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Most people have already heard parts of the Matt McGloin story – but they don’t really know the Matt McGloin story. He wasn’t recruited out of high school, but he ended up setting records at Penn State. He wasn’t invited to the NFL Draft Combine, and he ended up…well, we all saw what he did last weekend. This video – where McGloin reads the letter he wrote NFL GMs after he wasn’t invited to the draft combine – will make you a believer.
STATE COLLEGE -- Bill O'Brien was greeted by a packed house at Damon's Thursday night for his weekly in-season radio show. O'Brien touched on numerous topics as he fielded questions from fans and even seemed to grow a bit agitated at some of the questions.
One of the most surprising stories from the show came when O'Brien was asked about former Penn State quarterback Matt McGloin who recently made the Oakland Raiders' squad as a member of the 53-man roster. O'Brien had just one season to work with McGloin but the quarterback's transformation during that year was well noted.
O'Brien said he sent letters of support on McGloin's behalf to every NFL general manager because he wanted them to give the quarterback a shot. He wanted teams to be able to look beyond the fact that McGloin was a former walk-on and that he wasn't invited to the NFL Scouting Combine or selected to play in an elite post-season all-star game.
"He's a self-made guy and he works hard," O'Brien said. "I didn't want them to judge a book by its cover."
The Raiders picked up McGloin after the draft as an undrafted free agent and he recently beat out fourth-round pick Tyler Wilson for the team's third-string quarterback job. The crowd gave a loud applause when McGloin making the roster was mentioned.
One of the most surprising stories from the show came when O'Brien was asked about former Penn State quarterback Matt McGloin who recently made the Oakland Raiders' squad as a member of the 53-man roster. O'Brien had just one season to work with McGloin but the quarterback's transformation during that year was well noted.
O'Brien said he sent letters of support on McGloin's behalf to every NFL general manager because he wanted them to give the quarterback a shot. He wanted teams to be able to look beyond the fact that McGloin was a former walk-on and that he wasn't invited to the NFL Scouting Combine or selected to play in an elite post-season all-star game.
"He's a self-made guy and he works hard," O'Brien said. "I didn't want them to judge a book by its cover."
The Raiders picked up McGloin after the draft as an undrafted free agent and he recently beat out fourth-round pick Tyler Wilson for the team's third-string quarterback job. The crowd gave a loud applause when McGloin making the roster was mentioned.
Matt McGloin has a history of overcoming expectations. After playing at small high school in Pennsylvania, he earned a walk-on offer from Penn State. Then, he passed Rob Bolden, a former 4-star recruit, as the starting quarterback for the Nittany Lions for two seasons, earning the Burlsworth Trophy, given to the best college football player who started as a walk-on.
Entering Raiders training camp as the fourth quarterback, McGloin passed traded-for Matt Flynn and fourth-round pick Tyler Wilson for second on the Raiders depth chart. And last week, getting the start for an injured Terrelle Pryor, McGloin took advantage of his NFL opportunity, putting up one of the best rookie quarterback performances of the season. Now, McGloin has his sights set on a long NFL career.
Rookie Reports: Tavon Austin | Giovani Bernard | Kiko Alonso | 2014 Mock Draft
On draft day, Matt McGloin was an afterthought, ranked far from draftable on every major scouting network, including Optimum Scouting’s. A two-year starter at Penn State, McGloin lacked NFL level arm strength and ideal foot quickness. Entering training camp as a “camp arm” according to head coach Dennis Allen, but “he just kept working his way up.”
Pryor, the Raiders starter for most of the season, has certainly wowed with his athleticism, but has been graded as the second-worst passing quarterback in the NFL by ProFootballFocus.com.
However, a three touchdown performance against the Texans (and fellow undrafted rookie starter Case Keenum) has once against thrust McGloin from backup quarterback to intriguing starter option in future weeks for Oakland, especially if Pryor isn’t 100 percent.
Despite being named the official starter late in the week, leading to less than ideal time to prepare with the first team, McGloin was 18-for-32 with two sacks and a solid 105.9 quarterback rating. Upon further observation, however, both sacks were due to poor pass protection and long developing routes. Four incompletions were drops, and two vertical throws to receiver Andre Holmes were missed by mere inches. After just 20 snaps in his NFL career before this game, McGloin made only eight poor throws/decisions in 69 snaps en route to the Raiders victory over the Texans.
McGloin still doesn’t have a powerful arm or swift feet, but he was able to have success thanks to three key skills that appear to have been underrated by college evaluators: his highly effective pre-snap reads, his touch downfield and his calmness and patience under pressure
Entering Raiders training camp as the fourth quarterback, McGloin passed traded-for Matt Flynn and fourth-round pick Tyler Wilson for second on the Raiders depth chart. And last week, getting the start for an injured Terrelle Pryor, McGloin took advantage of his NFL opportunity, putting up one of the best rookie quarterback performances of the season. Now, McGloin has his sights set on a long NFL career.
Rookie Reports: Tavon Austin | Giovani Bernard | Kiko Alonso | 2014 Mock Draft
On draft day, Matt McGloin was an afterthought, ranked far from draftable on every major scouting network, including Optimum Scouting’s. A two-year starter at Penn State, McGloin lacked NFL level arm strength and ideal foot quickness. Entering training camp as a “camp arm” according to head coach Dennis Allen, but “he just kept working his way up.”
Pryor, the Raiders starter for most of the season, has certainly wowed with his athleticism, but has been graded as the second-worst passing quarterback in the NFL by ProFootballFocus.com.
However, a three touchdown performance against the Texans (and fellow undrafted rookie starter Case Keenum) has once against thrust McGloin from backup quarterback to intriguing starter option in future weeks for Oakland, especially if Pryor isn’t 100 percent.
Despite being named the official starter late in the week, leading to less than ideal time to prepare with the first team, McGloin was 18-for-32 with two sacks and a solid 105.9 quarterback rating. Upon further observation, however, both sacks were due to poor pass protection and long developing routes. Four incompletions were drops, and two vertical throws to receiver Andre Holmes were missed by mere inches. After just 20 snaps in his NFL career before this game, McGloin made only eight poor throws/decisions in 69 snaps en route to the Raiders victory over the Texans.
McGloin still doesn’t have a powerful arm or swift feet, but he was able to have success thanks to three key skills that appear to have been underrated by college evaluators: his highly effective pre-snap reads, his touch downfield and his calmness and patience under pressure
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