Quarless: An interesting TE for Packers
April, 24, 2010
By Kevin Seifert
There is quite an interesting story behind Penn State tight end Andrew Quarless, whom Green Bay selected with the first of its two fifth-round picks Saturday.
Anyone who watched Big 10 football last year knows Quarless was a scary tight end who weighs 255 pounds but gets downfield like a wide receiver. You might also know that Quarless had so many off-field issues that he had to talk Penn State coach Joe Paterno out of kicking him off the team.
First, here is the off-field history from Scouts Inc.:
2007: Cited for underage drinking two weeks before the start of the season. Penn State suspends him for the first two games of the season. 2008: Gets cited for two counts of DUI, a traffic violation and underage drinking for an incident that occurred at 3 a.m. on March 2. Penn State suspends him from the team until the conclusion of spring practice. Sentenced to 15 month rehabilitation program. Police find a small amount of marijuana in apartment he shares with A.J. Wallace, Abe Koroma and Maurice Evans. He is suspended for the season opener (Coastal Carolina.) Though he does not play, he is reinstated the following week (Oregon State) when information indicates he is not connected to the marijuana. 2009: Head coach Joe Paterno says Quarless has been a leader this year.
Quarless told Wisconsin reporters that he hasn't had a drink since the 2008 DUI arrest. He convinced Paterno that he would change his life. He also said he proved in a drug test that he had not used the marijuana found in his apartment.
Put down Quarless squarely in the risk-reward category. He could be the next Jermichael Finley, or we might never see him on the field.