Claiborne gives birth to a four on the Wonderlic

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The NFL has kept the Wonderlic results under tighter wraps than usual this year.  Or maybe the media has had enough other things to keep itself occupied.

Regardless, the first eye-opening score has leaked from the 2012 edition of the 50-question Wonderlic test.  Per multiple league sources, LSU cornerback Morris Claiborne scored a four.

Yes.  A four.  Out of 50.

Six years ago, quarterback Vince Young initially got a six.  Re-scoring of the test bumped it to a seven.  A next-day Mulligan moved it to 13.

Finally, Young has someone at whom he can point and laugh.

The joke, however, continues to be on anyone who thinks that all college athletes are also students.  Plenty of them aren’t.  They’re minor-league football players who have no choice but to wait at least three years until they get a shot at joining the NFL.

How else can anyone explain a person who presumably has found a way to avoid failing out of college getting such a low score on a basic intelligence test?

And that gives rise to a more important question.  What did LSU actually do to keep Claiborne from failing out of school?

264 responses to “Claiborne gives birth to a four on the Wonderlic

  1. Holy crap, this could spark another one of those investigations as to how some of these players make it through college.

  2. Not-s0-smart athlete doesn’t fail out of college. Shocked. Even more shocking is that this story is taking up bandwidth.

  3. Although stating obvious points, still incredible ANYONE above 7 yrs old could score that low.

  4. Sad that guys like this get to coast into and through major Universities while learning/doing nothing but football and some regular folk have to bust-ass just to make it into a community college — or have to bust-ass to pay those hefty University prices.

    Really sad.

  5. Intelligence is a threshold. You don’t have to be an ‘A’ student to be a football player (or any profession, for that matter), but in todays NFL you have to be able to sit in a room and study – film, playbooks, the opposition, etc. This guy (already forgotten his name) couldn’t sit in a room and bang through 50 questions? I mean, it’s multiple choice, if he just guessed all the answers he’d have had a good chance on getting 10+ right.

  6. 1. Why did Claiborne take the test
    2. Why would PFT comment on it thereby “poisoning the well” for the players prospects?
    3. I mean Claiborne took the test, but where was his agent on his pre-draft strategy?
    4. A story is a story, so that’s on Morris, but at some point guys have to realize perception IS reality.

  7. Yup ….. Sure sounds like he will make a dandy of a football player. Atleast the league won’t need to worry about this guy injuring his head

  8. In a few months, he’s gonna have ten million dollars in the bank. I wish I was that dumb.

  9. I wonder if any of these kids are actually dumb enough to just randomly select answers on these tests.

    you cant honestly tell me someone scored a 4.

  10. A shame this guy didn’t adsorb the education our intuitions offered. Stay healthy kid and make millions with your football talents instead. After all this is America

  11. Seems like in today’s education system it’s more about effort. If he had someone guiding him, it’s more than a possibility he didn’t cheat or find a way not to flunk out in some other way. Won’t get into it, but today’s education system is just getting worse by the minute. Especially in college, kids find ways to get their grades any way the can. Probably a good amount of people partaking in those Lexington riots (celebrations?) will graduate with 3.5+ GPA’s. Classes are requiring less and less intelligence, from my experience and others I talk to.

    Either way, the it’s very ironic that the NCAA keeps trying to engrave “Student-athlete”, with student first, in our minds.

  12. The wonderlic isn’t about basic intel, its about decision making under pressure.

  13. One point for name spelling and one point for correctly identifying each word in L.S.U.

  14. I have said it for years. These star Athletes are just what they are, Athletes, not students. Some of these players can’t even speak right. The university just gives them a pass.

  15. All he needs to know from geometry is the closest path to the ball is a straight line, and for this stud it’s instinct!

    He will be a star and the low wonderlic won’t hurt his coverage abilility a bit, if anything, it might help!

    Still a top 6 prospect !

  16. Wow, do you think you have discovered something new here? Plenty of college athletes aren’t students? Man, that’s some real hard hitting investigative journalism there. Thank God you are here to inform the masses.

  17. 4 out of 50 is not that bad, that’s like um……..70%. sincerely Florida State grad. darftzombie.com

  18. Does anyone take into account how many of these players actually try on these tests tho? If they only last in the NFL for a season or two the next job they got wont be asking about these test scores

  19. He scored 4 more then a dead mn. His class schedule at LSU:
    1.Underwater Stump Blasting.
    2. Basketweaving 101
    3. Music Jazz to Rock
    4. Crawdaddy Catching
    5. Bowling 201

  20. No big deal. My cousin plays in the NFL and said alot of these players don’t take the Wonderlic test seriously. They literally go in and just mark down anything on the test. Failing this test has nothing to do with what they’re gonna do on the field. Didn’t Alex Smith make one of the highest scores ever and Dan Marino made like a 13? Alex Smith sucks and Dan Marino is a Hall of Famer…

  21. A new strategy for some of these guys would be to randomly throw darts at the answers. Just by chance they would get higher than a 4. I mean, you really have to work to get a 4 out of 50!

    I can only say, damn!!!

  22. Well it’s not that LSU did something to keep them in as much as it is the fact that LSU apparently harbors incredibly low academic standards. If this guy can average a 3.0 at LSU to maintain his scholarship, that must be the equivalent to a -1 at my daughter’s nursery school, where they don’t have (or need) a grade point system.

  23. I wonder what the “student athletes” of the Kentucky Wildcat basketball team would score? At least Claiborne had three years of paid-for education, unfortunately it looks like he didn’t take advantage of it.

  24. I got kicked out of high school a few times for being around the wrong crowd. I ended up a jr with 1 credit by the time they kicked me out…

    About two years ago i had to take a wonder lick to get a job and scored 42….

    Maybe I should try to get a masters from LSU?

  25. It’s got to be like Blue Mountain State. Each player is provided his own nerd to do all his homework and take his tests for him

  26. Just how did LSU keep Claiborne academically eligible…a 4 on the wonderlic…that is a freaking record that no football player should ever want.

    …kind of sad !

  27. I’m having a hard time believing the score. I’ve heard him interviewed many times bw local tv stations and some stuff on nfln and the kid seems reasonably well spoken. Im not impressed with your accusation that lsu is a minor league for the nfl. I believe that would be BAMA.
    One thing is certain it’s obvious that he didn’t get degree from the ivy league of the Appalachia.

  28. @Florio: Those are questions NCAA would prefer people not ask. Can’t we just be happy watching these student-athletes perform on the field?

  29. Clearly, he will forego his NFL career and begin his career as a rocket scientist. How do these institutions look at themselves in the mirror? Money, money, money, money , mon-ey……… Mon-eeeeeeeeeeeey!

  30. “What did LSU actually do to keep Claiborne from failing out of school?”

    The same thing nearly every school does: “assist” students in registering, so they take the easiest majors, courses and teachers, have them take the minimum courseload, and provide “tutors” that walk them through every assignment.

    Ever notice how many football players major in “general studies?”

  31. Shouldn’t the same questions be raised when these “student-athletes” score a 10-20…? That’s pitiful.

  32. It has always been a fraud, particularly at big colleges. We all remembered the Jan Kemp episode at Georgia in the early 80’s. Unfortunately, big money and power trump all other principles.

  33. Four is well below the literate mark…. Stunning for such a good CB, but LSU should be ashamed!

  34. I think you get a 6 just for signing your name correctly – what does that say about Clayborn, um, Claynorn, Clayborne, whatever…

  35. I’d love to see what this test looks like. If it has multiple choice or true/false, then odds are you could intentionally make fifty pure guesses and score a four or better.

  36. My company just started giving these tests to potential employees. The tests are extremely simple and most 5th graders would score more than a 4. Huge red flag for this guy and if I’m drafting, I look elsewhere.

  37. This is the funniest thing I’ve read in a long time. Thanks for starting my day of right PFT.

  38. Is the Wonderlic a standard paper test? If so they should have let him use crayons — I am sure he would have scored much better then a 4. Not his fault …

  39. Those scores should absolutely be 100% confidential. Otherwise, any lawyer-turned-football-hack will take the opportunity to fill a headline slot by announcing to the world that this player is intellectually deficient, using a test that may or may not indicate how well he can play football, or do anything for that matter.

    Tell you what Mike…let’s start our own football teams. I’ll take Morris, you can have Greg McIlroy.

    Oh, and once your kids take the SAT’s, let us know their scores, ok?

  40. Incredible… With a score of ‘4’, it’s a wonder this guy knows how to breath. The Wonderlic Test is made up of 50 of the easiest, most basic questions that any High Schooler should ace, let alone a ‘College Graduate’.
    Go ahead and google wonderlic and you find a sample test. Questions like: Little Johnny has 5 apples and gives 2 apples to Sally, how many apples does Little Johnny have left?
    Everybody should score a ’50’.

  41. While I share your disgust at the system, the fact that you are just catching on now is startling. I have endured watching four decades of NFL interviews with players that, clearly, were not as educated and well read as my seven year old is now. Also, given the number of players found to be completely illiterate in the pre-wonderlic 80s, ex. Dexter Manley, this has been well known by the general public for over thirty years.

  42. Question 4 was pretty hard, but it’s one of its good answers :

    Question 4 – Pick the one that doesn’t fit :
    Hashish
    Oregano
    Cannabis
    Marijuana

    🙂

  43. You would be surprised how many High School athletes cannot read…I am sure he was one of them and the situation obviously did not get any better at LSU.

    A guy I knew played pro football for 1 year with the Chiefs about 20 yrs ago…said they had color coded playbooks made for the guys on the team who could not read.

  44. Somewhere during his junior high school years he had to realize a career as a brain surgeon wasn’t happening.

    Apparently he was smart enough to know where his meal ticket would come from and obviously only spent time on that avenue.

  45. Here is the real deal:

    We know some of these athletes are really not very smart and should be in no proximity to a university.

    Having stated that, it benefits everyone. It benefits the “student”, it benefits the university in its athletic achievements, and it helps the NFL with immature young men who have time to groom to be groomed and get bigger, stronger, and somewhat wiser.

    Now let’s identify the problem: It is a LIE in many cases. We call them students yet they really are not.
    I would rather have them learn something, and it does not have to be calculus or organic chemistry.
    Why not let the lower level guys learn other skills, trades, etc.

    But let us quit lying and calling all of them students when that is not the cases. Call them associates.. Leapfroggers. University Organizers. Something.

  46. and no one will care when he’s on the field in the fall locking down another team’s receiver. he’s a freaking corner, not a scientist.

  47. PATHETIC! Here’s an example of the “Football Factory” mentality of colleges these days. I guess the heartache I have is that these days, the kids coming out of college to play football don’t seem to have the basic skills needed to function outside of the “Gridiron”. Well, I hope they either save up enough of their earnings over the course of their pro career, orrrrrrrrrr learn how to repeat the phrase “Welcome to McDonald’s. May I take your order?”

    Oh, by the way, I blame the professors (or in the case of football factory professors, we’ll call them “babysitters”) for just pushing these athletes through “the system”. There is no excuse that gets under my skin more than “Come on, give the guy a break, what does he have other than football?” Well, if teachers and coaches didn’t identify them at an early age as having “potential”, maybe they would have had to actually study and, oh my God, actually be students first, athletes second.

  48. I refuse to believe this report.

    All the media has to do is write “allegedly” and you can write anything you want.

    This is pre-draft smokescreen stuff to get him to drop.

    Nonsense

  49. The Wonderlic is not a basic intelligence test. It’s a critical thinking test. Yes the questions, for the most part are not very difficult. But doing them in 12 minutes is the actual TEST. A 4 is very low. But I’ve seen people who have never gone to college and were very subpar high school students get higher. He may not be a good test taker under pressure. Very little weight should be given this.

  50. This is the guy who was talking about how he’s a “technician”.

    Truth be told though, there have been some awfully good players, even at the QB position, that have scored low on this thing. Just because a guy is dumber than a box of rocks doesn’t mean he can’t play football.

  51. And THAT is how the SEC manages to recruit all those great athletes who can’t cut the grades elsewhere.

  52. The NCAA has more important issues to deal with, like ensuring that the University of North Dakota doesn’t use “Fighting Sioux” as a team name.

  53. Why do we get an education? To make money. This guy will be making millions…who cares how stupid he is? He’ll make more in one contract than most of us willmake in 30 years. Is an education really even an issue at this point? Now, i wouldnt recommend that path, but at this point, who cares? He made it….plenty of smart people that are broke, sittin their asses in their trailer that still isnt paid for.

  54. From a football standpoint, this means squat,
    Frank Gore had a very low score but an incredible football IQ.
    Alex Smith had a very high Wonderlic but his NFL career hasnt (for a variety of reasons) really taken off a #1 pick’s is supposed to.

  55. I’m certainly not smart enough to call anyone stupid and I don’t think it’s fair to pick on Morris Claiborne. It rubs me the wrong way to assume that beacause he does poorly on one test that he’s a terrible student. Some people are poor test takers and that’s why schools look at gpa’s as well as standardized tests. If you do poorly on the ACT or SAT, it’s not impossible to be near the top of your class.

  56. You could score 4 out of 50 by accident, but he’ll still make millions. That is what a educshun will do for you.

  57. Anyone with dyslexia and average intelligence could get a score like that on a test like the Wonderlic. No one here knows the actual situation. To assume that he’s just stupid and call for an investigation is ridiculous.

  58. Most people here could score a 20. But, have no talent. So enjoy your moment geeks. That moment where you can feel superior in your cubicle.

    But, reality will set in that a guy who could only muster a 4 on the Wonderlic, will make tens of millions of dollars before age 22. While you’ll be lucky to reach age 65 with enough to retire.

    Enjoy

  59. Most of you are F%##%#! idiots. Who cares if he scores a 4 on his wonderlic. This is way of making a living, most of you are just jealous.

  60. Stop laughing. Dude obviously can’t read – there’s no other possibility because the Wonderlic just ain’t that difficult.

    If a student is illiterate through college, yeah it’s his fault, but much blame goes to the school systems he attended too.

  61. Don’t take the bait Vikes! Make the pick, line him up opposite Megatron, Jennings, and Marshall, and be glad. The only thing he needs to know how to read is their hips…

  62. How will he ever handle the $$$ he stands to make playing football.

    This guy is a candidate to be dead broke pretty fast when his playing days are over.

    🙁

  63. szhamilton says:
    Apr 3, 2012 7:44 AM
    The joke, however, continues to be on anyone who thinks the Wonderlic measures anything of import. About anything. Ever.

    ==================================
    Goobs, you think the Wonderlic measures imports (like cars, tvs, etc)?

    You must have scored 3 on the Wonderlic, Goobs.

  64. If you want to know how he passed in college just look to Clem Haskins and the cheating scandal at the University of Minnesota in the 90s. It’s kind of sad to be honest, although he will be a wealthy person in a couple months so I’m not crying over it.

    It’s funny, the local morning radio guys took the Wonderlic on the air once and they easily got the first 10 questions right and they are more or less morons.

  65. I presume that Dexter Manley never took this test due to the fact he couldn’t read or write and would have earned a zero. The sad part is these players bump out other potential students who are smart enough to attend college.

  66. I call BS.

    The statistical likelihood of getting 4/50 correct is pretty low, even if you are random guessing.

    If there are 3 “wrong” answers to each question, you have a 25% chance of guessing right.

    Plus some of the questions, if the samples on the web are accurate, are so simple that anyone could get the right answer. ANYONE

  67. Hey here is a thought maybe some players look at the wonderlick as what it’s worth ( nothing ) and don’t take it seriously. I mean he knows he is a top ten pick the wonderlick won’t change that at all. I remember when my state was gonna roll out the state test and all the teachers kept tellin us this test doesn’t count against your grades or placement it was kind of a trial test but take it seriously. Well I was an A B student and I didn’t take that test serious besause regardless of what I did I was graduating going to the college I wanted to go to so I tanked it and that’s what these players are doing

  68. a55hol says:
    Apr 3, 2012 8:30 AM
    Why do we get an education? To make money. This guy will be making millions…who cares how stupid he is? He’ll make more in one contract than most of us willmake in 30 years. Is an education really even an issue at this point? Now, i wouldnt recommend that path, but at this point, who cares? He made it….plenty of smart people that are broke, sittin their asses in their trailer that still isnt paid for.

    ——————-
    That’s a really stupid way to look at things dude. Did you go to an SEC school by chance?

    What happens in a few years when Claiborne is broke after having blown his millions on strippers and cars? The fact that he can barely read isn’t going to help. Maybe LSU can get him a job working at a local mall or gas station…

  69. kevinfromphilly says:
    Apr 3, 2012 7:35 AM
    In a few months, he’s gonna have ten million dollars in the bank. I wish I was that dumb.
    ****************************
    And in a few years, he will have nothing and be back on the public dole, and we willl read another story about pro athletes being taken advantage of by some financial advisor.

  70. He must have spelled his name wrong… I bet it won’t remain a four, somehow.

  71. Cheating by Universities and student athletes is a rampant problem in the academic world. If it happens at little known Indiana State, what do you think happens at big schools like this? They are given the answers beforehand for tests or have others take the tests for them. I experienced it first hand. Baseball, Football players wThe system is a joke. I’m sorry but if your that dumb, you shouldn’t be given a scholarship to play football at a major university.

    But no one, no one will stand up and take out this fraud of a system down to the core. Little infractions here and there, but as a society we now look the other way.

    Truly a sad state of affairs.

  72. The Wonderlic test is archaic & overrated. If a player has a reading comprehension issue or dyslexia, they are not given special circumstances…

  73. My wife played Tennis for a Big East university and she would always tell stories of having her check-in meetings with the assistant AD interrupted by football players coming in to pick-up their term papers the AD had written for them.

  74. He’ll, I’ve seen road kill that can do a 4. They have chimp’s that can do 17.

  75. I am shocked that Florio would leak a students private data. I demand a minimum 1 year suspension and $500,000 fine for this lapse of moral judgement. Florio broke the rules and he is lying and covering up his source. Anyway, Wonderlic is a test of quick thinking, not of all thinking, and performance on a test that lasts minutes does not neccessarily indicate performance on 1-2 hour tests. You could also fail the Wonderlic by having moderate intelligence, getting nervous, and overthinking a couple questions.

  76. do you ever do a story that is not tearing someone down? you must be a miserable little man. every post is write is just tearing another down to size. here is a story for you Florio….Work the rest of your life and you will not approach what this “dumb” kid is about to make over his career. deal with it. you are not a pro athlete and not a “jounalist” either. You are a mean hack. do you know this child’s story? could he possibly have learning disabilities? there are those people who simply do not test well. But as always, nothing but the worst for everyone. I pity you these days. Site used to be so much better and more humorous. Now everything just comes off as mean

  77. Mario Manningham scored a six or seven, yet he was smart enough to be a hero in the Super Bowl.

    Dan Marino scored like a 13 or 14, and he is a bright guy, and we know great a player he was.

    Claiborne either didn’t take it seriously, or he is not that smart. The guy played for a great team at a high level, and should be coach-able.

    The fact that a ‘Student-Athlete’ was brought along in the system and maintained eligibility is not a surprise at this point. The NCAA, the Schools and Fans all know the score at this point. It has become acceptable to us.

  78. What wonderful intellegent comments here. Can’t wait for a few years down the road when people like you will be calling this guy BOSS.

  79. Run fast.jump high.get the ball.and do whatever the safety tells you to do.its defense people he’ll be fine…on the field lol!

  80. tatum064 says:
    Apr 3, 2012 7:31 AM
    Why would PFT comment on it thereby “poisoning the well” for the players prospects?
    =======================

    How could that happen?

    His Wonderlic score is readily available to all teams and has been since he took the test at the combine. The only people who didn’t know his score before this morning was the public.

    What, do you think NFL teams wait for this site to leak scores?

  81. I have to admit. The wonderlic test isn’t the easiest test, but it is’t difficult at all. The first time I took the Wonderlic, I scored a 37, but believe me, with only 1.5 minute to complete it, time is your enemy…lol

  82. ecupatsfan12 says:
    Apr 3, 2012 7:34 AM
    glad to see that fine SEC education paying off for him

    ——————————————-

    If you seriously think this is a problem that only happens in the SEC, you are naive.

    Btw, if you ever need Orthopedic surgery,there’s a good chance your Dr. is a Vanderbilt Grad.

  83. szhamilton says:
    Apr 3, 2012 7:44 AM
    The joke, however, continues to be on anyone who thinks the Wonderlic measures anything of import. About anything. Ever.
    ==================

    Actually, if you look back, extraordinarily low wonderlic scores have been a pretty good indicator for players who have trouble adjusting to pro life and/or get into off field troubles:

    CJ Spiller
    Vince Young
    Ryan Leaf
    Jeff George
    Sebastian Janakowski
    Terrelle Pryor (don’t know if he’ll trouble in the NFL, but he sure screwed up his Ohio State career)

    I think if I were going to give the wonderlic any credence, it would be as a warning sign of potential adjustment issues, not playing ability.

  84. Who cares? For those saying its a joke guys like this get thru college, complain to the system that makes them go to school before they can play in the league. Or would you rather watch a lower level of play on Sunday because only guys smart enough to make it into major colleges academically could be drafted? Give me a break….. This story and a lot of the comments are a joke.

  85. The SEC will do whatever it takes to keep the Football superiority in tact.

    They lost the war in the 1800’s they’ll be damned if they’re gonna lose this one cuz of some fancy book learnin …

  86. Just another reason that Paterno was so great. Look at the players he produced and see their AVG scores. He made have missed a few, but on avg they are much much higher than those in Texas or the SEC.

  87. Must make the NCAA proud. What is there new ad? “So much for the Dumb Jock Myth”? I think it was on the sideline banner of last nights game in LA. It is a losing battle for the NCAA. Most of these kids are just dumb, and do not deserve to receive a college education because they can run or jump. Give it to a lesser athelete that will go to class, soak it in, retain it, and contribute back to society. My 12 year old took a practice test online and scored a 10. Can this kid tie his own shoes or is he using velcro?

  88. The NCAA is a monopolistic disgrace. I am not going to make fun of this kid because when a kid goes through college and scores a 4 on a Wonderlic it is not his fault but the adults around him who enabled this to happen. These kids have a special skill that is marketable and because of the cartel that is the NFL and the NCAA they are required to go through the charade of the “student athlete” in order to get to a point where they can make a living for their families. If he had a talent in music, acting, or even baseball he would not be required to provide his labor for free to a university so they can make millions while he can’t even afford to take his girlfriend to the movies.

  89. I’ve taken the WOnderlic (or at least a version of it) and there are some tougher questions on the test and the time limit is a facotr, but here is an example of one question: Which of the following does not belong with the other? A. April. B. June. C. Saturday. D. November

    A person in a coma can get a 4.

  90. I think Daniel Tosh said it best….Don’t you love it when people in school are like, ‘I’m a bad test taker.’ You mean you’re stupid. Oh, you struggle with that part where we find out what you know?

  91. kevinfromphilly says:Apr 3, 2012 7:35 AM

    In a few months, he’s gonna have ten million dollars in the bank. I wish I was that dumb.
    ___________________

    And unless he has good mentoring and proper financial advice, fifteen years from now there’s a good probabilty he’ll be bankrupt.

  92. I want to see Vince Young, Pac Man Jones and Morris Claiborne competing on Jeopardy!!!

  93. Its not hard to do the bare min in college and get a C, especially if they stick a tutor on his hip

  94. “The Wonderlic doesn’t determine anything, only how well you do on the Wonderlic. Irresponsible Florio.”

    Still doesn’t explain a 4. If what you say is true we would see more 4’s,but we rarly do. 5 min of prep time from any draft tutor could have gotten him a better score then a 4.

    If anything it shows he didnt care to prepare for it.

  95. I suggest a lot of you commenters try taking the Wonderlic yourself before bashing Claiborne or anyone else for that matter. Judging by the godawful logic, grammar, punctuation, and spelling regularly on display in the comments on this site, many of you would be lucky to score a 3.

  96. Heck, he could just guess “B” on every answer and most likely push his score up to a 25%

  97. That is 3 points higher than the sum of the IQ’s of Mike McCarthy, the green bay starting defense, and all packer “stockholders” combined.

  98. Stephen Hawking would score lower than a 4. Not an intelligence test but a timed critical thinking test. On the field he makes quick decisions. Perhaps he is a slow reader, or is dyxlexic. Does not mean he is unintelligent. If someone makes a judgment based solely on this test, then they are the unintelligent person. Just like judging his football skills from his Combine performance.

  99. I don’t care what he got on the test. As long as the vikings draft him, he covers well, picks off a few balls, and doesn’t beat on women. I will cheer for him.

  100. Doesn’t mean he can’t play football. Just means he will be broke when his career comes to an end for blowing his money on escalades and strippers.

  101. Easy, enroll them in all on-line courses, get “tutors” to sign in for them and do all the work and ‘tests’, DONE. Not hard at all. Don’t even have to go to class these days, maybe once a week to go over things, rest is all on line, that’s how its done.

  102. You can’t prepare if you are already that illiterate.

    Wow…..sad state of where people just let this guy slide through everything.

    A 6th grader can get a 10 on this test WITHOUT prep!!!!

    He is considered illiterate if he can’t get a 10 or better………and we wonder why these guys are still dumb and broke a few years after retiring.

  103. As long as he runs fast backward and forward and can tackle, sprinkle in a few pics here and there he gets an A+ in NFL grades. Lets be honest he didn’t go to college to get a degree. he took a couple online classes that some schmuck took for him and filled in the rest with courses like “Basketball” or “Strength training.” If he is lucky enough to have a long NFL career he made the best out what he was gifted with.

  104. The whole state is toxic at every level – LSU, the Saints etc – and only one thing will fix it – immediately penalize Belichick, take all the Pats drafts picks

  105. Who cares? I don’t mind that a football player coasted through school. Football is his profession. It’s what he wants to do. I did a wonderlic and scored 24. Its not that hard, but as long as my QB doesn’t have this score I don’t care. Some things come easy to people. For Claiborne, it was his athleticism, not intellegence. So be it.

  106. Ah gets too playe futbawl and makes sum munny so’s I can bye summ weeed.

  107. There’s no penalty for guessing on the test. So, assuming there’s 5 answers per question, on average you are going to get a 10 if you guess every question without looking. Getting a 4 with this method is less than a 2% chance.

    If he answered all 50 questions, he’d pretty much have to deliberately try to get a 4 pretty much.

    The key question is how many questions did he try to answer and how seriously. That kind of score makes me question his ability to take tasks seriously and make a concerted effort more than it makes me question his raw intelligence.

    -QG

  108. That test is designed to be an intelligence test, but it invariably is influenced by education. Meaning, the more educated a person is, the higher they will likely score. Part of the success of education, is training your brain to work at a more efficient level, & it requires effort. I don’t know where this young man falls on the spectrum, but I would say this result as a defensive back, is only a red flag if he has character concerns… put the 2 together & it can be a recipe for a Cromartie & that puts a bad taste in my mouth. If he is a good kid, you can teach him:)

  109. College athletes must have their own “tests” that they take at these universities.

    I was able to secretly sneak a peak at one of their entrance exam questions:

    What color is a gray cat?
    a) Gray
    b) All of the above

  110. It’s not the S.E.C., Matt Stafford scored a 48. This guy must have had some extra help through school.

  111. I don’t find this funny at all… why is this kid’s wonderlick test results being posted nationally? Especially for a position that is based purely on football instincts and athletic talent. Now all the d-bags on this site can have a good laugh I suppose, WEAK. (Go Buckeyes!)

  112. Regardless of what this says about student athletes, LSU, or how seriously potential draft picks take the test and how much effort they put forth, this is a red flag from a draft standpoint.

    Does a player have to be whip-smart to be successful in the NFL? No. But as at least one earlier comment suggested, a player has to digest a playbook and be able to make quick decisions under pressure. This MIGHT be an idication that Claiborne will have trouble with those tasks. Also, people that lack intelligence tend to be more likely to make poor decisions off of the field as well. If I’m drafting in the top 5, or the top 10, Claiborne is not the “no-brainer” (see what I did there?) pick that he was before taking the test. I now would go back and re-watch film, and I would bring him in for a pre-draft visit involving an exhaustive interview with questions aimed at establishing whether or not he can indeed digest and regurgitate X’s and O’s, and whether or not he’s prone to poor decisions off the field. While the test results alone might not affect his draft status, it has opened him up for further evaluation and scrutiny that may indeed cause him to slip. Then again, if he’s able to reassure me with his on-field performance (game tape), history of character (No criminal record? No multiple children with different mommies?), and through the interview during the pre-draft visit, then maybe I’m not concerned about the test score.

  113. Hilarious! Let’s see how many people will
    be screaming about the Wonderlic when
    this kid gets his first pick six! Why even
    embarrass this kid with this story? I know it’s
    offseason and you guys need a story, but come
    on! That’s what Tebow is for!

    Al Davis Forever!!!
    Just Win Baby!!!

  114. You get 5 points for spelling your name correctly.

    Seriously, all you need to know is if he can play. Like thraiderskin said, his position is based on instinct and reflexes, he doesn’t have to be a Rhodes Scholar.

  115. Whoever drafts this kid will need to have a good animator on staff … the game plan will need to be in comic strip or cartoon format.

    Top 10 pick

  116. stankybills says:
    Apr 3, 2012 7:49 AM
    Who cares?! Can he play football? If he can read a defense, that’s all that really matters at this point.
    ___________________________________
    I agreed with everything you said until you said can he read defense. HE PLAYS DEFENSE

  117. LSU is actually a pretty decent academic school. Its not Ivy league by any stretch, but its no joke. Thing is, these prospects DON’T CARE what there score is. A friend of mine was a draft prospect (went undrafted and is out of the league) and one of the things he told me is that 75% of the guys who take this thing just mark down a bunch of random answers and then walk out.

  118. As for people saying that you’d get higher than this for guessing, most guys who don’t care probably just go in and mark “C” for everything. Agents know the test means nothing, so they can tell the players to not even worry about it.

  119. I’ve taken the Wonderlick several times. Much of it is multiple choice. It’s also timed.
    If the guy simply guessed on the multiple choice questions he should get better than 4. My guess is he can’t read above a 1st grade level and didn’t answer 95% of the test questions.

  120. The NFL is dirty this should never be made public, your a midget Florio hiding in your living room cause no NFL wants u II would pay to watch Claiborne turn u inside out. Coward

  121. Here are a couple questions that are similar to what can be found on an NFL Wonderlic Test.

    1. A train travels 20 feet in 1/5 second. At this same speed, how many feet will it travel in three seconds?

    2. The ninth month of the year is
    1. October, 2. January, 3. June, 4. September, 5 May.

    3. Paper sells for 21 cents per pad. What will four pads cost?

  122. Please explain the purpose of reporting a prospect’s Wonderlic Score? If he had scored a 44 would you have reported that? This is the type of “Journalism” that turns fans off! Stop trying to create news and just report it,if you’re capable that is!

  123. Oh, don’t be too hard on the kid. He was probably suffering from a cannabis OD at the time and fell asleep after the second question.

  124. Wow, I’m shocked that the NCAA has players who are at schools but not learning anything, but it’s okay because everyone’s making money.

    Hopefully, this new USFL or some incarnation of a true NFL minor league can get rid of this farce that is known as college football. It shouldn’t be a prerequisite for guys to go to college if they have no desire to because it just makes a joke of the university system that’s supposedly preparing young people for careers afterward.

    In that case, some guys would go to college, some guys would not, but we wouldn’t have this shock happening when a guy shows up unable to pass a basic standardized test because the men who’ve taken the college route have done so because they preferred to learn and play football at the same time, while the guys who want to just play football for alittle bit of pay and have no desire to be in school can take that alternate route.

    Sounds fair enough to me, which means it never will happen.

  125. Oh yeah, and btw it doesn’t matter much. I remember this time last year some clueless personnel person speaking off the record saying that AJ Green would be a bust because “it’s hard for dumb receivers.”

    He sure made Andy Dalton look legit though with his 6 Wonderlic or whatever it was though.

  126. One would think that, even if you guessed, you’d score more than 4 out of 50.

    Heck, if you put all “C’s” down, you’d probably get around 10-11 (on average).

    Then again, no one says these guys have to be smart. As long as they do their **** job and help their team win games, I don’t think too many NFL franchises are concerned with a guy scoring an Epic Fail on the Wonderlic.

  127. Makes Jamarcus Russel look like a genius. Having gone to school at Tulane and lived with a football player I can tell you that some of them are borderline illiterate. They get easy classes with easy teachers and easy tests to get easy grades and stroll thru college if they chose to do so and with the blessing of the university as long as they perfrom on the field and dont get into trouble.

  128. This is the SEC at it’s finest. Football talent only. Intelligence need not apply. Yeah they can play football and win NCAA championships but you don’t go to school there for an education. You go to get to the NFL.

  129. 1.) He’s going to be bankrupt three years after he retires. His advisors, who have masters degrees, will be rich. He’ll have a less than 1% chance of getting a high paying TV or coaching job.

    2.) For every “student athlete” who doesn’t bother to attend a class then makes millions in the pros, there are 30 who didn’t bother to attend class, and never get invited to a training camp.

    It’s criminal that this is allowed to happen.

  130. okay, I just took the wonderlic test …I did the test eight different times and in order, I scored a 20, 21, 16,22, 13, 22,16, and 26

    each time after you get your score, it will tell you that you scored on par with X player, and what X player did either in college or the pros….at 26, I scored higher than Ben Rothlisberger(25) of Miami Oh and the Steelers….at 21 and 22, on par with Cam Newton(21) of Auburn and Carolina, at 20, I scored higher than Michael Oher(19)of Ole Miss and Baltimore Ravens…at 16, I scored higher than Julio Jones of Alabama and Atlants and at 13, I scored higher than AJ Green of Georgia and Cincy Bengals.

    here is the link…try it for yourself and see if you are smarter than a draft pick:

    http://www.nicholascreative.com/footballiq/index.php?reset=true

  131. I like the Wonderlic only because it humiliates the universities and the athletes. If a university can continue passing students who are functionally illiterate without any review or repercussions than they deserve to be humiliated once a year.

    And yes, my great dane could get a 4 if only I could fit a pencil in her paw.

  132. Haven’t seen to many millionaires gloating about their Wonderlic scores. All he needs to know is how to sign his name on those huge checks. Seriously though, hope this kid has a ethical(good luck with that) agent, family member or associate who will guide him to spend, save and invest his money prudently or he’s going to become another negative statistic financially in a couple of years. Just a shame, if this is truly the case he didn’t take advantage of a free education while playing sports in today’s age of high educational cost and impacted programs.

  133. @neovenatar250

    Maybe that attitude is part of the reason your friend went undrafted?

    Personnel men in the NFL look at this test result. That alone should be motivation enough to put forth an effort while taking the test. If a player chooses not to put forth that effort, that tells me something about that player (i.e. the player will make his own decisions as to which parts of his job are important to try at and which aren’t) and the test has done its job.

    Also, for those that say this should be confidential, why? It’s an evaluation tool at the NFL combine, just like 40-times, vertical jumps and height and weight measurements. Should their 40-times be confidential, too? Height? Weight?

  134. Well, I suppose he could also play with an intelligent midget perched on his shoulders and change his name to Master Blaster.

  135. I dont know about criminal. Many of these kids, the overwhelming vast majority come from below the poverty level you’d imagine. They have nothing except football and it has made them a better person for it as the options are usually ones that lead to a grave or a jail cell. Also the majority of these guys are good guys, the bad ones make the noise and get noticed but most of them are humble and lovable guys with their head in the right place just unfortunately for them, God or genetics did not bless them with intelligence as we understand it. SHould the universities be more interested in their education? Definitely. Is it criminal whats happening? Definitely not. Its a blessing for them and for us and for the penal system whose load is lightened because these kids decided to be athletes instead of gangbangers. Cheers! Bravo!

  136. Are they sure he spelled his name correctly? He only scored a 4? How did he even find the building that he took the test in?

    The NFL should require players to score a 20 or above in order to enter the draft. Doing so might just cut down on some of the legal issues they have to deal with from players getting in trouble.

  137. acerx1225 says:
    Apr 3, 2012 12:13 PM
    Makes Jamarcus Russel look like a genius.

    ——-

    Except Jamarcus Russell got a 24 on the test, which makes me wonder why you even brought him up.

  138. Perhaps Claiborne just blew off the test, and didn’t try whatsoever.

    It’s not like he needed to try.

  139. I’m pretty sure if the wonderlic test was a basic intelligence test it would be administered in other situations than the draft. mike florio isn’t it against the rules of journalism to show your own personal opinion, I thought you guys were supposed to remain objective and not to show personal bias? If you don’t follow those rules with your job maybe your the idiot.

  140. And some of you out there think college football players should get paid……this guy would of been getting paid to waste seats in your classroom and dumb down the University.

  141. What is there 4 choices on each multiple choice question? That’s a 25% chance to guess right. 25% of 50 = 12.5. To get not only less than 12.5 but less than 1/3 that amount is incredible.

    Morris Claiborne has proven to excel in the incredible. Dude just solidified himself as a top 10 prospect.

  142. Again, this is why academic scholarships for NCAA athletes is STUPID!!!!

    Why?? They’re raised in football and basketball high school factories, have an adequate (at best) GPA and test score(s) to barely get accepted, and are only capable of majoring in Baloney, Malarky, and Sociology!!!!!!

    They do more for the school than academic scholarship students, but the academic scholars are given NO DRASTIC restrictions!!!!!!

  143. To put in perspective, I found a copy of wonderlic online, my 4 year old used a blue crayon and scored a 12.

  144. From National Football Post…

    “When Claiborne came out of high school, the schools that recruited him knew he had a learning disability. I don’t know much about his disability other than it has to do with reading. Everyone I have talked to tells me that Claiborne has great character and is a great kid. He knows and understands his disability and uses all the resources that LSU has available to control it and to help him get by in the classroom. When it comes to football he puts in extra time to learn and understand his assignments and it is not a problem. Will he need reps? Probably, but no more than the usual rookie would need. In saying that, Claiborne’s test score was NOT a true indicator of his intelligence. He can and does learn.

    Claiborne is expected to be drafted in the top 5 of this month’s NFL Draft. What I suspect happened is a club drafting after 5 leaked the test score to try and scare off teams in the top 5 from drafting Claiborne. The clubs have known the results of these scores for weeks. If they had any questions about a player’s ability to learn they have had plenty of time to do their research to feel if they are comfortable with drafting Claiborne. The team leaking the score is hoping that the public backlash for drafting a player with such a low score will scare them off. Unfortunately, this is dirty pool but it often happens this time of year in the NFL. Just remember, if you start to hear a lot of negative things about some highly rated players in the next few weeks, it’s because a team who drafts later in the round wants the player to drop so they can have an opportunity to select him.”

  145. Common man, if you just picked A) on every answer you probably get a 12 0r 13. He’s so dumb he couldn’t even figure that out?

  146. Jerry Jones must have tutored him…Just make the SEC the triple A minor league for the NFL and forget the requirement to pretend they are students & give them cash above the table.

  147. gmen1987 says:
    Apr 3, 2012 8:46 AM
    szhamilton says:
    Apr 3, 2012 7:44 AM
    The joke, however, continues to be on anyone who thinks the Wonderlic measures anything of import. About anything. Ever.

    ==================================
    Goobs, you think the Wonderlic measures imports (like cars, tvs, etc)?

    You must have scored 3 on the Wonderlic, Goobs.

    ——————

    I sure hope you were being sarcastic…

  148. i dont see what this score really matters if he is just going to bee a professional cornerback. In a year from now after he has had 5 or 6 ints and a kick off return for a TD. You guys will be wishing your team would have drafted Claiborne.

    And Yes if he didnt play football he probably would have never gotten in to LSU. The purpose of college football is to bring money to the schools, not to give unintelligent people an education. LSU has over a 30 million dollar profit per year from their football team. the players #1 reason for going to college is to play football and hopefully make it to the NFL. The school part is just a cover up for what is really going on but it doesn’t bother me by any means

  149. About as suprising as spellingcops bringing a Raider reference…what a douche.

  150. kevinfromphilly says:
    Apr 3, 2012 7:35 AM
    In a few months, he’s gonna have ten million dollars in the bank. I wish I was that dumb.
    ————–

    That doesn’t mean it’ll stay there. He wouldn’t be the first NFL player to go bankrupt.

    Its common to get a lot of money, lose it, and have no education to fall back on.

  151. @ebbycalvinlaloosh

    No, my friend actually tried on the test. He just heard from the other players about not caring.

    Also, if Claibourne has a disability, then thats a serious thing. Doesn’t mean he isn’t smart.

  152. “This is all just a racist plot by the white establishment to keep the Black man down, if you ax me.”

    Signed: Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson

  153. @stairwayto7 …

    Honey, you are a broken record. Plenty of extremely intelligent students get their degrees in the SEC and go on to have very successful careers in a variety of fields. Nothing is wrong with SEC education. Your only concern is bitterness over the SEC football players who’ve won six straight NCAA titles. And you Penn State fans shouldn’t be talking about what people in any other football program do in their spare time. Even if Claiborne did major in moonshining, inbreeding, gator hunting, and robbing, it beats heck out of what your coaches taught. Now sit down and shut up.

  154. seriously….a Four?

    If you can read the English language at a 5th grade level you should get double digits.

    If I didn’t read ANY questions and randomly guessed at every answer…I would get at least a 10.

    “4” is somewhere between Mongo and a rock.

    One of the best CB’s to ever play the game, Rod Woodson scored a 9.

    Obviously Wonderlic scores and CB play don’t share much of a correlation.

  155. Most multiple-guess questions have four answers. Even picking “enie-meanie-minty-mo he should have lucked out and scored a 12-13 simply on blind luck. L.S.U., the school, the athletics department, everyone should be ashamed. Saddest part, it’s not just an isolated event. If you can play they’ll find a way for you to stay.

  156. Well, this is an old argument. It does however reignite the issue of what to do with kids who have real talent and want to play, but are obvious non-scholars. It seems almost cruel in a way to send these kids to college.

    I’ve always believed there should be a developmental league. I know, NFL Europe, but that didn’t last.

  157. Every year many of you wait for some Poor Kid who will soon become a millionaire to score low which you think gives you license and cover for the spewing of ignorant stereotypes to blanket an entire group of people and feel better about yourselves.

    @ESPNfeedback

  158. No it’s not racist like some posters have expressed. All nationalities take the Wonderlic and the score is important to all positions, especially the QB postion (which is mostly white). If a company is going to pay someone millions of dollars, and intelligence is a factor in performance, then that is something that they must evaluate.

    The only shame about the whole thing is that it becomes public knowledge. NFL should do something to keep those numbers. If they can’t do that, I believe they should do away with the Wonderlic and allow teams to give their own competency test if they choose to interview a certain player.

  159. What the idiot writer failed to mention is that Claireborne has a known learning disability. How convenient for him.

  160. Mike Florio rails on Clairborne’s 4 on the Wonderlick. This is a kid with a knows learning disability who made it through LSU with the help of tutors, a kid who dedicated himself not to being pushed along through college but rather put in the extra work to actually make it through. He’s not a genius, he’s just a kid, he has a disability he continues to work to overcome. Media types like Mike Florio get ahold of info like this, material that is supposed to remain private, and they release it instead of having respect for the young man and his family. Florio is scum.

  161. I’ve taken the Wonderlic. Most people would be really surprised to see how easy the questions are. It’s really about a 6th grade test I would think. I would think anyone who can read could get a LOT higher than a 4. Claiborne might just not be able to read.

  162. If Vince Young, with a 6, is still playing QB with all the brain skills that position requires in the NFL, how bad can it be for a super-athlete to overcome a 4 at a cornerback/safety position ?

    It may simply limit the number of teams who will gamble a draft pick on someone with such neanderthal human intelligence.

    To date, the wonderlic score has not proven itself as a true test of success or failure in the NFL.

    So give the kid a chance?

  163. I think the important question in all of this is… does he need someone to handle his finances?

    “Mr. Claiborne, of course it’s standard practice that your agent gets a 88% cut of your contract…”

  164. What’s really sad is that some poor future Einstein, who could be behind the cure for cancer, is shlepping off to community college somewhere because this guy is taking up a seat in the classroom.

  165. Posted by his Aunt on a Tigers message board:

    “He has a learning disability. He does well overall in school because he has utilized tutors to help him study,study,study. However, when he takes a test “blind” then he has problems processing the information. Since the Wonderlic doesn’t affect his draft status and doesn’t ultimately matter, he didn’t feel the need to study for it like he does on school exams.”

  166. You can take a practice W-test…just search for it on google. From my recollection, about ten questions are 4th-8th grade level, about 25 are high school level and around fifteen you need some brain power for. I believe the “average” person scores about a 15-18 on it. Says a lot about the pitifulness of our great public school system.

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