Tale of the Tape: Alex Tanney vs. Johnny Mac in the battle of obscure trick-shot quarterbacks

It took a little longer than I expected, actually, but inevitably, the instantly viral "trick shot" video by UConn quarterback Johnny McEntee that made the rounds earlier this month has spawned a successor. This entry comes from Alex Tanney, former Division III All-American at Monmouth College in Monmouth, Ill.,and matches McEntee virtually blow for blow:

With Tanney's addition, it appears we have a burgeoning genre on our hands. Which can only mean one thing: It's time to go to the tape.

• Production values. McEntee has a steadier cameraman and crisper editing, but I'd be willing to call it a push if we didn't have to take Tanney's word that he hit the guy in the moving truck on the "Country Fade." The camera probably should have been in the truck. Advantage: McEntee.

• Most impressive throw(s). With respect to McEntee's blindfolded routes and cross-arena swish, nothing he offered rivals Tanney's essentially blind heave across the weight room, much less the impossible through-the-door, over-the-track, into-the-garbage-can throw Tanney hits at the 4:20 mark. Advantage: Tanney.

• Originality. Tanney upped the degree of difficulty on a couple of throws, but his video wouldn't even exist without McEntee's. It's a competent cover of the original with an extra solo. Advantage: McEntee.

• Soundtrack. Even if you hate instantly recognizable, "aw, this is mah song" hits by MIA and/or MGMT, they have to top generic, less-catchy versions of the same thing. Advantage: McEntee, unless/until YouTube pulls the clip for copyright infringement or MIA and MGMT's labels come looking for royalties.

• Supporting cast. Both quarterbacks have very game friends willing to serve as human targets, but the spontaneous, disbelieving enthusiasm of Tanney's crew trumps the Huskies' casual, "screwing around on a Monday" vibe. Plus, unlike anyone in McEntee's video (the finished, edited version, anyway), those bikers actually got drilled. Advantage: Tanney.

• Applicability to actual football. While Tanney has draft-worthy size (6-foot-4/220 pounds) and a sensational career stat line – he entered his senior season as a D-III All-American with 10,158 yards and 118 touchdowns in his first three years as a starter, before going down with a season-ending shoulder injury in the Fighting Scots' second game last September – the closest either comes to replicating anything you'd see in an real game is McEntee's blindfolded pass routes. Advantage: Push. If I had to offer either a scholarship based on their YouTube submissions, it would probably come down to who had the better 40 time. Because we're running the option, son.

So there you have it: When you break it down scientifically, Johnny McEntee remains the true Jedi master of the burgeoning art form of trick-shot quarterbacking, mainly by virtue of being first.

Thus completes the 2011 edition of "Trick Shot Quarterbacks." Unless you're dropping a ball into a basketball hoop mounted in the back of a moving pickup truck while a) Skydiving or b) Riding an angry bull, horse or something from the family of large, predatory cats, please, save yourself the effort. Don't you have a test to study for or something?

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Hat tip: @GabetheWP, via @davidubben.
Matt Hinton is on Twitter: Follow him @DrSaturday.

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