“My favourite phrase is that you’re a lucky f*ck because you found me…. Is it already yours?” wrote Rosalia.
Celebrities and stars reactThe MMQB continues a series of inside-inside, multimedia football stories for the 2017 season with a view into the life of top quarterback prospect Patrick Mahomes in advance of the most important audition of his career: Texas Tech’s pro day. In the series, we’ll spend a full day with an important person in the football world. We’ll have players, coaches and other figures integral to how the game is played and consumed.
Give us feedback—and ideas for future 24 Hours subjects—at The lead-up to a prospect’s pro day audition is stressful enough. But for Mahomes, just 21 years old and one of the most intriguing players in the 2017 draft class, there’s even more pressure. This draft class of quarterbacks does not include a surefire franchise player; each of top prospects must take full advantage of this on-campus test and use it as a statement that he should be the top passer chosen on April 27. With a sturdy frame (6′ 3″, 225 pounds), pro athlete pedigree (his father, Pat Mahomes, pitched in the majors for 11 seasons), big arm and natural charisma, Mahomes is a legitimate first-round candidate. Says one AFC personnel man: “No doubt he has all the traits you’re looking for. He may be a project, but you can see him having tremendous upside, perhaps more than any of the guys in his class.”
On March 31, representatives from 28 teams traveled to Lubbock, Texas, to watch Mahomes perform a 68-throw script. The MMQB’s Emily Kaplan followed Mahomes for a 24-hour period before his pro day, a peek into the preparations of a top quarterback prospect.
Mahomes stands alone on the Texas Tech practice field, clad in gray cleats, black Lululemon sweat pants and a long-sleeve, navy blue shirt from his stint as a counselor at the Manning Passing Academy. In the plains of Northwest Texas—85 percent sky, 15 percent grassland, as locals say—spring is usually warm, dry and windy. The wind is here, but it’s also 40 degrees with a steady mist as Mahomes begins seven minutes of dynamic stretching: a jog to the 20-yard line, knee hugs and striders.
Mahomes spent the last hour with an NFL quarterback coach. So much of the NFL draft process is cloak and dagger; the coach asks not to be identified, even though his presence could mean little more than due diligence. He’ll be granted anonymity, though others aren’t as lucky. A week earlier, details of Mahomes working out for the Saints leaked after Sean Payton was spotted in downtown Lubbock (it didn’t help that he posed for a handful of photos).
Since the combine, Mahomes has scheduled a total of 18 private workouts or official visits from teams. Today’s interview began “in the classroom”—draft parlance for testing a player’s X’s and O’s acumen. The coach calls up Texas Tech footage and asks Mahomes to walk him through the play call, his protections and rationalize his decisions. The coach then draws three plays from his NFL playbook and asks Mahomes to recite them back.
