How many NFL quarterbacks do you know who started off like this? I was not named the starting quarterback during any of my high school seasons… nor the first 2 seasons in Junior College. I didn’t start at quarterback until my third year at Pierce College in California (1985) - which totals six straight years of starting games on the bench. Finally, persistence did pay off for me with a magical season at Pierce that lead to a scholarship to attend North Carolina State University. While at State, I can attribute being named all-academic ACC as well as the Atlantic Coast Conference Player of the Year as a senior to two things: the work ethic to study on and off the field and the commitment to stay with it.

Entering training camp for the New Orleans Saints in1987 as an undrafted free agent was a humbling experience. From the beginning, I could see I would not be there long. After being released in training camp, I returned to NC State to begin a career in coaching. The next week however, the Atlanta Falcons offered me the opportunity to play 3 replacement games for them during 1987 NFL players strike… 3 games I never would have had the opportunity to play had I not come out of college in the year 1987… A Case of Fortunate Timing. There hasn’t been a player’s strike since. After playing in the three strike games, the Falcons retained me as the only scab player with Atlanta to stay when the regular players returned… Seizing a Golden Opportunity. The following training camp, however, after what I thought was a solid showing, I was shockingly cut on the final day… A Swift and Crushing Blow.

After spending a few weeks waiting by the phone, I landed a job with the Calgary Stampeders of the CFL. I played the last six games for Calgary in the 1988 season. During training camp the following year, I found out how tough it was to deal with a major injury for the first time as I tore the posterior cruciate ligament of my left knee. That 1989 season was lost to nine months of painful physical therapy… more Stormy Weather.

In January of 1990, deciding to give it one last shot, I called every NFL team. Only one team called me back…the Detroit Lions. In February, the freezing dead of winter in Detroit, I was flown in for a tryout, or so I thought. When I arrived, the Silverdome turf was pulled up and there were no receivers in town anyway to catch passes. Worse, nobody told the offensive coordinator, Mouse Davis, who I was or why I was sitting in his office. Having the heart to give me a workout anyway, Mouse, receiver coach, June Jones and I piled in Mouse’s car and headed west to Ann Arbor, Michigan to work out inside the indoor facility there. I was signed to a contract the next day. Divine Intervention?

In April, the Lions drafted Heisman Trophy winner Andre Ware with the seventh overall pick. However, his absence in training camp due to lengthy contract holdout meant more preseason game time for me. By performing well with the extra opportunities, the Lions found a way to make room for me on their roster. Carpe Diem (seize the day).

To begin the following season, 1991, I was elevated from third on the depth chart to the backup spot. Halfway through the year, our starting quarterback and my roommate, Rodney Peete, suffered a season ending Achilles tendon injury. I knew what Rodney was going through. However, he had guided us to a winning record to that point and the team needed me to step up. I guess I did a pretty good job of picking up the pieces. We went on to win the division, then defeated Troy Aikman and the Dallas Cowboys in the divisional playoff round 38-6 to capture the Lions first playoff victory since 1957. We ended the season playing in the NFC Championship game, losing to the eventual Super Bowl champion Washington Redskins.

After quarterbacking the Lions in the 1993 season and finishing with a trip to the playoffs, my contract with the Lions expired. Dave Wannstedt, the head coach in Chicago called and asked if I wanted to be the new starting quarterback for the Chicago Bears! It was the first time since the eighth grade that a team actually wanted me to start the season as its number 1 quarterback. Turns out, it was the most storied franchise in NFL history… What a Day! The first year in Chicago was tough for me personally. I separated my throwing shoulder midway through the season, and Steve Walsh took over and guided us to the playoffs. The following year in 1995, I won back the job in training camp and finished the year with the Bears’ all-time single season records for most completions, yards, and touchdowns. I felt like had finally made it up the mountain… like I finally belonged there with the other climbers.

I retired in 1999, playing one season with the San Diego Chargers that ended with a neck injury. My career came to a close as the last scab player standing (not already a regular) from the 1987 strike season. Along my path, I found out there is no downside to hard work and perseverance.