First off, how did the tryout come about and why Pittsburgh?
Building up after the season, I signed with an agent with the expectation of getting a camp invite. Close to the draft I got some interest from the Steelers – they came out to my pro day and I saw them there. I know Casey Weidl – one of the Steelers scouts – he went to the same high school I did. Omar Kahn called me initially actually and said they wanted to bring me in for a tryout. I accepted right away. Then I spoke with Casey later to confirm some things.
Did you and your agent scout out teams to see where your best fit may be?
Absolutely. We wanted to understand all of the quarterback situations across the league in case we got multiple offers. Pittsburgh was the only team that ended up bringing me in, but it worked out well for me. I know they want four quarterbacks in camp and they only have three right now. I know they are waiting on Aaron Rodgers and that would impact things, but I just want to go in and play the best I can and see what happens from there.
I know you played for a few different schools over your college career – what was behind that movement and how did that impact you as a player?
I was undersized coming out of high school and didn’t get the offers from schools that I thought I deserved. I was a WPIAL 6 All-Conference player, but VMI was the only D1 school to offer me a scholarship. We didn’t want to pay for school – it ended up being an interesting four years playing there. We didn’t win a lot of games – if was fun playing but they also didn’t have a graduate program. I was redshirted as a Freshman and with the Covid year off I had two extra years of eligibility left.
I didn’t want to stay at VMI and just take extra undergraduate courses, so I put my name in the portal. I got a lot of interest but they wanted me to come in the Spring in time for Spring football, and I wasn’t graduating until May. I heard that from so many teams that I spoke to my parents and we decided I should just transfer then.
I went to Shepherd after that. I could only transfer a certain amount of credits to a division I school – I would have had to sit out a season. Division II schools are more lenient that way. And at Shepherd Tom Clark was there – I played for him at VMI.
Shepherd also just had Tyson Bagent there and he got signed by the Bears – I felt like if he could do it, why couldn’t I? So I went there and won the starting job and felt like I got the love of football back. We didn’t win a lot of games at VMI, but we won nine games my Senior year at Shepherd and made the playoffs
What happened after that?
Tyson would come back to Shepherd at times and I got good advice from him. He told me that the biggest knock he had coming out was the division II competition level Shepherd played at. He felt like he might have been drafted if he played division I football. That’s what made me think to transfer to a division I school.
I put my name in the portal and heard from a few schools – mostly FCS schools. The University of New Hampshire offered me – they said they felt I would be a good fit for them. When I visited there it was a no-brainer. They had a successful program and schematically the offense translated well to the NFL.
I went there and had a great year. We got a playoff berth – they had great coaches. That’s how I got here.
Have you spoken to anyone about the Steelers offense and how your skillsets fit in it?
I haven’t spoken to anyone yet but as a Steelers fan I’ve watched games and can tell they do a lot of things that play to my strengths. They like to get their quarterbacks on the move and I can do that at a high level. They also like to take shots deep downfield and we did that a lot my last two seasons – we did a lot of play action and threw over the top. They also like to use their tight ends a lot with heavy personnel and let them work versus the safeties – that’s something we did a lot at Shepherd.
I played for five different offensive coordinators over my six years in college. That works for me – I don’t know if there’s a concept I haven’t run. I know it gets more intricate at the pro level of course, especially in the passing offense.
Growing up in Pittsburgh, who were your mentors in as you developed your high school career?
A big shoutout first to Mike Junko – he’s the head coach at Upper St. Clair now, but he was my quarterback coach for three years at Mt. Lebanon. He was the first person that taught me how to play quarterback. At the youth league and middle school level they just throw their best athletes at quarterback and if they can’t pass to someone have them run the ball. Mike taught me footwork and mechanics and pass concepts. And head coach Mike Melnyk brought the spread offense there.
My Senior year coach Casey Phillips – he’s now at Keystone Oaks – he was a great mentor and challenged me and showed me how to be a leader.
What are the strengths of your game, do you think?
I think my knowledge of the game and my ability to process information quickly after having had so many coaches. I had to learn playbooks quickly – at Shepherd I got there in January and had a firm grasp of the offense by March. The time and effort I pour into the game – my ability to translate film and understand defenses.
Conversely – what are would you like to improve on most?
I want to continue to work on my arm strength. With the speed of the game, quarterbacks are being called on to make throws they weren’t expected to make 10-to-15 years ago. The evolution of defenses means you have to throw into tighter windows – you need elite arm strength. That’s my biggest point of emphasis.
Lastly, what should we know about you that has nothing to do with football? What else makes you tick?
I’m a big personality guy – I love to have fun. My main focus is football, but I like to keep things light in the quarterback room – I think I’m a guy they appreciate having in the meeting room.
And I’m really into golf. In my off days I’m always trying to get in a quick nine!