Redskins Acquire QB John Beck (for CB Doug Dutch)

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Originally Posted by BYUClark

While this is true, consider that he was 2 years gone on an LDS mission. You're not throwing footballs around and working on your skills while serving. And also consider that when he got back, he had to get back into football shape.

Anyone would agree that continuity is much easier to manage with an athlete than the unique situation LDS mission-bound athletes go thru. Sure, they mature a couple years, but that doesn't mean their bodies come back ready to play. Some never do.

All that being said, I'd say age is a wash in this case. But that's my opinion.

And another thing. Serving a 2 year mission doesn't make you 4 years older than the competition. It would be +2.

You'd be correct that 2 years spent elsewhere doesn't make you four years older than the competition. But he was 25.5 years old during the 2007 scouting combine, and most of the amateur draft prospects are between 21 and 22.5 years old at the same combine, which is a significant difference.

As for where the difference between two and four come in, an August birthday is pretty advanced in the context of a high school graduating class (i.e. most classmates are younger, some by half a year or more), and he took a redshirt year in 2000 before going on a two year mission.

John Beck played four consecutive seasons at BYU from 2003-2006 after concluding a two year mission. Surely, you're not implying the Beck wasn't in football shape in Feb. 2007 because he spent 24 months between 2001 and 2003 on things more important than football? That timeline seems to undermine what you're trying to say about his college performance, given the unique circumstances.