Colin Kaepernick

A Wisconsin native, Kaepernick grew up in Turlock, Calif. as a two-sport star who boasts a 90-plus mph fastball. You can generate plenty of arm speed with a 79 3/8-inch wingspan. Kaepernick was throwing plenty of heaters when he took over for the injured Nick Graziano in the fifth game of his redshirt freshman season. He went on to throw for 2,175 yards with 19 touchdowns and had another 53.9 yards per game on the ground with six touchdowns. Kaepernick admits there was still little finesse or touch on his throws as a sophomore as he became just the fifth quarterback in NCAA Division I-A (FBS) history to throw for more than 2,000 yards (2,849) and rush for more than 1,000 (1,130). He replicated the feat in 2009 while starting to mature more as a passer and working on leading his receivers and setting up more yards after receptions. Kaepernick capped his college career as the WAC Offensive Player of the Year in 2010 while generating 308.8 yards per game in total offense and becoming just the third quarterback in NCAA history to throw and rush for at least 20 touchdowns in a season. To put his athleticism in perspective, Kaepernick is the only quarterback in NCAA history to throw for more than 9,000 yards and rush for more than 4,000 in a career. But the main question scouts have is how well his skill set will translate to the NFL after accumulating those gaudy numbers in Nevada's Pistol offense. "I don't think our offense will directly translate, but I think we do a bunch of things as progressions, protections that are similar to NFL teams do and we just call them something different," Kaepernick said at the combine, where he ran an impressive 4.53-second 40-yard dash. "I think picking up on terminology will be a big thing for me, learning what those mean as opposed to what we call things." That has made the pre-draft process particularly important to Kaepernick. He enjoyed a strong week at the Senior Bowl and was solid again in Indianapolis. Still, many scouts and talent evaluators believe he's a project quarterback who will need two to three years to prove he can start in the NFL. "I don't agree with that," Kaepernick said. "I think the Senior Bowl week I showed how quickly I can pick up on an NFL offense, drop-back, read coverage." Another drawback for scouts is a long windup that includes a hitch and gives defensive linemen more time to disrupt his passes. "I'm definitely trying to quicken it up a little bit, but at the same time a lot of that comes from my wingspan," Kaepernick said. "I have very long arms, so there is only a certain extent that you can compact that to." Kaepernick knows he has plenty of growing to do as a quarterback to succeed at the next level, where the defenders are bigger and faster and his mobility will be more about extending plays rather than picking up big chunks of yards with his legs. But he's confident he has all the tools to make the leap. "I think I bring a lot of things," he said. "I bring leadership, confidence, intelligence as well as my physical abilities and my arm strength and mobility. I think there are a lot of things that I can do to help an NFL team out."

positives

Three-year starter is a tremendous athlete and a very mobile prospect who set too many college records to count. Strong arm, can laser the ball, also has a 90-plus mph fastball as a baseball pitcher. Reads defenses well and has nice touch. Outstanding ability to escape the pass rush and throw accurately on the move. Can be very accurate in streaks with good footwork from the pocket. Extremely fast and agile for size. Top intangibles

determined athlete, durable team leader, tough, hard worker.

Negatives

has a windup and a full hitch in his motion from the pocket, and too many throws get batted down. outside the pocket, throwing motion varies considerably. accuracy is inconsistent. tall thin frame is not ideal for taking a lot of nfl hits. did not take a lot of snaps from under center. doesn't do a great job securing the ball while running. comes from an offensive system noted for producing big college statistics, but not a lot of quality nfl quarterbacks.

Compares to

dennis dixon, steelers - a torn acl hurt the stock of the athletic, lanky and strong-armed dixon coming out of oregon, but kaepernick has no such hurdle between him and a top 75 selection.

--Brad Noel

Combine: 4.53 40-yard dash; 32 1/2-inch vertical; 9'7" broad jump; 4.18 short shuttle; 6.85-cone drill.

A graduate of Pittman High School in Turlock, Calif

.Earned first-team all-district, all-conference and all-academic honors

Was named the Central Cal Conference MVP

Participated in the Berkeley and Las Vegas "Elite 11" camps

Completed 112-of-188 passing attempts for 1,954 yards as a senior

Tossed 25 touchdowns with just six interceptions that year.

Born Colin Rand Kaepernick on Nov. 3, 1987 in Milwaukee, Wis.

Son of Teresa and Rick Kaepernick

Has two older siblings, Kyle and Devon

Majoring in pre-business.