The scholarly study done by the professors on the correlation between Wonderlic and NFL success makes sense. How does a low Wonderlic actually identify the better cornerbacks?
Because cornerback isn't an analytical position. It's a position based on technique, reflex, athletic ability, fluidity of hips, COD, and recovery speed. A high score on the Wonderlic is just as much of a red flag as a low score, particularly for CB's. It means you're subject overthink instead of react, thus not playing the game to your full speed.
Darrelle Revis only scored a 10.
I think items like this are where Gardner's Mulitiple Intelligence Theory in psychology gets it's strongest reliability and viability. Is there any doubt in anyone's mind that Morris Claiborne was the best CB in college football last year? The NFL wants shutdown cornerbacks, not chemists. Kids like Claiborne score high in a different type of intelligence... bodily kinesthetic intelligence.
Emmitt Smith couldn't even put a coherent sentence together, which is why he was fired from ESPN.
I think it's also important to understand that the Wonderlic wasn't designed to be administered on athletes. There's a lot of word association, logic and reasoning on it, not necessarily a predictor, but more of a benchmark. A lot of players score high on these type of tests but can't play football to save their life.
It appears that Morris Claiborne was one of the few at LSU that never got into trouble or follow the crowd. He was a good kid who made good decisions both on and off the field. Perhaps he has a learning disability? Maybe test anxiety? Some of the most intelligent and successful people on the planet suffer from test anxiety.
I won't be surprised when this kid is a Defensive Rookie of the Year candidate by the end of his rookie season.