As an undrafted college free agent, Chase Daniel is the longest of longshots to make an NFL roster in 2009.

But Daniel picked the right team to pursue his dream this summer. More specifically, he picked the right coach.
Daniel is one of four quarterbacks in camp with the Washington Redskins. He sits fourth on the depth chart behind incumbent starter Jason Campbell, incumbent backup Todd Collins and 2008 sixth-round draft pick Colt Brennan.
But if anyone was going to give Daniel a legitimate shot at making an NFL team, it was Redskins coach Jim Zorn.
“I was in that same boat,” said Zorn of his own NFL career, “although I had nine guys I had to work my way through (on the depth chart at quarterback). We had 130 guys in camp.”
That was in 1975 — back in the days when teams could bring an unlimited number of players to training camp. But Zorn worked his way through that maze of competition at quarterback in the Cowboys camp that summer and wound up competing into August with Clint Longley for the backup spot to Roger Staubach.
Longley won the position, but Zorn used his experience from that camp to win the starting position with the expansion Seattle Seahawks in 1976. He wound up starting eight seasons for the Seahawks, passing for 107 touchdowns.
Daniel enters the NFL with better credentials than Zorn. Daniel played at a big school (Missouri), Zorn a small one (Cal Poly-Pomona). Daniel’s 12,515 career passing yards rank 10th in NCAA history, and his 101 TD passes rank sixth.
But his glossy statistics weren’t enough to get Daniel drafted. A former prep All-America at Southlake Carroll, Daniel had two issues on draft day — his size and his offense.
At 6-0, Daniel lacked the prototypical height for the NFL quarterback position. He also ran the spread offense in high school and college, so there were concerns about his ability to take direct snaps from center in a conventional NFL offense.
Zorn reports Daniel has had no problems taking direct snaps this summer. His only problem is getting enough of those snaps in practice and in preseason games to impress the coaches.
“Like all undrafted guys, it’s harder to get the right look, the perfect look,” Zorn said. “There’s no guarantee you’ll get it in camp. But Chase is giving himself every opportunity.”
Daniel didn’t play in the preseason opener against Baltimore but threw for two second-half touchdowns to rally Washington to a 17-13 victory over Pittsburgh in the second game.
“I was lucky enough to get a free-agent contract here,” Daniel said. “I couldn’t be happier where I’m at now. I know this is all part of the game. I’m just waiting for my chance. You get in line and wait for your turn.
“If they want me to run the scout team, I’ll run the scout team. If they want me to play, I’ll go play. It’s all part of the rookie dues — you have to prove you belong here, prove that you can play in the league.”