Another top tier QB talent has fallen from grace. Mitch Mustain didn't end up playing football at Arkansas beyond the 2006 season, as you might famously remember. He transfered to USC and started his career as a footnote.
Today Mustain was arrested in Los Angeles on suspicion of selling prescription drugs online. Completing his fall from grace. Mustain got one start this year, against Notre Dame. He even got some work as a punter, trying to find a role on the team.
He didn't get an invite to the 2011 NFL Combine, which Chad Reuter included as one of his Combine snubs. Reuter remarked that Mustain "could have used the Combine to evaluate whether he could be the next Matt Cassel. His physical tools intrigue scouts more than two or three other signal callers getting the call."
Mustain's a good reminder of just how essential vetting players is. Yes, his story is on another level, but it does underscore why NFL teams spend so many resources scouting players' intangibles, i.e. making sure those unproven millionaires don't become just another cautionary tale. The Rams made the right call on Sam Bradford. Yes, he has the talent, but he also has the makeup to put that talent to good use. It's easy to laugh at the four pillars approach since the Rams do seem to hide behind it to their own detriment sometimes, but it can pay big dividends sometimes.