Stephen McGee talks NFL journey, 'bull crap' & A&M memories

Notes from Stephen McGee interview

* Has been doing a lot of hunting lately during the offseason. Has been eating some donkey jerky lately, which is a little better than horse jerky. Has been working out a lot during the week and he tries to find somewhere to go hunting and get away to on the weekends. The new CBA has it to where there is only a nine week offseason, so leading up to mid-April, he doesn’t really have any commitments. He did a little helicopter hog hunt this past weekend and has been enjoying his time off.

* Married an Aggie not too long ago and is greatly enjoying that. He “outkicked the coverage” and is learning slowly but surely what it’s like having someone else in the house all the time. Married life is quite an adjustment from living in his bachelor pad. His towels in the bathroom now match and he has about 80 pillows on the bed; all his wife’s doing.

* Thinks Ryan Tannehill is a special player with all the right tools, size and smarts and deserves being talked about as the number three quarterback on the draft board this year. He is going to be a great player and being in Coach Sherman’s offense will help him with the systems he will see in the NFL. He is excited to see where he falls and knows he will do a great job wherever that is. There is a YouTube video of Tannehill at practice his freshman year doing bag drills with the quarterbacks where he falls and you hear the offensive coordinator at the time yell, “You better call your mama because you’re gonna be on TV tonight, boy!” He does not think Tannehill will be a “slash” guy, a quarterback or receiver, in the NFL and whoever gets him will want him strictly at quarterback.

* As a backup quarterback, he is always looking for an opportunity to make the most of what is given to him. You don’t get any reps in games or practice, so you have to make the most of each moment and show them that you love what you are doing and that you are passionate about it. He loves being in Dallas and thinks the Cowboys are a great organization with a great head coach. He is excited about the future and the opportunity to compete for the number two spot. He is not sure who they are going to bring in, whether it is a free agent or a rookie, but hopefully he will get to compete with them for the number two spot.

* Excited to have a full offseason this time around to try to get reps in since last offseason was cut short by the NFL lockout. There are still rules in place about meeting during those nine offseason weeks with your coaches, but you can still be around the facility and use it to get better. He is also excited for OTA’s and minicamps to get more time with the coaching staff.

* One surprising thing about Jerry Jones is that he likes to hunt and has a big spread down in King Ranch. He has not had the opportunity to go with him on any hunting trips yet but was promised one when he was drafted. Cowboy fans put him under a lot of scrutiny but he and his family really are nice people who are great to work for.

* Some of the things he remembers best about his time at A&M include the guys who he played with and the pounding he took in Nebraska in 2007. The team had a three-and-out and Coach Franchione was in their face asking what was wrong with them on the sidelines right after he had just been hit in his gut. Coach Franchione asked what was wrong with him and he couldn’t reply .He just looked at him and then threw up all over his new shoes and Coach Franchione wasn’t too happy about that one.

* He doesn’t get asked about the 12-7 game against Texas in Austin too often. That was a fun game and it was a fun way to win. It was a gut wrenching and hot thanksgiving day which made it an even better victory. Winning at Kyle Field was even better the next year because the university was letting Coach Franchione go and a good portion of the guys already knew that. It was a special way to send him out and finish up a tough disappointing year on a good note against a good team.

* Gets pictures of “The Flying Stephen McGee” sent to his e-mail from TexAgs all the time.

* Talks to Coach Franchione every once in a while and would see him quite frequently when he would go back home because Franchione was living not far outside of his hometown. Now that he is coaching again, he doesn’t see or talk to him as much. When Coach Sherman was at A&M he would come visit or call to talk to him every once in a while and he even texted him after his dismissal from the university. Since then, he has not talked to him as much because he knows he is busy.

* Very excited for Coach Sumlin’s tenure at A&M. He was recruited a little bit by Sumlin during his junior year of high school while Sumlin was still under R.C. Slocum. The thing that jumps out most to him about Sumlin is that he likes to throw the ball all over the place and as a quarterback, you love to see that. It’s going to be exciting to watch A&M spread it out and throw for 400 or 500 yards a game and hopefully it translates into wins. Thinks that for him to be successful, he will need to keep it up on the recruiting trail. It’s about the Jimmys and the Joes, not the Xs and Os.

* There are a lot of both Big 12 and SEC alums in the locker room and all of the guys in the SEC are smack talking right now. LSU guys are especially giving him a hard time. The Big 12 guys really don’t say a whole lot.  There is a little chatter here and there but not as much as what is coming from the guys from the SEC. It will be an interesting move and everyone is excited to see how it’s going to unfold. Up to this point, he hasn’t been a big fan of the move to the SEC but if it helps recruiting then maybe it will be a good thing for A&M.