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Draft-eligible quarterbacks Barkley, Smith and Nassib will reportedly throw at the combine

Brian McIntyre

The crop of quarterbacks available in the 2013 NFL draft is not highly regarded. According to Jacksonville Jaguars quarterbacks coach Frank Scelfo, if current Jaguars quarterback Blaine Gabbert were available, he'd be the best of the bunch, an assessment that Shutdown Corner editor Doug Farrar thinks makes sense.

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Over the next two months, USC's Matt Barkley, West Virginia's Geno Smith and Syracuse's Ryan Nassib will be poked, prodded, analyzed and critiqued by NFL talent evaluators and media alike. This trio of quarterbacks is not going to hide from it, however, as all three will reportedly do full workouts at next week's scouting combine in Indianapolis.

Barkely, who is coming off shoulder surgery that prevented him from playing in last month's Senior Bowl, told Bill Vilona of the Pensacola (Fla.) News Journal that he's plans to go through all the drills at the combine.

"This is probably the biggest test of my life coming up," said Barkley..."I hear the whole couple days is a grind. But I am looking forward to that challenge. I am excited about it."

According to Jeff Nalley of Select Sports Group, Smith intends to do a full workout in Indianapolis, Gil Brandt of NFL.com reported on Tuesday. In the wake of the reports that Barkley and Smith intended to do full workouts, Mike Florio of ProFootballTalk.com reported that Nassib will do a full workout at the combine, according to his agent, Brian Ayrault.

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Smith was the only quarterback to crack Shutdown Corner's initial "Big Board," ranking outside the top 10 at 13th. The general consensus is that this group of quarterbacks has a lot to prove and declining to work out, or delaying doing so until their pro days, is not a feasible option. Once one quarterback declared his intentions to workout, the rest of the group had no choice.

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