NFL QB Guru Jon Gruden Talks Michigan State Signal Callers and the NFL Draft

Jon Gruden is widely regarded as a football offensive guru. So much so that ESPN approached him a few years ago to do a yearly show with the top QBs each year

Jon Gruden is widely regarded as a football offensive guru. So much so that ESPN approached him a few years ago to do a yearly show with the top QBs each year heading into the NFL draft called Gruden’s QB Camp. This year is no exception.

 What is an exception is that there are two highly coveted QBs in this draft that both came to MSU, both recruited by Mark Dantonio and both about to be selected in two weeks at the NFL draft.

 Of course those two QBs are Kirk Cousins and Nick Foles. You may remember that Foles came to MSU in the same class as Cousins, but transferred after Dantonio began his pursuit of Keith Nichol who was transferring from Oklahoma.

Throughout Gruden’s conversation with the media his adulation of Cousins was not contained. When asked what he thought of the three time captain and one of the most decorated signal callers in MSU history he had praise for Cousins and his school. “We got to know Cousins well in the Outback Bowl. Mike Tirico and I did the Outback Bowl, and we spent a lot of time with Michigan State and with Cousins specifically. We got to see him practice. We had him down here at the FFCA headquarters twice. What you’re getting is a three‑time team captain at Michigan State, so that tells you what type of leader he is. He does have, I think, NFL prototype size. He’s in a very good offense at Michigan State. They ask him to do a lot of different things. He’s under the center, he’s in the shotgun, there’s a two‑back attack, there’s a no‑back attack. And quietly Michigan State has become one of the premier football programs in college football. They’re the winningest team in the Big Ten over the last three years.”

That was great in and of itself, but the man affectionately called Chucky due to his likeness to a horror movie doll went on. He added, “So you’re getting a winner. When you look at B.J. Cunningham, Keshawn Martin, who are outstanding receivers at Michigan State, you can see why. They’ve got the trigger in Cousins. I see him going in the second round, and I think he’s got a very bright future in the NFL because he’s all business all the time. He’s a meticulous preparation freak. I think he’s got very good athletic ability, and he’s got a lot of experience as a starting quarterback in a big arena.”  

Gruden is not one to hold back with opinion or analyis and is also not prone to being without an opinion. When askd who he compared Cousins with as far as style he hesitated and then said, “I don’t know who he reminds me of. He reminds me of ‑‑ that’s a tough question off the top of my head. He just reminds me of guys that play on Sunday for a living. That’s the kind of kid he is. That’s the serious background that he’s had. That’s the future that he wants. He’s a self‑starter. He’s one of those kids that just won’t take no for an answer. He’s going to be successful. 

He wasn’t a highly touted recruit coming out of high school. He flourished at Michigan State. He’s gotten stronger, he’s gotten faster, he’s become much more masterful at the quarterback position. I think if he gets with the right group of guys, he can really take off and enjoy great success.”  

 Gruden also had praise for one time MSU signal caller Nick Foles. When asked how he projected Gruden said, “Coach Stoops was replaced in the middle of the season. So as a captain of the Arizona Wildcats, obviously Nick Foles went through a lot this year. He did not have the supporting cast that some of these other quarterbacks had, no disrespect to anybody. He got hit a lot. One of the few Pac‑10 or Pac‑12 quarterbacks to ever throw for 10,000 yards, tough pocket passer. He’s going to be reliant on a system. He’s going to have to know his protections better than everybody because he’s not the scrambling, get‑out‑of‑trouble‑and‑create type quarterback.  

 But what he is is an excellent pocket passer, and he might be ‑‑ from head to shoulders, he might be next to Osweiler the biggest quarterback in this draft. Very big for the quarterback position, NFL size. Coaches, GMs covet that size. He’s accurate. He’s just been hit a lot. He’s going to have to really get in a system that he can develop in, I think, and learn the protections and try to develop within that offense as quickly as possible.” 

Under Dantonio the Spartans have been loaded with QB talent. In his very first recruiting class with very little to offer Mark Dantonio landed two QBs that will be drafted this year. He has handed the reigns of his program to Andrew Maxwell who is certianly a young man that will get his shot at the next level. Connor Cook is a RFR who is blessed with incredible talent and physical skill and Tyler O’Connor and incomming QB with the 2012 class that arrives this summer may be the best of the bunch.

MSU is a lot of things, it may soon be time to start thinking about it as QBU!