Few people expected Tyson Bagent to reach this point. All they could see was a Division II quarterback from tiny Shepherd University. Sure, his numbers were outstanding, and he won a lot of games. Yet small school guys never start in the NFL. Of course, those people conveniently ignore stories like Kurt Warner and Jake Delhomme because it’s impossible for those to ever happen again. One person who never doubted he could reach this point of starting for the Chicago Bears was Bagent himself.
The kid has found success at every level thus far. He won two state championships in high school. Then he dominated Division II, racking up record-breaking numbers and reaching the national championship semifinals twice. If that weren’t enough, he shined at the Senior Bowl and the scouting combine. Despite all of this, he still went undrafted. This didn’t break his confidence. If anything, it only fueled him further. Part of his self-assured mentality comes from a maniacal sense of preparation. Colleen Kane of the Chicago Tribune came across a story from this summer of how the rookie got ready for training camp.
On the short break NFL rookies get between minicamp in June and the beginning of training camp in July, Bagent knew he needed to practice relaying play calls, so he enlisted the help of Michael McCook, a former Shepherd tight end, current assistant and the son of head coach Ernie McCook.
Bagent stood in the middle of the football field wearing an earpiece and took phone calls from his friend.
Michael McCook delivered the play call to Bagent, who then went through the presnap process, approaching the invisible huddle to give the call, putting his imaginary teammates in motion and making adjustments at the line of scrimmage.
“They did it in person, and then if one was on vacation or at the beach, they would do it by telephone,” Ernie McCook said. “And that’s who he is. I told every NFL scout that came in here, ‘You are never going to embarrass yourself by bringing him up, jumping on the table for him. I don’t know if he can make your team. But nobody is ever going to say, why did we bring this guy into camp?’ And I think that’s showing up.”
He knows this. That is always the most formidable leap. Plenty of quarterbacks can look good in practice. What separates the successful ones is their ability to apply it in games. Still, this story explains how Bagent looked so crisp in the preseason. His footwork, pocket poise, and command seemed far ahead of schedule. It was enough to oust veteran P.J. Walker from the backup job. When he stepped in last week against Minnesota, he competed. He completed 10 of his 14 passes and led a touchdown drive. Unfortunately, two turnovers marred the finish.
Even so, it was a great learning experience. Now Tyson Bagent will have a full week of preparation. Coaches can gear the game plan towards what he does best. It doesn’t guarantee anything. The Las Vegas Raiders are a tough defense, especially against the pass. They have one of the best pass rushers in the league, Maxx Crosby. Much of this comes down to how well the ten other guys on the field do their jobs. Bagent will have difficult moments, but they won’t come from lack of preparation.
