Thursday, Eric Fisher of Central Michigan became the third first-round NFL draft pick in recent years from below the testosterone-pumped level of the BCS conferences, joining David Carr of Fresno State in 2002 and Alex Smith of Utah in 2005. Fisher, who grew up in Michigan, went to Central Michigan because neither of the state's big-deal football programs, the University of Michigan and Michigan State, wanted him. So take that, Wolverines and Spartans!

But there's something more about Fisher that is endearing. Coming out of high school, ratings services said he was no good. Fisher is the classic Everyman, making it entirely on his own.

When Fisher was a high school senior, ESPN Recruiting Nation graded him as "not rated," which means scouts thought he was inconsequential. Rivals gave Fisher two stars, in a system where five is hot stuff and two is generic, given to mid-major prospects.

I looked up who was lauded by ESPN Recruiting Nation and Rivals in Fisher's senior year -- who got a 90 or higher from Recruiting Nation, or five stars from Rivals. Several went on to become college stars or high draft selections, including Patrick Peterson, A.J. Green, Julio Jones, Tyron Smith and Arthur Brown. Roughly half those lauded in Fisher's senior year by either recruiting service so far have either done very well in football or were sidelined by severe injuries, meaning we'll ever know.

But almost as many were busts, got in trouble with the law or didn't start for their own college. Dee Finley, Stephen Good, Tyler Love, Enrique Davis, Simi Kuli, Raven Gray, Ray Ray Armstrong, Craig Loston, Jermie Calhoun -- these and others received top billing from recruiting services, and were subjects of recruiting wars by big-college programs, at the same time Fisher was being ignored in his own backyard.

Of course all professions have examples of those who were overrated, or flamed out, or squandered potential by acting irresponsibly. If there were recruiting websites for the most promising high school seniors aiming for med school, years later half the names would have vanished while some total unknowns came on strong. The fact that prospect ratings services often err isn't a surprise -- the draft itself often errs.

The small message of this is that young athletes should not let early praise go to their heads. Far too many with seemingly unlimited promise botch their chances and, by their mid-20s, have nothing.

The big message is that the unknown Everyman can still come out on top. Don't let anyone else define you -- all that matters is how you define yourself. The Experts said Eric Fisher wasn't good. How delightful that The Experts can once again be proven wrong.

In other football news, bartender, zone reads for everyone! The college-derived zone-read offense got the Seahawks and Redskins into the playoffs, and got San Francisco within fourth-and-goal of winning the Super Bowl. Going into the coming season, many teams will run the zone-read and many will brace to stop it.

The top of the draft told that story. The sole quarterback taken in Round 1, EJ Manuel, seems a long shot for the NFL, but was the well-known quarterback most familiar with zone-read tactics. Three of the first six players chosen -- Dion Jordan by Miami, Ezekiel Ansah by Detroit and Barkevious Mingo by Cleveland -- are lean, rangy edge rushers. None would be much use against the kind of power-rush offense used by the Cowboys of the 1990s, but all have the speed and reflexes to catch Kaepernick or RG III when they keep the ball and veer outside.

And the preponderance of offensive linemen in Round 1, coupled to the absence of running backs, is in its way an indicator of the fad. Watch a quick-paced zone-read attack -- the Skins of 2012 or the Oregon Ducks' blur offense. These tactics depend on fabulous blocking: the left tackle is more important than the tailback. Blocking matters in any kind of football. But the zone read just can't work if someone gets off his block right at the snap. Small wonder five of the first 10 selected were offensive linemen, while the first runner wasn't chosen 'til pick 37.

Rocky Zone Read is a great flavor of the month. Expect vanilla football to reassert itself. AP Photo/Eric Risberg

Fads comes and go. The Wildcat seemed unstoppable for a while. Once nobody could stop the run-and-shoot; now nobody even uses it. Mike Tomlin had a point when he described the zone read as the "flavor of the month." Sometimes the flavor of the month is really good, but year in and year out, vanilla, chocolate and strawberry dominate sales. By the end of the 2013 season, zone-read attacks may be stalled, while classic pocket passers shred college-flavored defenses. A few years down the road, Matt Barkley is more likely to be in the Pro Bowl than EJ Manuel.

Here's the Tuesday Morning Quarterback draft analysis:

Arizona: With the seventh choice, the Cardinals made Jonathan Cooper the highest-drafted guard since Chris Naeole, at 10 in 1998; a short time later, Chance Warmack went to the Titans at 10, matching Naeole. Guards everywhere should enjoy this, as their moments in the sun are few.

Atlanta: It's easy to forget that this team finished 14-4 and came within a few snaps of the Super Bowl. In the draft, the Falcons restocked at corner and added a 6-foot-8 tight end to one of the league's best passing offenses.

Baltimore: The defending champions used a fourth-round choice on fullback Kyle Juszczyk of Harvard; Green Bay used a fourth on J.C. Tretter of Cornell, and Mike Capatano of Princeton went to Kansas City in the seventh round. In 2012, there were nine Ivy Leaguers on NFL rosters -- that's less than 1 percent of the league, but then, less than 1 percent of undergraduates attend Ivy institutions.

Lift the chorus, speed it onward / He was drafted from Cornell. Cornell University

Oh for the days of 1969, when Marty Domres of Columbia and Calvin Hill of Yale were No. 1 selections. Juszczyk and Tretter are the highest Ivy League picks since Jeff Hatch of Penn, taken in the third round by the Giants in 2003.

Buffalo: The Bills used a third-round pick on Marquise Goodwin, fastest man at the combine -- he ran a 4.3, excuse me, a 4.27. That's fast. Complication: Goodwin was never a full-time starter in college, recording just 26 receptions as a senior. So he's a track star but his own college coaches thought he couldn't play. Why will that change in the pros? In 1992, the Jets used a first-round choice on tight end Johnny Mitchell, who was incredibly fast but did not start in college. You fill in the rest.

The Bills' new head coach, Doug Marrone, is coming from NCAA football to the NFL. He had a college-style draft -- using his picks on a quarterback, two wide receivers, a speed linebacker, two defensive backs, a tight end. Marrone didn't draft any linemen on either side of the ball, using all ammo for flashy guys. At a time when speed dominates Division I football, a head coach coming over from a football factory may obsess about getting flashy guys, while taking the line for granted. Taking the line for granted is a fatal error in the NFL.

Carolina: Can you name anyone who plays defensive line for the Panthers? Neither can most others who follow football. The Cats paid a huge amount last season to defensive end Charles Johnson, but he played for sack stats and was often burned by draws and screens. Carolina used its first- and second-round choices on defensive linemen. If the Carolina offense continues to perform as it did during a late-season surge, adding a decent defensive front could make the Cats a 2013 contender.

Chicago: Clear the decks -- prepare to dive -- new head coach Marc Trestman says he will switch Devin Hester from being a wide receiver back to being a kick returner. In other news, Saudi Arabia announced that it was dropping the rap music experiment and would switch to emphasizing oil production.

Colin Kaepernick runs the zone-read. It's totally unstoppable! For now. AP Photo/Paul Spinelli

Cincinnati. No running back chosen in the first round for the first time since the old NFL and AFL drafts merged. Who was the first running back selected in 2013? The answer is Giovani Bernard, tabbed by the Bengals ahead of much better-known Eddie Lacy, Montee Ball and Le'Veon Bell. Bernard is 5-8 -- "5-8 3/8s" -- showing that a normal-sized human being can be a good football player.

Cleveland: The Browns used their first choice on Barkevious Mingo, whose front-seven mates will include Ahtyba Rubin and Ishmaa'ily Kitchen. Cleveland's long-term strategy involves locking up the league's most interesting names.

Dallas: The Cowboys traded down, then used their first-round choice on a guy who draft guru Mike Mayock saw as a third-round fellow. Of course draft gurus are often wrong -- last year Mayock did not have Russell Wilson in his top 100.

NFL scouting departments are often way off base, too, but since they don't post mocks or big boards, their errors become public only via the draft itself. Check, for instance, the quarterback selections of 2007. The Raiders and Browns scouting departments made major errors, while the Eagles, Bills, Dolphins and Cowboys scouting departments didn't exactly cover themselves with glory. NFL professionals sometimes complain about Mayock, Mel Kiper and Todd McShay spouting off regarding draft picks, since draftnik opinions are so often wrong. If NFL scouts released as much detail about their opinions as do Kiper, McShay and Mayock, they'd be shown constantly wrong, too.

Denver: The Broncos seemed poised for the Super Bowl until their secondary went on strike late in what seemed like a sure playoff win over the Ravens. Yet Denver didn't choose a defensive back 'til the third round. And don't look now, but the Broncs offense sputtered in the postseason, averaging just 4.6 yards gained per play, well below the NFL all-teams season average of 5.4.

Detroit: Defensive end Ezekiel Ansah, fifth overall choice of the draft, came to the United States hoping to play basketball, and did not put on pads for the first time until 2010. He became a starter for BYU in 2012 and played well, but was hardly overpowering -- 4.5 sacks, 35 solo tackles. There's a huge risk here of a one-year wonder. Does the name Aaron Maybin ring a bell?

Green Bay: The Packers kept trading down to stockpile mid- and late-round choices. Netting deals with San Francisco, Miami and Denver, Green Bay turned choices 55 and 88 into choices 61, 109, 216 and 224. Check the quantity that resulted.