Shawn Zobel was among the folks squirming in the media section at the NFL draft on Saturday in New York. Zobel could have had the shortest career as a draft expert in history, if his projected first round had turned to a disaster.
Then again, this was a draft in which the aficionados seemed more certain about the top 25 names than at any time in recent memory. There weren't a lot of fliers to be found when Zobel posted his final mock draft on his website, draftheadquarters.com, Friday.
Still, Zobel was out there publicly as one of 95 individuals and/or websites involved in The Huddle Report's national draft contest. A finish near the bottom might have finished Zobel as a draft expert at age 17.
"There were a lot of nerves sitting at the draft in New York," Zobel said. "When I had the right players for six of the top seven, I relaxed a little. But the real key for me was when Brady Quinn landed with Cleveland at 22, giving me two points."
The Huddle Report contest awarded one point for any player who was accurately named as a first-rounder, and two points if the player was matched with the right team.
Zobel was included among those mock drafters who had Quinn going to Cleveland with the third selection, and thus back-doored their way to two points when the Browns passed, then traded up to get him 22nd.
Zobel finished with 47 points and in a three-way tie for eighth in this field of 95. That was one point below seventh-place Mel Kiper Jr., the world's most publicized draft expert.
Zobel's mock draft named 29 of the 32 first-rounders. The players he projected who weren't in the first round were defensive tackle Alan Branch and linebacker David Harris, both from Michigan, and Arkansas cornerback Chris Houston.
These were the same totals as Mark Craig, the Star Tribune's mock drafter. He also had 29 right (Branch, Harris and Penn State linebacker Paul Posluszny didn't go in the first round) and 47 points, according to The Huddle Report's formula.
"I guess what makes me unique among the people who were in New York is that I'm 17," Zobel said. "I'm just getting started. My goal is to be a general manager and a head coach in the NFL some day, and then use my opinions to run a draft."
Now there's a goal -- GM and head coach, so nobody two decades from now would have to ask, "Is it A [Rick Spielman] or B [Brad Childress] exerting the most influence in the draft room?"
Zobel is a junior at Minnehaha Academy. He arrived there last fall from Eagan High School. He sat out a few weeks as a transfer, then was a backup tackle on Minnehaha's football team.
He's 5 feet 7, 210 pounds, and hopes to be a two-way player -- center and defensive tackle -- for Minnehaha this fall.
"I tried wrestling, lacrosse and throwing the shot earlier, but any of those things would have taken time away from studying the draft," he said.
Zobel put out a 98-page draft preview book available through his website. He spent a week on spring break -- leaving his house only a couple of times -- as he finished the book. It was available on April 16, leaving only 1½ weeks before the draft to sell the $19.95 product.
"I wanted to make sure it had the latest information," he said. "We printed 60 books. I had some pre-orders from the website, and gave a few to the media."
When he was asked for a photo to run with this story, Zobel said with some excitement: "I have one of myself with [ESPN's] John Clayton that was taken in New York."
It was mentioned to Zobel that his 17-year-old buddies might prefer a photo with, say, Jessica Alba.
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