LSU quarterback Zach Mettenberger's arm strength has drawn raves from a former No. 1 overall pick.
Tim Couch was the top pick in the 1999 draft and played five seasons in the NFL. Couch said Mettenberger "has probably the strongest arm in the draft."
"There's always going to be a place in the NFL for a guy who can stand in the pocket and throw it," Couch told FoxSports.com. "It's always going to come down to that. At the end of the day, it's good to be able to move around, it's good to be able to do those things, but if you can't consistently make throws in the pocket, you can't play in the NFL."
Mettenberger had knee surgery Jan. 2, but says he remains "far ahead of schedule" on his rehab and that he will be ready for rookie camp.
Mettenberger threw for 3,082 yards, 22 touchdowns and eight interceptions in 2013 before tearing the ACL in his left knee in the regular-season finale against Arkansas. The knee injury kept him out of the Reese's Senior Bowl and from doing any physical activity at the NFL Scouting Combine. Mettenberger did attend the combine to get measured (6-foot-5 and 224 pounds) and to meet with teams.
He plans to work out at LSU's pro day April 19 and told FoxSports.com that he plans to work with Tigers wide receiver wide receivers Jarvis Landry and Odell Beckham Jr. beforehand to "get back on the same page again."
Mettenberger professes not to be worried about any idea of rust.
"Throwing's easy for me. That's nothing," he told FoxSports.com. "I'm not stressed about that. That's what I do."
One of the biggest knocks on Mettenberger is his lack of mobility.
"There's a lot of great ones that aren't very mobile that have won a lot of Super Bowls," Mettenberger said to FoxSports.com. "I think it's just the trend in football, but at the end of the day, you need a smart guy who can be pinpoint accurate in a pressure situation and the NFL is always going to need that, and it's something I think I can do really well."
LSU hired former NFL coach Cam Cameron as offensive coordinator before the 2013 season, and Mettenberger said his one season with Cameron was good on a lot of levels.
"(We were) talking about the terminology and he agreed it's going to be really big for me to come from a system that's still used in the NFL and having a guy that had a lot of success running it," Mettenberger said. "There's many things I can take to the next level."
Mike Huguenin can be reached at mike.huguenin@nfl.com. You also can follow him on Twitter @MikeHuguenin.
