| Sam Houston State QB Josh McCown has rocketed up draft boards after a
strong showing at the Senior Bowl and an incredible performance at the NFL Scouting
Combine in Indianapolis. McCown took some time at the Combine to answer questions about
his decision to transfer to Sam Houston, why he admires Packers QB Brett Favre and how
competitive it was growing up in a home that developed three starting college
quarterbacks. Q: Did your decision to transfer from SMU have anything to do with
playing time?
A: I started at SMU. I started my first three years there and it just didn’t work
out. I was playing. That wasn’t the problem. The problem was we weren’t winning,
and I wanted to win. I wanted to go somewhere and try to win for one year. That’s how
I ended up at Sam Houston. I had a buddy who went there and he told me about what kind of
team they were going to have.
Q: Did you think when you made the transfer from SMU to Sam Houston State that it
would enhance your chances of playing in the NFL or hinder it?
A: No, at that point, I really wasn’t worried about that. I just wanted to win. To
be honest, I didn’t even think about it. That was my aspiration, but I felt like if I
was good enough to play, the people in the NFL would find me. I’m at this point (at
the combine), so evidently they did, but that wasn’t a thought in my mind.
Q: So it wasn’t an issue of wanting to be prepared right for the league?
A: It was just about winning. It had nothing to do with not getting credit. It was just
about winning. Because I was playing against a lot of the top talent when I was at SMU, so
I felt like that helped me get prepared for the Senior Bowl. Whereas somebody who may have
played all four years at I-AA wouldn’t be prepared for that caliber of ball. So it
helped, but it wasn’t a reason for me moving.
Q: Did you have any regrets about your decision to transfer?
A: The only thing I guess I would have regrets about is if we would have gone sub-.500
at Sam Houston and then won the WAC at SMU. Then I would have looked like — you know
— it would have been a bad move for me. But I would still be happy with what I had
done as long as I had fun playing ball. And that was another thing — I just
wasn’t having a lot of fun at SMU when we were losing.
Q: Do you feel like you’re a rat jumping off the ship a little bit with your
former teammates?
A: No, I did, but at the same time, they understood I had to make a move just because
the quarterback position there wasn’t always too stable. We were always moving and
going back and forth, so they understood that part of it. And that part of it was just
keeping me from having fun. So I guess they understood that. And they understood the
pattern. We were 5-7 my first year, 4-7 and then 3-8 and we were just going downhill. If I
had unlimited years to be there, I would still be there trying to turn it around, but
unfortunately, you only get four years in college, so I had to go somewhere else because I
wanted to win.
Q: Did they try talking you into staying?
A: They weren’t really begging, but they said we really wish you weren’t
leaving. For the most part, they said we want you to stay, we don’t want to see you
go, but ultimately they wished me luck and I wished them luck and that was it.
Q: So how many times did you start in your whole time at SMU?
A: I started five games my freshman year, 11 games my sophomore year, which was every
game, and then eight or nine my junior year.
Q: Did Sam Houston’s passing attack play a role in your decision at all?
A: Yeah, when I was coming out and looking, obviously I wanted to win. I wanted a place
that had a lot of seniors because that was one thing we never had at SMU — a lot of
seniors. All the while I’ve watched Texas A&M when my brother played there, on
their good teams, they always had a bunch of seniors coming back, so I felt like that was
vital to winning. They had 21 or 22 coming back at Sam so that was really important. Their
whole defense was coming back, so then I looked at their offense and they were leading the
conference in passing and threw the ball a lot. I wanted to be a part of something where I
could throw the ball a lot and have fun.
Q: When have they told you that you can expect to be drafted?
A: Man, I just know it’s really hard after maybe David (Carr), Joey (Harrington)
and Pat (Ramsey). After those three guys, you really can’t tell how it’s going
to go. Who knows —maybe fourth or fifth round, maybe a free agent. You just never
know. You never know for sure. I just want to make it to camp somewhere with somebody and
have a chance to make a roster.
Q: What teams have you talked to?
A: Everybody.
Q: Any more so than others?
A: Not really, it’s all basically been the same. We just kind of go through the
same procedure, meet all their coaches. It’s been hectic but it’s a necessary
evil I guess, and I have to go through all of it.
Q: How many of your brothers have played quarterback? Have any of them made it to
the league?
A: Two. There are three of us. My older brother, Randy, started two years at Texas
A&M, and he went to the Arena League for a little while and got out of that. He
recently got married, and he’s back home working with my dad. My other brother, Luke,
will be a junior next year and has started the past two years at Louisiana Tech. He’s
having a good career over there so far, so we have a little bit of quarterbacking that
runs in the family.
Q: How have your brothers influenced you?
A: For me, I’ve gotten the best of it, I think, because I have learned from my
older brother and I get to give to my younger brother. So I get the best of both worlds.
It’s been fun. I can’t tell you how many times talking to them — because
quarterbacking, especially in college when you are competing for jobs and stuff like that
— it can be up and down and it can be frustrating. Just talking to him kept me in it.
We have done that for each other. And so now, it was funny, because my little brother got
the chance to start as a true freshman, which I did at SMU. So I was trying to tell him
about the ups and downs of that. So just little things like that, being able to have those
conversations about experiences is the main thing. I think that I benefited from having
two brothers as quarterbacks.
Q: Is it a dream for one of you guys to be an NFL quarterback?
A: Definitely, I think that was all three of our dreams coming out, and still is for me
and my younger brother. Unfortunately, it didn’t work out for my other brother, but
he’s pulling for us. So we want to make it.
Q: So the competition between the three brothers is pretty strong?
A: Ah, somewhat. It’s not too bad. There’s a competition, but we are also
each other’s biggest fans and you know, we really support each other. Our family is
really close, but at the same time, you want to be the best, so there is a little bit of
competitiveness there.
Q: How difficult is it for your parents to go to all of the games?
A: They do a good job of it. They really just, I think they just sit down and my dad
picks out the best game to watch and he’d go to that one, and he’d send my mom
to the other one. I was in college with both of them, so they were always splitting
between me and Randy, and this past year, me and Luke.
Q: Was it disappointing having to make a decision to transfer in the middle of your
career? Did you think your day would come because of that?
A: No, I never really planned on it. That was the most disappointing thing —
SMU’s struggles and trying to turn them around. One of the reasons I went there was
because they were 6-5 the year before so it looked like they were headed in the right
direction, and I just really thought we were going to get it going. That was the biggest
disappointment to me, just not getting the program turned around. The people in that area
in Dallas and the people at SMU want you to do well, so that was a major disappointment to
me, because we didn’t do that for them. With the new stadium, I just really thought
it would happen, and it didn’t work out.
Q: How did the Senior Bowl go?
A: Well, one thing about the Senior Bowl, I made a few runs, ran a touchdown and moved
around. Of course, in practice, you’re not allowed to — you have to be a pocket
passer. Even in the games, they can’t blitz, so you are basically a pocket guy unless
somebody in front of you gets beat. So when the opportunity presents itself, I try to make
plays with my feet.
Q: What was the senior bowl experience like for you?
A: It was great. I don’t know if there’s anybody at the Senior Bowl who
benefited more from it than me from a standard of just coming from nowhere — and
it’s not to say that nobody knew about me yet — but it helped me tremendously
just because it gave me a chance to play on that level. Because you do things at I-AA ball
and you make things happen and you get all these questions about if you can do it at a
higher level. For me, coming out of SMU, I at least had that background so I was familiar
with that. When I got to the Senior Bowl, it was the same thing. I just needed to make
plays and continue to do what I was doing at Sam. So it worked out and I was able to do
that.
Q: What was it like to be coached by real NFL coaches?
A: That was probably my favorite part of the whole thing — playing the NFL rules
and just the coaches. That was the best thing because Seattle’s staff, Coach (Mike)
Holmgren, really did a great job. They really did, teaching us. For me to get a little bit
into the West Coast offense, there are probably about 15 teams that run it in the NFL so
it was good preparation for me if I go to one of those teams. And I love it too. I liked
everything about it. So that part of it was probably my favorite.
Q: During Senior Bowl week, was there anything that the coaches thought you needed
to work on?
A: There were some things. They just coach you a little bit here and there. Probably
the main thing for me coming out of Sam was just my footwork — stepping when I threw
because I took a lot of shots at SMU, took a lot of shots at Sam and I was always throwing
off my back foot and not shifting my weight. But that’s probably the main thing, just
getting my weight shifted when I threw, which is kind of a minor thing, but it could be a
big thing at times.
Q: Did you make the biggest impression during practices or during the game?
A: Well, everybody said the practices were the most important thing. So I would like to
think from the reaction of people, that I guess it was in practice. But at the same time,
in the game, I got in there and did what I needed to do in terms of when quarterbacks are
live and you have a live rush, making plays that you need to make. I feel like I was able
to do that in the game so I think it carried a lot of weight too, just because it was on
TV and people kind of identify you now. You’re not just some quarterback from an I-AA
school. People see you and see you play and know that you are a lot bigger than just a
small-school quarterback.
Q: Have you tried to change the motion that you throw the ball?
A: No, that part of it, me and my brothers always had a good throwing motion so I just,
like I said, continue to work on shifting my weight when I throw, getting over to my left
side and keeping my release up, which is pretty natural, but sometimes it can get down
some. So just fine-tuning that was the main thing I have been working on doing going into
the combine.
Q: Where are you going to spend Draft Day?
Q: At home.
Q: So everybody is going to have a big party?
A: I don’t know just because my situation is so — it’s not like I know
for sure I will go on the first day. I’m right there in the middle, third or fourth
or fifth, so it would be pointless unless you are going to have a two-day party and
that’s not something I would like to do anyway. That’s drawing too much
attention. I just want to spend it with my family and just be by myself.
Q: What is it about coaching that makes you want to get into that business?
A: I just like working with people, with young kids. Coming out of high school,
that’s what I wanted to do. I wanted to be able to come back and coach high school
ball and get them early, but now, going through college, I want to coach college, and
hopefully if I have a successful pro career, I’ll want to come back and coach pro
football. So I’m not sure. I know I love the game. And I want to be around it. I
enjoy studying the game. The extra fun to me is watching film and breaking down film like
a coach would, so I want to continue to be a part of it, whether it’s playing or
coaching. That’s kind of what makes me want to be a coach.
Q: Brett Favre is your favorite athlete — what about him appeals to you?
A: I like the way he plays the game. Technically, I don’t think he’s perfect
every time. That’s no secret. Everybody is always talking about how fundamentally and
technically he is not sound, but he gets the job done. He makes things happen. That’s
the way I want people to see me when I’m playing the game, for people to just say,
‘He’s having the most fun he can have. He just loves to play the game.’
That’s kind of how I want to be respected, so that’s why he is my favorite guy.
Q: Can you discuss the books you have checked out of Coach Ferguson’s small
library in his office?
A: Obviously, I wouldn’t read all of them, but I would go to sections that I
really wanted to learn about, and I would read about you know, four vertical routes and
different routes that I wanted to study and different defenses that they would throw at
you and stuff like that. So it’s helpful. I wanted to be like a coach on the field.
And you hear that and it’s kind of a cliché term for a quarterback, but I don’t
think people really grasp the concept of what that is. If you are like a coach on the
field, you know everything that is going on, you can put people in the right spots and you
know what the defense is trying to do and you really know what the team is trying to do as
an offense. I think a lot of times, especially young quarterbacks get out there —
they think they know what they’re doing, but they don’t. And I know that was
like me for the first two years of my career. I thought I knew what I was doing and now
looking back, I had no clue. I’ve learned so much about football. Just wanting to be
a coach, I wanted to find out things for the future when I would be a coach someday, so I
was just always interested in reading those books.
Josh McCown feature: The quest for
knowledge
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