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The Jets recently worked out Texas Tech quarterback Patrick Mahomes, who is rising up draft boards. Here is a conversation with the son of a former major league pitcher with the same name.
Q)How are you going to address your mechanics?
Mahomes: I’ve already really tried to address it these last [few] months. I’ve really been working on holding the ball high and perfecting my footwork and my base in the pocket. It’s something that you just have to keep working, keep working until it become a habit.
Q)Do you have a specific quarterback coach you’ve been working with?
Mahomes: Yes sir. I’ve been working with the quarterback coach Mike Sheppard.
Q)Can you describe your journey?
Mahomes: It’s been a fun one. I’ve met a lot of great friends along the way. It’s something where no one expects me to play football. Everyone thought I was going to play baseball but I knew in my head I was going to be in this position.
Q)How would you characterize your season at Texas Tech?
Mahomes: It was an awesome season, just building those memories with my teammates, but we didn’t win enough. For me, it’s not about the stats, it’s not all the stats that I put up, it’s all about winning. If we had won the games, all the stats wouldn’t have meant anything to me.
Q)How would you compare yourself to the other top quarterbacks this year?
Mahomes: I think we’re all good at different things. For me and my talent, I’m going to have a lot of arm talent. I can make every throw. I have the athleticism to extend the play. I’m just going to keep working on getting every aspect of my game better.
Q)What’s the biggest criticism you have heard about your game?
Mahomes: They know I have the talent and it’s going to be all about it I can get my base right,
if I can be consistent with my mechanics every time. If I do that I feel like I can excel at the next level.
Q)Did you spend a lot time around Major League Baseball ballparks growing up with a father being a major league pitcher?
Mahomes: Yes sir. For my first eight years of life I was everywhere at every stadium. I feel like that has helped prepare me, just seeing the work ethic and what it takes.
Q)Is there any concern that fixing your mechanics might take away your gunslinger mentality?
Mahomes: No, not really. I’ll always have that, but now it’s going to be about using it at the right time. It’s going to come with just repetition and really working. It’s something that I feel like I’ll always have in the back and then I need to have the mechanics up front.
Q)You are rising up the charts. What are some people seeing now that they didn’t see during the season?
Mahomes: I think it’s just people watching more and more film. They’re just seeing I can make all those throws.
Q)Do you think the mechanical issues are the result of being a baseball player?
Mahomes: It definitely went a little bit into it. I think it was a result of I didn’t work a lot of quarterback stuff when I was young. So, I kind of just got out there and started just playing, and in high school I still didn’t – I ran a spread offense but I kind of sat back there and made plays. Going to college, you see every year I get better and better, so I’m just going to keep trying to get better every year.
March 4, 2017
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