Ricky Santos, QB, New Hampshire, shined last night in the Hula Bowl, impressing many scouts. He also impressed me. In fact, I was so impressed I decided to do a sleeper watch on him. So here it is.
Santos was one of the better quarterbacks when he was in 
high school, but was relatively unheralded and unrecruited. He ended up at I-AA New Hampshire, redshirting his first season. Santos was the #4 quarterback on the depth chart, but worked his way up through hustle and coachibility. After leading the Wildcats to a win over Villanova, he gained a lot of notoriety around the nation.
Santos produced at New Hampshire. It may not have been pretty at times, but all he did was produce. He’s been considered one of the best Division I-AA players in the past few years.
The most impressive thing about Santos is his game manangement. He knows how make throws, showing good touch and loft. He’s very accurate, too. He reads defenses well - he has NFL skills, mentally. He’s very quick on his feet, as well, and buys second chances easily. Most importantly, he’s a good leader who exudes confidence.
Unfortunately, there are always cons. Obviously, his level of competition has been below-average at best. However, he did very well in the Hula Bowl against some of the better players in college football. Even more unfortunately, though, there are always more cons than competition. His arm strength isn’t really a threat to defenses. He’s very undersized, as well. His mechanics are messy, and he played in a college-style offense, meaning he’ll have to work on more dropbacks, not shotgun.
Santos really impresses me, and he’s one of my favorite players in the draft. I like his chances for a few reasons - one, mechanics can be fixed. Two, size is starting to mean less at the quarterback position. And three, the game is mentally all there.
In a minute:
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Pros: Grasps the game mentally well. Good touch, very accurate. Makes plays with his feet.
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Cons: Arm strength isn’t up to par. Undersized. Poor competition. Sloppy mechanics.
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Pro Comparison: Think of Todd Collins with better feet.
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Best Situation: The QB position would need to be relatively thin, with a coach willing to work on his mechanics and a system that focuses more on shorter passes. A dominant line to help open passing lanes would help, too.
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Will Go in Round: 6. He’s the lowest sleeper I’ve ranked so far, but the one like the most. Scouts may not agree.
Is 6′2” really undersized. I have seen him throw the football 70 yards, and he has thrown across the field successfully on many occasions. He throws on the run very well, and is very quick on his feet. I think that whoever drafts him will find it difficult to keep him on the bench.
Also of note - During his time at UNH, Rickey went 3 for 3 against FBS teams, beating Rutgers, Northwestern and Marshall, showing that he can compete with “the big boys”.
Check that, I meant Ricky not Rickey
Give him a chance. He is always exciting to watch and he has always surprised his doubters. 3-0 vs FBS, Payton Award winner, 124 career TD’s, makes things happen, ….
He is about the same height as tony romo. How do you compare him to Romo when romo came out of college. I believe he has better tools.
Santos is the most exciting QB to watch in action since Doug Flutie. The game is never over until the final whistle if he has the ball and there is a minute left on the clock. He can run,catch passes, or even tckle if necessary. Like Flutie, he is the smartest player on the field when he is in the game. There are at least a dozen NFL teams who would be instantly improved with santos on the roster.
You are quite accurate regarding your take on Ricky. Ricky is from my hometown and I was his QB coach his sophomore year in high school. Every school passed on him because he came from a small town and is somewhat undersized compared to Division 1A (I refuse to say Football Bowl Subdivision) quarterbacks. The thing I learned about Ricky first is his incredible passion to compete and desire for success. He will go to these All-Star games and perform well; then he’ll go to the combine and based on measurements and stop watches not perform well. The bottom line with Ricky and the Tom Brady’s and Tony Romo’s of the world is that they are winners and the NFL Combine still does not have a way to measure the heart of each athlete. Ricky Santos has been a winner at every level of football and in the other sports he played in high school. Not only is he a winner and incredibly talented but he is also a down to earth, great kid. Ask the Titans what their scouts said about Pacman Jones and the importance of being a model citizen? I learned a long time ago never to doubt Ricky Santos or be surprised by anything he achieves. The kid is a winner and has incredible desire and heart. There should be 32 NFL teams lining up to draft him. The bottom line is that you are right on with your opinion about Ricky and classifying him as a sleeper to the rest of the world. To those of us that have had the pleasure of knowing him and seeing him play, there is nothing “sleeper” about him.
The only comparison to Romo that I made was that Tony Romo also played 1AA and was not considered a top line QB in the NFL. Ricky has better tools and is a grittier competitor than Tony Romo.
If any of the potential NFL teams take a look at the 2006 deleware game that was televised they should think twice about not drafting him. This was one of the most amazing football games I have ever seen. I believe one of santos plays was in the top 10 plays on ESPN sports center. I wish I would have taped it. Doug flutie like plays throughout the game.
But as many would agree Division 1aa quarterbacks really have to prove themselves to the nth degree in the NFL and even to get that chance there is a high degree of luck involved. On the opposite side the Division 1a quarterbacks have to prove they can’t play. For every 50 Division 1a elvis grbacks there is 1 tony romo that gets a chance. Hopefully Ricky will get that chance.
I played football with Ricky when he was a kid, back when he played running back. Even then he was a very good athlete with a lot of passion. I don’t think Ricky will get drafted that high, 4th round at best, but he’ll stick around, and he won’t quit. That is what is good about him. He’ll start in the NFL one day, I think he’ll get a chance. Many teams in the NFL would be lucky to get Ricky in the later rounds of the draft, which they likely will.
So don’t expect to hear much of Ricky in the NFL too soon. But he has the desire to play I’m sure, and the talent. So he’ll get in their one day, just like Romo is right now.
It looks like Ricky might have to prove himself in Canada or Europe, but I have no doubt that we will have the good fortune to see him perform in the NFL at some point.