Gardner Minshew may not be the most talented quarterback in football, but there is no one in the NFL willing to go to greater lengths to achieve their goals than the Jacksonville Jaguars rookie.
Minshew was a guest on the “Pardon My Take” podcast this week, and hosts Big Cat and PFT Commenter asked him to tell a story that most encompasses what a “football guy” he is. The former Washington State star recalled the time he had just enrolled at East Carolina from junior college and was so desperate to redshirt his first year that he tried to smash his own hand with a hammer.
Minshew said he had two senior quarterbacks ahead of him in his first year at ECU, and one was moved to running back in the fourth game of the season when the starter got knocked out with concussion. That left Minshew to play about a half, but the starter returned the following week. Minshew’s only hope at that point to save a year of eligibility was to be granted a medical redshirt. We’ll let him take it from here.
“I get an idea. I go home and I grab a bottle of Jack Daniel’s and I grab a hammer,” Minshew said. “I go in my room and take a pull of Jack Daniel’s, put my hand down on the table and BOOM, BOOM, BOOM. I can tell it’s not broken, so I take a pull and one, two, three do it again. Still nothing. I’m just shaking but I knew it still wasn’t broken. One more time, another three hits was all I could take. I couldn’t break my own hand.”
All Minshew was left with was a swollen hand for a few weeks, which he said he he told his coaches was the result of slamming it in a car door.
In case you were still questioning whether Minshew was anything more than just a fantastic mustache guy, there’s your answer. If he’s willing to pulverize his own fingers for an extra year of college ball, you know he is laying it on the line every week for the Jags.
Tip va Cordog
