From Baltimore Ravens starting quarterback Lamar Jackson to Buffalo Bills starter Josh Allen to New Orleans Saints backup Taysom Hill, today's National Football League is welcoming all sorts of versatility at its most glorified position.
Which has Nick Tiano, the former Baylor School and University of Tennessee at Chattanooga standout, in the conversation as a potential late-round selection during next week's NFL draft.
"Playing quarterback in the NFL is a lot different than it was even 10 years ago," Tiano said this week. "These guys aren't statues sitting back there anymore. Even if you're not as athletic as Lamar Jackson, you can be like Josh Allen and still move. I definitely do think that's a strength of mine, and it's why I was so excited for my pro day. I think I would have tested better than many people thought I would.
"That's been a huge point for my agent to try and sell."
The 6-foot-5, 240-pound Tiano was not among the 337 players invited to February's draft combine in Indianapolis, which left UTC's scheduled pro day on March 18 as his most intimate showcase to impress NFL scouts. That opportunity was abruptly scratched due to the coronavirus outbreak that resulted in the suspension of the NBA season on March 11 and the cancellations of multiple college basketball conference tournaments on March 12.
Tiano had been training in Denver for his pro day and had just arrived in Chattanooga when the sports world came to a halt.
"It was unfortunate that I didn't get to work out in front of the scouts in person, because I think that would have been beneficial," Tiano said. "With all that's going on, the scouts and the coaches have been at their homes, and my agent has been able to reach them and get them to take another look at my tape. We've been pumping film out as much as possible, and we've been having great feedback.
"I have been FaceTiming with quarterback coaches and offensive coordinators the last couple weeks and have a few more scheduled before the draft. It's been good. We've made the most of it."
Staff photo by Robin Rudd / UTC quarterback Nick Tiano escapes two Western Carolina defenders during the Mocs' 60-36 homecoming victory this past Sept. 28. Tiano, an NFL draft hopeful, rushed for 384 yards and nine touchdowns on 85 carries as a fifth-year senior in 2019.Attention, please
Tiano certainly made the most of his final weeks as a college competitor, earning the Southern Conference player of the month honor last November as the Mocs wrapped up a 6-6 record in Rusty Wright's debut season that included a third-place showing in league play. Tiano received an invitation to January's NFLPA Collegiate Bowl and capitalized, finishing 8-of-10 passing for 135 yards and a touchdown and earning MVP honors as his National team won 30-20.
His all-star showing took place at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California, and the event now serves as much more than a pleasant memory.
"It's a shame that there are a lot of guys who didn't get any opportunity - no all-star games, no combine - so their pro day was their one shot," Tiano said. "I hate that for those guys, and at the end of the day, that NFLPA game ended up being bigger than I thought it was going to be, and I'm very thankful to have the film from that and the results from that."
From strictly a passing standpoint, Tiano's numbers do not jump off the charts. He completed 174 of 329 attempts (52.9%) as a UTC senior for 2,242 yards with 14 touchdowns and 10 interceptions.
Tiano, however, was sacked just 14 times for 68 yards in 12 games and, when removing those sack totals, rushed 71 times for 452 yards (6.37 per carry) and nine touchdowns.
Pro Football Network earlier this month wrote an article titled, "Nick Tiano: The quarterback no one is talking about in the 2020 NFL draft." WalterFootball.com has Tiano as the No. 10 quarterback entering the draft, which begins next Thursday night, April 23, placing him ahead of the more recognized contingent of Michigan's Shea Patterson, Missouri's Kelly Bryant, Arizona's Khalil Tate, South Florida's Blake Barnett and Utah's Tyler Huntley.
"Every bit of press like that is important," Tiano said. "Obviously everybody is talking about Joe Burrow and Tua (Tagovailoa) and some other guys at the top of the draft. Since the beginning of this process, I've just been trying to climb up as high as I can in these conversations, earn some more respect and get some more recognition like all guys from the smaller schools try to do."
Staff photo by C.B. Schmelter / UTC quarterback Nick Tiano passes during the Mocs' game at Tennessee this past Sept. 14. As a fifth-year senior in the 2019 season, Tiano started all 12 games for the Mocs and finished 174-of-329 passing for 2,242 yards with 14 touchdowns and 10 interceptions.'A lifelong dream'
Tiano, a 2015 Mississippi State signee who played in five games for the 2016 Bulldogs before transferring, hopes to become the second UTC quarterback to get selected within a 10-year stretch. In 2012, B.J. Coleman was No. 243 among 253 draft picks overall, going to the Green Bay Packers.
"It may be better for some guys in my spot to go undrafted and have a few options and take the best situation for you to go make the team, but I would love to get drafted," Tiano said. "It has been a lifelong dream, and if you get drafted, you get a little more money up front and a little more security. I'm really just up for whatever happens.
"I want to make the most of an opportunity."
Tiano would love to obtain the No. 7 jersey he wore at Baylor and at UTC, but he certainly won't be picky about that or the team that gives him his first NFL crack. When asked which team has seemed most interested in his talents, Tiano laughed and said, "I don't know if I'm allowed to say. I don't want to get myself in trouble."
His plans for a week from Saturday, when the fourth through seventh rounds of the draft will be held, are to go fishing until he gets that phone call as either a drafted player or as a free-agent invitee.
"It's been a cool experience," said Tiano, who graduated last spring with a degree in business management and has been working toward an MBA. "A lot of these quarterback coaches will FaceTime me, and they want me to have a notepad and pen. They'll tell me that it's third-and-8 and the defense is playing two-man (safety coverage) and to draw the best play to beat it. It's been things like that, testing my football knowledge, and I think that's gone pretty well.
"Most of the teams have come back for a second interview, so I hope that's a pretty good sign."
Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6524. Follow him on Twitter @DavidSPaschall.