Welcome to Wonderlic

Want to match wits with Vince Young – or any future NFL draft pick?

Well, if you have 12 minutes to spare, Wonderlic.com has the answers – and questions – similar to those taken by the nation’s best college football players.

Michael Callans, president of Wonderlic Consulting, said the company hopes to have a sample on its Web site – wonderlic.com – before the NFL Draft begins April 29.

“Obviously, it won’t be the same form that the NFL is using, but it will give you an equivalent score,” Callans said.

While sports fans relate the Wonderlic to what takes place at the combine in Indianapolis – where players are tested, measured and interviewed – the NFL represents a fraction of the company’s business. Founded in 1937, Wonderlic Consulting has roughly 10,000 clients ranging from Fortune 100 companies to dental offices with two to three employees.

The test NFL prospects began taking in the 1970s, known as the Wonderlic Personnel Test, has been administered more than 130 million times. It consists of 50 questions with a 12-minute time limit and a possible high score of 50.

Some questions are easy, requiring only the most basic knowledge to answer. Some require more logic, academic skill and reasoning.

“In reality, we probably sell about 3,000 tests to the NFL a year for this purpose, and that’s really on the high side,” Callans said. “The combine purchases about 400 a year and then individual teams maybe buy some for their own purposes. But this test itself, we sell 3 million of them a year.”

Young could have used a tutor before the Texas quarterback took the Wonderlic two months ago.

Results are not released publicly, but they are given to the 32 NFL teams, which leaves more room for potential leaks than the little Dutch boy had fingers.

Initial reports had Young scoring a six on his first attempt, 16 on his second. That’s still less than the quarterback average of 24. The consensus among coaches at last month’s NFL owners meetings was that Young’s performance in Texas’ Rose Bowl victory against Southern California will outweigh his Wonderlic score come draft day.

After all, Miami Dolphins Hall of Fame quarterback Dan Marino reportedly scored a 16 on his test. Michael Vick supposedly scored a 20, Brett Favre a 22 and Donovan McNabb a 12.

Of course, nobody is perfect – except for former Cincinnati Bengals punter Pat McInally, believed to be the only player to score a 50 (he was a Harvard graduate). Defensive end Mike Mamula, a star at Boston College but a bust in the NFL, supposedly had a 49.

However, the test does carry some weight. How much depends on the team or the coach.

“It raises a flag if you see a low score,” Jacksonville’s Jack Del Rio said. “But I think you continue to work and investigate and evaluate whether or not that person is meeting the criteria you’ve set for that particular position.”

Del Rio, who played linebacker at USC, recalled scoring a 31 when he took the test.

Denver coach Mike Shanahan’s theory as to why Young scored so low was that he probably didn’t take a practice test beforehand as many players do.

Shanahan is quite familiar with the Wonderlic. He and his wife used to take it together and compete for a better score.

Four of the 12 NFL experts Florida Today talked to about the Wonderlic referred to it specifically as a reading comprehension test. That is one of several misconceptions.

“It’s an intelligence test, is what it is,” Callans said. “I keep reading papers, and some people think it’s a personality assessment. Some people think it’s asking odd, bizarre questions about preferences for meat or vegetables. I don’t know where some of these questions come from.

“But it really is a measure of intelligence, cognitive ability – how bright you are, how you’re able to solve problems, think on your feet. That’s all it is. Yeah, it does require some level of reading, but it’s a sixth-grade level of reading. Any college player that’s going into the NFL is expected to have that level of reading.”

Callans believes the Wonderlic is simply one piece of the evaluation puzzle. It gives NFL teams a chance to measure the mental aspect of players’ skills to combine with their physicals.