Steven Montez
Quarterback / Colorado
Ed Hunt: How did you feel about your week of practice at the Senior Bowl?
Steven Montez: I feel like I did really well. I want a few balls back that I threw yesterday. I threw an ugly pick yesterday, he was trying to reel back in. But you can’t dwell on it, you just got to take it one snap at a time and clear it and get back out here. Keep pushing forward and trying to learn every single day. These last three practices were about learning and just trying to be a sponge.
Ed Hunt: I noticed a lot of consistency from you. Is there something from the end of the CU season going into the Senior Bowl that really prepped you for that?
Steven Montez: Yeah, absolutely. I’ve been working my behind off every single day with Jordan Palmer who is my quarterback and mechanics coach. He’s worked with a lot of good players and that was one thing we really wanted to focus on was my footwork coming into the Senior Bowl because we knew that my feet often lead to me being inconsistent and inaccurate. We stressed the hell out of that for two weeks, and I’m glad it looks a little better here at the Senior Bowl to work on those feet because they are still not where they need to be. But hopefully after this three-month period, I will be in a better spot than where I was to where I am now.
Ed Hunt: We’re seeing guys in the NFL like Patrick Mahomes and Lamar Jackson, the dual threat quarterback. That was something you brought to the Buffaloes. Is that something scouts are saying you are going to bring to an offense?
Steven Montez: Yeah, I haven’t talked to a bunch of them about myself. Like they haven’t given me feedback about myself. It’s just more about me telling them where I grew up and what I am all about and where I was raised. Yeah, I can be a threat in the run game. I did that at Colorado for three years and hopefully I can bring that to the next level as well. That’s definitely a skillset that I want to showcase Saturday when the pocket breaks down, I can get outside the pocket and make some plays on the run and makes some plays with my feet.
Ed Hunt: You’re a California kid. Do you think there is a pipeline between CU and California football players?
Steven Montez: There definitely is a pipeline. I didn’t go to high school in California. I was born in Oakland. I think there definitely is that pipeline especially with Coach Chiaverini recruiting Southern California. He does a great job of getting the best ball players to get to Colorado and rep that Black & Gold. We also do a good job of recruiting Texas as well. I think it goes both ways. We do a great job of recruiting around the board.
Ed Hunt: McIntyre recruited you from Texas?
Steven Montez: Yeah, he did. Actually, Jim Jeffcoat was the first to come down to El Paso and see me and then it was Coach Mac.
Ed Hunt: Can you talk about Mel Tucker? Kind of a defensive coach but I am sure he had some words for you.
Steven Montez: Absolutely, Coach Tuck, I love the guy. He is an absolute players coach. He’s just a guy’s guy. He is probably the best head coach I have ever been around and I am grateful to have him there for my last year. Something that he just always told me was that he always believed in me and he was never going to stop believing in me and that was all the way through the season. We hit some peaks and valleys. He still kept it consistent and told me the same thing. I’ve got the ultimate respect for that man.
Ed Hunt: You were thrown into the fire your freshman year. Liufao got hurt, you came in. Do you think there is a big difference between freshman Steven Montez and what you brought as a senior?
Steven Montez: Absolutely! I think freshman Steven Montez was really raw, made a lot of questionable decisions. That guy was also a little immature just personally, and now I think I’ve grown a lot. Not only as a player, but just as a human being as well. I get to live and I get to learn from my mistakes.
