The following is the first of eight position previews in advance of the NFL Draft.

LAKE FOREST, Ill. – LSU’s JaMarcus Russell and Notre Dame’s Brady Quinn dueled in the Sugar Bowl in January in their final college games and will be forever linked as pros.

Prognosticators agree that the two quarterbacks will be among the top picks in the April 28-29 NFL Draft. But which prospect will be selected first is one of this year’s most intriguing debates.

JaMarcus Russell was named Sugar Bowl MVP after passing for a career-high 332 yards.

Russell possesses more physical ability and a greater upside, but many experts see the former LSU star as a high-risk, high-reward pick who is just as likely to be a bust as an All-Pro.

After playing in a pro-style offense under coach Charlie Weis at Notre Dame, Quinn is more polished and appears to be the most NFL-ready quarterback in the draft. As more of a known commodity, he’s considered a much safer pick.

Russell outplayed Quinn in the Sugar Bowl, completing 21 of 34 passes for a career-high 332 yards with 2 touchdowns and 1 interception in a 41-14 thrashing of the Fighting Irish. It was a performance that boosted Russell’s draft stock immeasurably.

“Things went well for a couple years,” Russell said, “but to have a big bowl game, it’s such a big-caliber game to some people, I guess it pushed me up real high.”

Russell was selected first-team All-SEC last season after starting all 13 games and passing for 3,129 yards and 28 TDs with just eight interceptions. The 6-5½, 265-pounder possesses outstanding size, arm strength and mobility and has drawn comparisons to the Dolphins' Daunte Culpepper.

Russell compiled an impressive 25-4 record as a starter at LSU. But some scouts question his work ethic and desire and feel that he relies too much on his natural ability.

Pro Football Weekly’s 2007 Draft Preview opines that Russell “has as much potential as any quarterback to enter the draft, but the team that drafts him better have an experienced and patient veteran coaching staff in place to provide the tough coaching he will need to develop. For as much upside as he has—and it’s off the charts—his downside is just as great.”

Flourishing under Weis, Quinn won the Maxwell Award as college football’s top player in 2006 after starting all 13 games and passing for 3,426 yards and 37 TDs with just seven interceptions.

“Anytime you have a coach that’s able to come from the NFL and have as much success as he had,” Quinn said, “bringing along a quarterback like Tom Brady and he comes in and coaches you for a couple of years, you  have to look at that as a gift from God.”

Asked at the NFL Scouting Combine how he would respond if a general manager asked why he deserved to be a top pick in the draft, Quinn said: “There’s not one other player that’s had the kind of coaching that I’ve had the past couple years.

“There’s not one other player that’s done what I’ve done the past couple of years. You’ve seen the progress, the numbers and everything we’ve done at Notre Dame, and I feel that I am the best leader for a team that needs someone to step in and fulfill that job.”

Quinn set 36 school records and leaves Notre Dame ranked in the top 10 in NCAA Division I-A history in both passing yards (11,762) and TD passes (95).

Pro Football Weekly’s 2007 Draft Preview reports that Quinn “has really grown as a decision-maker and leader under the guidance of Charlie Weis and has top-of-the-line intangibles that will make it difficult for him not to reach a high level of success ... Quinn has the mental makup of a champion."

Russell and Quinn likely will be taken off the board quickly, given the fact that the teams with the first three picks in the draft—the Oakland Raiders, Detroit Lions and Cleveland Browns—all lack franchise quarterbacks.

There’s a huge drop-off after Russell and Quinn, with Stanford’s Trent Edwards, Houston’s Kevin Kolb, Ohio State’s Troy Smith and Michigan State’s Drew Stanton part of the second tier of quarterbacks.

Edwards possesses excellent size, intelligence and mechanics but his durability is a major concern. Kolb is an experienced four-year starter with terrific intangibles, but he is a “system quarterback” whose stats in college were inflated by playing in a spread offense.

Smith is a top competitor with a strong arm and excellent mobility, but character issues and a lack of height could cause him to drop in the draft. The 6-3, 226-pound Stanton possesses the physical tools to succeed but isn’t very polished and needs to improve his consistency.