted free agent. Either way , an NFL contract could change life for Korrodi and his family.
"We can stop doing the whole government - assistance thing and food stamps," Korrodi said. "I'm a 23-year-old guy with a family. It's not all about me anymore. I have three kids and a wife and I need to make sure they're well taken care of and have a place to lay their head at night. That's great motivation."
Korrodi is used to the long-shot label. Despite throwing for 6,500 yards and 78 touchdowns at Harlandale High in San Antonio, he had few scholarship offers. Poor grades and low SAT scores scared away some schools, including the University of Houston, so Korrodi ended up at Division 2 Northern State in Aberdeen, S.D., after some keen online scouting by quarterbacks coach and offensive coordinator Ken Knapczyk.
In 2003, Korrodi earned D2football.com Offensive Freshman of the Year honors at Northern State, throwing for a school-record 3,528 yards and 36 touchdowns.
But Korrodi's sophomore year at Northern was marred by a bizarre accident in which his wife was injured. Laura Korrodi, who had a work-study job as a game-day manager, was testing one of the cannons that were fired to celebrate touchdowns when it accidentally went off. She suffered second- and third-degree powder burns.
The accident, coupled with the retirement of Northern State coach Ken Heupel and the departure of Knapczyk to become the coach at Saint Anselm the season before, left the Korrodis looking for a fresh start closer to their families in Texas. After considering Washburn University in Topeka, Kan., Korrodi ended up at Central Missouri.
In two seasons in Warrensburg, Mo., Korrodi completed 69 percent of his passes and threw for 4,863 yards and 52 touchdowns with only seven interceptions. In 2006, he threw for a Central Missouri school-record 29 touchdowns. He set the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association record for consecutive attempts (214) without an interception. In a 49-24 victory over Southwest Baptist University, Korrodi was 16 of 16 for 233 yards and five touchdowns and added a rushing score.
"They weren't a great team, but it's still hard to go 16 for 16," said Central Missouri coach Willie Fritz. "He's just an accurate guy."
After posting a 7-3 record in 2005, during which Korrodi completed a school-record 74.6 percent of his passes and threw 23 TDs with two interceptions, the Mules fell to 5-6 this season. "Our whole offense was him," Fritz said. "We had to put a lot of pressure on him because we were not strong in other areas.
"He had to call all of our protections, get us out of bad plays, make the correct pre-snap reads and more. That's one of the reasons I think he cut down on his interceptions here. He makes very good decisions. He's really a smart football kid."
And that was a point Korrodi was quick to get across to NFL teams that visited him in San Antonio.
" I wanted them to know that I know that stuff," Korrodi said. "Coming from a Division 2 school they think that we're not that well coached. I wanted to let them know I was coached well and I knew our whole offense from the running backs to the offensive line to the receivers. I wanted to let them know I knew that stuff instead of being just known as the guy who threw that 63-mile-per-hour pass. There's more to me than just an arm."
Korrodi said that at the beginning of his workouts he was trying to prove he was better than a Division 2 player.
"My first workout I did that," he said. "Then I thought this is who I am and this is how you noticed me, and I'm going to stick to what I do and not try too darn hard. I'm just another guy waiting to get picked like everybody else. As far as being a Division 2 guy, that's over, that's for Mel Kiper and those guys to talk about."
Christopher L. Gasper can be reached at cgasper@globe.com. 