Mike Glennon sat behind Russell Wilson for two seasons. His career through his Redshirt Sophomore year was an enigma. No one in #WPN knew really what was behind the scenes. He was 33 for 52 with 1 touchdown and 2 interceptions.
When Russell Wilson decided to try out his baseball luck and forego spring practice, coach Tom O’Brien had a decision to make. Do I let Russell come into Fall camp as the starter and risk the transfer of highly touted but untested Mike Glennon, or do I give Wilson a release and get Glennon for two years? We all know what transpired there.
O’Brien has a sure knack for developing quarterback talent. 3 of the NFL’s current starters have all learned at the hand of the former NC State and Boston College Football Coach. Although the fans didn’t know what we had behind Wilson, O’Brien certainly did.
Glennon would finish his career at NC State completing 60% of his passes for 7,411 yards on a 2:1 touchdown to interception ratio (63 touchdowns to 31 interceptions). His career was certainly quite good considering he had only 2 full years to amass those statistics.
Few get the chance to play out of the gate in their rookie season in the NFL. It’s a man’s game and most rookies come in as boys. The beleaguered Tampa Bay Buccaneers had a comical trip with Josh Freeman behind center before finally deciding to give the reigns to their untested 3rd round draft pick.
Through 13 games, Glennon threw for 2,608 yards, 19 touchdowns and 9 interceptions. He ranked 27th in total QBR (45.6) – certainly not an astounding number – but considering the team around him, Glennon proved himself to be a serviceable quarterback ready for the NFL. Quarterbacks he ranked ahead of in total QBR? Robert Griffin III, Matt Schaub, and Eli Manning, among others. His ranking was 1.1 points below that of Joe Flacco.
To compare him with other contemporary rookie quarterbacks:
| Games | YDS | TD | INT | QBR | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mike Glennon (2013) | 13 | 2608 | 19 | 9 | 45.59 |
| Andrew Luck (2012) | 16 | 4374 | 23 | 18 | 64.99 |
| Russell Wilson (2012) | 16 | 3118 | 26 | 10 | 69.59 |
| Colin Kaepernick (2012) | 13 | 1814 | 10 | 3 | 76.79 |
| Cam Newton (2011) | 16 | 4051 | 21 | 17 | 55.04 |
| Robert Griffin III (2012) | 15 | 3200 | 20 | 5 | 71.41 |
Glennon’s numbers, as a whole, place him 6th in that list of rookie quarterbacks, but not by much. Kaepernick and Griffin put together tepid sophomore seasons but bring something to the table that Glennon can’t – the ability to move within and evade a collapsing pocket. The teams around each of the quarterbacks listed above are MILES ahead of where Tampa Bay are right now (yes, even Washington). With the right leadership, Tampa Bay will look to add at least one wide receiver to compliment a quarterback who had no weapons outside of Vincent Jackson.
Now that Schiano is out at Tampa Bay, perhaps the Bucs can get some competency back in the skipper’s role. With the new coach, we have no idea if Glennon will retain his starting position or if Tampa Bay will look to replace him with their 1st round (7th) pick in the 2014 draft. Teddy Bridgewater (Louisville) certainly won’t last that long and neither will Johnny Football (Texas A&M) or Brett Hundley (UCLA).
If I were the Buccaneers, I’d look at the other gaping holes that their personnel currently presents them before drafting a quarterback. However, if the Bucs end up trading up, rest assuredly it’s solely for one of the top quarterbacks entering the draft. If they concentrate on filling the other holes, they’ll likely go after Jadeveon Clowney (South Carolina) with their first pick.
Given that Tampa Bay doesn’t pick until after 6 others before it, you can comfortably say that Mike Glennon won at least enough games to give himself another shot as quarterback. Those 4 games he won keeps his team just outside the realm of making it easy for management to replace him. The Texans (1st), Jaguars (3rd), Browns (4th), and Raiders (5th) all need quarterbacks. And the elite quarterbacks will likely all be taken by the time the Buccaneers get to pick their guy.
Whether Glennon becomes a career backup (a job that I would surely take!) or an NFL journeyman is yet to be seen. We know that he at least gave himself a fighting chance with a hand full of wins and statistics that are good enough to take a second look. Besides, he looks great in Red & White.
