Five years ago, the Wonderlic test received its biggest burst of publicity ever, thanks to the reports (originating right here) that Texas quarterback Vince Young got only six of the 50 questions right.
The number widely was decried as rumor and incorrect. As we heard it at the time, the person who scored the test made a mistake -- the real score was seven.
Vince also received a Mulligan, and he scored in the teens the second time around.
Every year at this time, the “Wonderlic” term resurfaces. This time, the daughter of the man who created the test is continuing her campaign against it.
“I loved and admired my father,” 71-year-old Kathy Kolbe said of Eldon Wonderlic’s creation, per Kent Babb of the Kansas City Star. “But there are problems with the Wonderlic.”
The NFL has been using the Wonderlic for more than 40 years. “The first time I heard they were using it, I had to laugh,” Kolbe says. “The issue isn’t whether or not to use the Wonderlic. It’s: Don’t say it tells you how a player is going to do. Because it doesn’t.”
Of course it doesn’t. And the NFL knows that.
Besides, Kathy Kolbe has an agenda. She thinks the league should supplement the Wonderlic with her creation -- called the Kolbe.
Her test measures “instinctive modus operandi,” otherwise known as conative skills. And she wants the NFL to use both tests.
Whether the Kolbe merits consideration is largely irrelevant to the question of whether the NFL will continue to use the Wonderlic. Teams realize the value and the limitations of the test, but they still implement it as a piece of the puzzle that will be considered when creating a draft board.
Of all the factors, we’ve got a feeling that the Wonderlic is among the least important.