Colorado University Athletics
Tucker Lauds Montez's Toughness As Buffs QB Preps For Senior Bowl
December 30, 2019 | Football, Neill Woelk
BOULDER — After wrapping up a record-setting career at Colorado, quarterback Steven Montez is ready to take the next step on a path he hopes leads to the National Football League.
Montez left CU with a slew of records in hand, including most career touchdown passes (63), most career passing yards (9,469) and total offense (10,609), and best touchdown-to-interception ratio in school history (1.97-to-1).
His next stop will be the Jan. 25 Reese's Senior Bowl in Mobile, Ala., generally seen as the top postseason all-star game for NFL prospects. Montez is one of four quarterbacks committed to play thus far, joining Michigan's Shea Patterson, Washington State's Anthony Gordon and Utah State's Jordan Love.
Montez is also one of two Buffs players to have accepted invitations so far, as he will be joined by CU outside linebacker Davion Taylor.
"It's a huge opportunity, especially with all the NFL coaches and personnel people that are going to be there," Montez said earlier this week. "It's an opportunity to showcase my skill set and showcase my knowledge of the game. I'm really excited to show a lot of these coaches what I have to offer — and I think a lot of them are going to be pleasantly surprised by what I bring to the table."
Several early rankings have Montez listed among the top 10 quarterbacks available for the 2020 NFL Draft, while others have him in the top 20. Those rankings will no doubt continue to shift as all-star games, the NFL Combine and individual workouts are conducted.Â
Montez's arm talent and athleticism have always been strengths. But as CU coach Mel Tucker noted, NFL personnel are also interested in the intangibles — qualities that are not so easily quantified. Things like vision, toughness, work ethic, confidence, leadership and communication skills are also high on their list.
Tucker firmly believes Montez will measure up in those areas as well.
"His leadership, his commitment to team first, his willingness to learn and grow, his toughness — he fits that profile," Tucker said. "One thing I'm not sure people ever really knew about Steven is how tough a kid he was."
There should certainly be no question about Montez's toughness and ability to play with pain — especially considering the fact that he played the final game of the season at Utah with a broken rib.
"He got hurt late in the Washington game and came back in," Tucker said. "He never said he couldn't play. He came back the next week and never even missed a rep in practice. It hurt to throw, it hurt to get hit, but he never flinched. His toughness and pain tolerance was amazing all year. He played hurt, but he was a leader and committed to the team. The team was always first."
Montez suffered the injury on CU's last drive in the Washington game. On a play on which he gained 12 yards on a quarterback sneak, he fell on the ball and was hit by a UW player just after the play ended.
"It was a good no call," Montez said. "It's football. You have to be tough to play the game."
But it did force Montez to leave the game for a couple of plays. He was examined on the sidelines and told team medical personnel he was ready to go back in.
He re-entered the game and immediately completed two passes for 45 yards in gains, including a 27-yarder on third-and-16 that kept the drive alive with CU clinging to a 20-14 lead. Those passes moved the Buffs into Washington territory, enabling Colorado to run out the clock and collect the win.
"It definitely hurt," Montez said. "I'm not going to sit here and act like it was a real pleasant experience. I mean it hurt to run, it hurt to throw, it hurt to breathe. But at that point, I just wanted to get that last drive in. I just told myself that if I could throw, I didn't care if it hurt. I thought if I could throw accurately, I needed to be back in there. You have to sacrifice for the team in that kind of situation."
While a later examination revealed the broken rib, Montez never considered sitting out the season finale at Utah — a game in which he was sacked five times.
"We just wanted to get that last win and unfortunately we didn't get it done," Montez said. "But I really didn't see a way I could miss that game. A lot of guys like Beau Bisharat and Nate Landman — those dudes were playing through injuries for the majority of the season. It would have been real selfish of me to sit out with just a sore rib. I was going to play through it regardless. That's just what you do for your team."
Montez's commitment to play in the finale no doubt left an impression on Tucker.
"He's going to go down there and make a great impression on people," Tucker said. "I saw how tough he was, how committed he was, what kind of guy he is. They're going to like what they see."
Montez said just one year under Tucker helped him grow dramatically.
"I can't even put into words how grateful I am that he was here for my final season," he said. "I love Coach Tuck. I know the season didn't go how he wanted it to, but there was no lack of effort on his part. He was in there grinding with us every single day. I respect the hell out of him for it. This program is in great position and great things are going to happen with him at Colorado."
Contact: Neill.Woelk@Colorado.edu
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