In-studio: Stephen McGee talks time at A&M, pro career, QB battle

Key quotes from Stephen McGee interview

"We have thoroughly enjoyed moving back to Aggieland. After I left here, I thought, 'I'll probably never go back there.' It took all of four years, and we set up shop here. We love it. I got cut in Dallas, and my wife and I moved here. It was kind of a central location that we were familiar with. We met some people here in town, and we've developed friends. That's the biggest deal. It has been a lot of fun, and we built a little house here in town."

"My wife knew Ryan Tannehill. Ryan went to church with me. She was a first-year freshman, and I was a fifth-year senior. So, you can imagine. She had no choice but to go on a date with me. She just didn't know any better at the time. I convinced her early on, and she's hung with me."

"I'm doing financial advising. I help people grow and protect assets all the way through retirement. For the longest time, I sat on the other side of the desk as a professional athlete, so I've been in those shoes. My mom runs a mutual fund company in San Antonio, so I kind of had that background being a business major. It was a pretty easy transition for me, and I've really enjoyed it."

"Playing for the Cowboys was an absolute dream come true. I wouldn't have had it any other way. I know people say, 'Man, I wish you could have gone to a different franchise or they would have given you a chance.' At the end of the day, I feel like everybody creates their own destiny, so to speak. I did have a chance. Whether it was the same opportunity that other guys get, I don't know. I don't really care about talking about that. I had my chance to make the most of it, and I'm glad it was in Dallas. I think every Texas kid dreams of putting on a Cowboys helmet. I joke about it all the time, but I really did get to live the dream for about three years."

"Did you see that article in the New York Times? I get a text from my family -- 'Congrats! You made the paper. I'm proud of you, kid.' It's like I've been shaming them for four years since I've been in the CFL. It talks about the one-hit wonders of the NFL, and it had a picture of me on there. I'm like, 'Man, I think this is the first time I think I've ever read an article on me that was positive.' So I get down to the end of the article, and the whole point of the article was that hopefully -- if Eli (Manning) gets injured that their back-up quarterback won't be a one-hit wonder like Stephen McGee. I was like, 'Oh! They got their jab!'"

"The CFL was definitely an experience but I'm here for a reason. I didn't enjoy it. A lot of guys go up there and really enjoy it. I knew that it was time for me to hang it up when I lost respect for the game up there. It was run very differently. It was a blend between Burnet High School and Texas A&M. That's kind of the level of football -- how much they put into it, how much care. You're flying charter planes, and at the end of the day you get to play football and toss a pigskin around. That's what it's all about, but you're in Canada, man. People say, 'Eh.' They're just different up there. They're liberal. There's not an inkling of Texan in these people up there. They're just different. We didn't vibe."

"I was thoroughly impressed with the look of the current A&M team. This team looks like an SEC team. When they finally got out there and you laid eyes on a bunch of the guys, they just look the part. Who knows if they show up on gameday and can be actual players, but on the practice field they look impressive -- a bunch of young guys that look like they're going to have a big impact. In the past, you'd come back to an A&M practice, and you could immediately tell the difference between a Dallas Cowboys football practice, a Houston Texans football practice -- just the size and the ability of guys. You come back now, and that difference isn't as much as it used to be. In my opinion, they definitely look the part. There's a bunch of good-looking athletes out there. I'm thoroughly impressed. This is the most excited I've been about A&M football -- maybe if for no other reason than I get to watch them for a full season this year. I know I'm going to be here and take all that in. I'll hopefully do some tailgating and enjoy the atmosphere of the new Kyle Field. It's going to be a heck of a year."

"I wish I'd gotten to see Kyler Murray do more in the team setting, but just watching these guys throw it's amazing to think of how lucky we are to have two great quarterbacks. I know everybody likes to compare one to the other. I think it's not fair to either one. I like to just say, 'What's good about this guy, and what's good about this guy?' There's so many great things about both of them. They're two completely different types of players. I was impressed with Kyle Allen last year. To think that he was eighteen years old and competing against these SEC teams -- when I played at A&M, I don't think our starting unit could go up against their scout team. To think that he's eighteen and being productive and winning football games against really good teams -- I'm impressed. That's a lot on his shoulders.

There's a lot of pressure, especially with all the hype that comes with A&M football now. I was impressed with Kyle's command and his ability to get the offense moving in and out of the huddle. He's got a little level-headedness about him. Just from a distance watching him, he stays cool. He's definitely confident, but I think guys can relate to him being cool under pressure. That was something that I didn't have. I was always very hot-headed and competitive and would get really high. Quarterbacks that can not get too high and not get too low, that just stay really even-keel -- much like Ryan Tannehill. That's what I've been really impressed with with him. I don't know if that's the case in the huddle, but just from watching him."

"it's funny. You say that Murray is more of the athletic, dual-threat quarterback and Kyle Allen's the drop-back, pocket passer, but each of them have some of the qualities of the other label. I was really impressed with Murray's ability to spin the ball. I always look at a quarterback -- immediately, you can tell that the ball comes out of his hand good. It's quick. There's not a lot of wasted motion in his delivery. He's got quick feet and a lot of athletic ability, obviously. That speaks for itself. The question I have with those dual-threat guys is: can they be effective from the pocket? As you see at the NFL-level, guys that are athletic don't always translate. They've got to be able to throw from the pocket. I don't care how athletic you are or how many plays you can make. You've got to be able to win games from the pocket. I don't think there's any doubt that he has the arm talent to do that, so it'll be fun to watch him develop in this offense."

"I remember Tom Rossley telling me, 'We don't need you to go get 100 yards rushing. We just need you to get one first down with your legs.' That threat -- having Kyle Allen be able to take the ball and run and get a first down and not be limited to the pocket -- puts pressure on defenses or frustrates defenses more than putting pressure on them. When a pocket guy goes and makes a first down with his legs, that's deflating on a defense when they're expecting him to sit in there and throw it. I've been really impressed with both of those guys. I really have."

"I think the most important decision is that whoever wins the quarterback battle was the most impressive guy -- that's its not a 'competition' that really had no competition resemblance throughout camp. I think once the guy does win it -- I don't know very many football coaches that are going to put a guy out there that doesn't help keep his job, keep his paycheck going. I think guys respect coaches' opinions. I think it's important that not just the coach voice his confidence in the guy, but the team rallies around him. I think that comes on everybody. Veteran guys, senior guys, junior guys on the squad -- they call out the new quarterback and get him to break it down. It just builds up confidence in that guy. I think that's big.

The quarterback is the voice of the huddle and the team, and whether they like it or not is really a leader of the team -- whatever that demeanor is that fits his personality. It's a big thing when you have guys behind you -- guys that play and that matter. I think the difficulty comes when that guy struggles, and he's not proven -- he hasn't won games. I understand healthy competition. I have no problems with that. I don't believe in the two-quarterback system. I think it is important for a coach to pick his quarterback as early as possible. If he knows that a guy is better in the spring, I think he should pick him in the spring, because I think it's important for a team to know who their guy is and who they're going to be listening to in the huddle."

"I think if you plan on not redshirting Murray, you have to find a way to get him in the games -- whether it's a blowout or doing some run stuff. Get him involved, but that's still hard on Kyle Allen. I remember in the CFL they would bring in another quarterback to run running plays. Up there it's 3-down football, so it's even more important that a quarterback get in a flow and get in a rythym. When you're going to the sideline for a play, there aren't very many quarterbacks that like bringing in another guy to run the ball. I understand the philosophy of getting a guy ready to play and keeping him happy, but at the same time, if it hurts the flow of the game and your offensive tempo and the confidence of your guy getting out there in a rythym, I think it's a negative.

Assuming that he doesn't redshirt. I know he came to A&M to play. That's obvious, because he would have been the starting quarterback at the University of Texas. That's not a job title that anyone should frown at. I know we're all Aggies, and I'm not saying that my kid would ever go to the University of Texas, but it's a big deal. He obviously gave up that opportunity to come here to play and not redshirt. It'll be interesting, because you have two quarterbacks that could start at a lot of universities this year and only one of them -- probably -- is going to play. What does that mean for the other guy? Who knows?"

"I think in the continual development of a quarterback, you always want him to be more accurate, have more command of the offense, more leadership, more up-tempo. Just for Allen, I think the thing that I see -- one of the hardest things for young quarterbacks and was for me going to Dallas is anticipation and getting the ball out quicker, finding guys before they're out of their cut. When you see a quarterback being able to anticipate, you know he's confident. When he's throwing the ball before that receiver comes out of his break, that means he's not 100% comfortable. I remember Troy Aikman said it best. He said, 'Every time you throw the football as a quarterback, you should never be comfortable, because if you're comfortable, you're late.'  That guy should not be anywhere out of his break. I think getting the ball out quickly and accurately is a big deal for a quarterback as he develops."

"The pet bobcat has a new home, unfortunately. We had to do a remodel on the bathroom where she slept. She scratched down the walls, and my wife wasn't having it. The wife won out. She's at a bobcat rehabilitation facility in Terrell, Texas, with about 38 other bobcats, so we try to go visit her when we can. I think she's doing better than she was."

"I have considered coaching, and I've realized it's not for me. I respect coaches, and more importantly, I respect coaches' wives. That is a hard profession. I think the only level I could see myself coaching would be high school just because I could have more time with my family. I don't think I could run the plays with the level of talent at a high school to where I'd have fun and enjoy it, so I'd have to be at a college or professional level. It's just so much time away from family that I don't see that happening."

"Cowboys Stadium is defintely the nicest stadium that I've played in. Kyle Field this year -- I haven't been in it yet, so I'm excited. It's going to be ridiculous. It's got to be up there with the best outdoor stadium anywhere in the U.S., in my opinion."

"Tony Romo can absolutely win a Super Bowl. I saw that guy perform in that offense that was the same offense they ran in the '90s under Troy. There was nobody open. You turn on that game film, and they've got everybody double-covered. He finds ways to make it happen. I have an ultimate amount of respect for Tony Romo as a quarterback. I know there are other things that come with Tony. He's going to make mistakes because he is so creative, but I think he is one of the top five quarterbacks in the NFL. A little run game and an offensive line will go a long way."

"It was third down. It was a screen pass, so they don't block blitzers on a screen play. The free safety comes right up the middle and hits me between my rib pads. He knocked my air out. I couldn't talk. It was three-and-out. Of course, Coach Fran greeted me on the sideline with a friendly, 'Hello!' It was basically, 'What's going on out there?' I can't get any words out. He says, 'What's wrong with you?' I can't get any words out. Then finally, I threw up all over his shoes. It just happened. He just looked at me like, 'Get out of here.' I just walked off. I did not say a word. That whole conversation was one-sided. I threw up on his shoes. Red, blue, yellow -- I'm sure he had a new pair at halftime. Certainly, he had throw up on his shoes. That's probably the highlight of my career, to be honest with you."