Recently Gardner Minshew rolled onto the scene and people are losing their minds, Minshew Mania. The Brandon, MS., native jumped in for the Jacksonville Jaguars when their starting quarterback, Nick Foles, suffered a broken collarbone in an early match up against the Kansas City Chiefs (pour one out for Nick Foles). Love him or hate him, Minshew Mania isn’t a new thing. Gardner had the same effect when he led Washington State to an 11-2 season and winning the Alamo Bowl. But what’s so special about this rookie who was drafted in the sixth round as the 178 pick overall?
Not only was he picked late in the draft, but he wasn’t even recruited out of high school. He also didn’t really become known until his final season where he played at Washington State under Mike Leach, which was his only season with the Cougars. Before his brief career in Pullman, he began a college football career at Northwest Mississippi Community College (he completed 223-of-367 passes for 3,288 yards and 28 touchdowns in one season) before transferring to East Carolina (he completed 293-of-506 passes for 3,487 yards and 24 touchdowns in two seasons) to later transfer to Washington State (he completed 468-of-662 passes for 4,779 yards and 38 touchdowns in one season). Nothing about his story seems to give a reason for the sudden love people have for Minshew. On paper he’s another quarterback who worked hard and moved up. He fared exceptionally well in the PAC12, and was even named the Alamo Bowl Offensive MVP. A nice narrative, but does it warrant the national love of him that’s recently emerged? (Yes and no)
Never mind he tried to break his own hand to get more playing time. Forget that he slapped a mustache on Mike Leach after a win over the Colorado Buffaloes at Folsom Field. Laugh about the fact that a porn company approached him about being a brand ambassador. Ignore the fact that he uses exercise bands in the locker room wearing just a jock strap, sunglasses, and a headband. Disregard the fact that he walked away from playing for the University of Alabama to led the country in passing for the 2018 college football season. None of this could possibly contribute to the newly refreshed Minshew Mania NFL edition (okay, it probably does, but not the point).
People love Gardner Minshew because he’s a style icon. The hair, the mustache, the outfits. My lord, someone from E! interview this man and get his stylist’s number.
