Silver and Black Report

By Eric Strauss, S&B Report Staff Columnist

It doesn’t seem that long ago that an oft-injured, undrafted former college star dazzled Raider fans in preseason 1999, when Scott Dreisbach won a spot on the roster despite a broken leg.

Last night, the Raiders rolled the dice on another oft-injured former college quarterback, signing Nebraska’s Sam Keller, who tried out at the rookie minicamp earlier this year.

Keller, who was not signed after the May session, had failed to win a contract in a tryout with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers after April’s draft, and signed a three-year deal with the Arena Football League’s Los Angeles Avengers on May 30.

To make room for Keller on the roster, the Raiders cut fifth-string quarterback Erik Meyer, a free agent signed this offseason.

Keller, whose father is a former NFL player and executive, had a checkered college career.

In 2005, he three 20 touchdown passes in only seven games at Arizona State before going down with a season-ending injury. But in the spring of 2006, Keller was forced to compete with his replacement, Rudy Carpenter. Sun Devils head coach Dirk Koetter named Keller the starter, only to reverse his decision almost immediately — with some urging from players, depending on which rumors you believe.

In the wake of the debacle, Keller transferred to Nebraska, where he redshirted in 2006 and started in 2007 for former Raiders head coach Bill Callahan.

But once again, an injury ended his season prematurely, though he racked up a 2,400-yard passing season.

However, despite more than 5,000 career passing yards in a pair of pro-style offenses, Keller didn’t impress scouts and faced questions about his ego and attitude — he may have been infamous as much for his female companions as his throwing style — and subsequently went undrafted.

Still, it looks like the California native is getting the chance at the NFL he craved.

Going into training camp behind JaMarcus Russell, former Arizona State teammate Andrew Walter, Marques Tuiasosopo and journeyman Jeff Otis — who played for quarterbacks coach John DeFilippo at Columbia — it remains to be seen what, if anything, he can make of it.

Sources: Raiders.com, LAAvengers.com, Pro Football Weekly 2008 Draft Preview