Last Saturday morning, I found myself staring at the TV watching the NFL draft. To my surprise, the Arizona Cardinals picked up former SMU quarterback Josh McCown.
McCown transferred to Sam Houston State University before his senior year to play quarterback for the mighty Bearkats.
McCown and I were always good buddies. We did the usual college things, like going on road trips and making late-night trips to Taco Bell. I was very upset when I heard that he was transferring, because I really didn't know why. There were several rumors circulating that would take the entire page to explain.
The bottom line is that McCown, who played quarterback for the Mustangs for three years, transferred to another school before his senior season. Many of his teammates felt like he was letting them down, but none ever talked bad about him publicly.
Last week McCown went on Ford Sports Talk on Texas Cable News with Bob Sturm. Starting the interview off, Sturm made it known that he doesn't follow SMU football.
Well, first of all I would like to address the fact that Sturm, in my viewpoint, shouldn't be interviewing someone if he knows nothing about the situation. But like Sturm does best, he started in on the SMU situation trying to get McCown to say why he left, and he was successful.
McCown said that he wanted to win, and he didn't think that was possible at SMU.
Well, that is an interesting reason. What? Were the guys and the school you played for not good enough for you?
I am not trying to steal any of McCown's glory. I know he is a great athlete. I think it helped him in the draft, since the NFL Draft tends to focus more on your potential talent then your talent at the present.
Many SMU fans will try to heckle the football team and will sit back and study this by saying that two of the quarterbacks during the past five years have left SMU and gone to the NFL.
Chris Sanders, who left SMU, was rated in the top 100 among Texas high school football recruits. He then played with the Tennessee Titans during the preseason, but was cut.
I am not trying to come out against these athletes for leaving SMU. I actually left another school for SMU after my freshman year. So I have a little idea of what they were feeling. I am happy that they were both successful in their moves.
In each of these quarterbacks' situations, they didn't fit into the offensive game plan. They were not the style of quarterback the offensive coordinators were looking to use.
Sanders is a very talented athlete and set several records at Marcus High School in Flower Mound. During McCown's freshman year, the coaches rotated McCown and Sanders during the season.
Then, during McCown's junior year, transfer David Page was rotating with him and ended up starting a couple of games at the end of the season. McCown wasn't fitting in to the system the offensive coordinator was running.
Players transfer in collegiate sports every year. I don't hold anything against McCown for being drafted. I hope he has a wonderful career at the next level.
The NFL Draft is the problem here. Players are tested solely on their ability as an athlete. Yes, being an athlete plays a large part in being a good football player, but how can you measure an athletes' ability to control the huddle or demand the respect of his teammates? The bottomline is that you can't. You can interview those who played with him, and you can research his personality, but you won't know until he commands your huddle in a game.
The NFL Draft is a lot like college recruiting. I have seen more players get scholarships out of high school just because they are big. No one measures heart or determination anymore. Former Nebraska head football coach Tom Osbourne once said that the reason he finds excellent athletes is because all he does is watch film and more film.
I agree an athlete isn't made up of a certain mold. They can come in all shapes and sizes, but what matters is the athletes' work ethic and his ability to win.
I would like to congratulate Joey Slaten and Kevin Aldridge for being picked up by the Cowboys and the Titans as free agents, and getting the opportunity to play at the next level.
