Before he suffered his “lower body injury” in 2013, the latest individual to be named Denver Broncos QB1, Trevor Siemian, was the best pure passer in the Big Ten; at that time.
It’s not hyperbole. In 2013-14 Big Ten was a tailback driven league, and most of the QBs were dual threat, read-option guys, and then Northwestern quarterback Trevor Siemian was the best straight up, drop back passer the league had for a couple years. So while most people right now really don’t know who Siemian is, and even fewer people know a whole lot about him, please take notice of all the tremendous potential that he has.
Trevor Siemian has been a top five trending term nationally on Twitter all morning. He’s still in the top ten as we write this. He’s the first quarterback in NFL history, with zero previous career pass attempts, to take over a defending Super Bowl champion. He’ll face the reigning league MVP Cam Newton in a Super Bowl rematch in the season opener.
What makes Siemian’s story so compelling is that he made the Broncos roster in 2015 just nine months after ACL surgery. He also had ankle and foot problems during his career with the Northwestern Wildcats, before being selected in the seventh round of the 2015 NFL Draft.
“We saw the arm,’’ said Broncos coach Gary Kubiak on the day Siemian officially made the final roster.
“There was no doubt about the arm. When you watch him throw the ball at Northwestern, some of the wind and trees are going sideways and he’s out there making throws all over the field. You knew that he had that ability. Now, everything else, you’ve got to see, but he really came in and he’s adapted very well … With the knee coming along, would this be a long project situation? We didn’t know. He’s the one that made up the ground.’’
Just hours after it was announced that Trevor Siemian would be the Broncos starting quarterback, Northwestern conducted their weekly press conference to preview their season opener at home versus Western Michigan.
Trevor Siemian is named Peyton Manning's successor as Broncos' starting quarterback pic.twitter.com/awvlgfAh6h
— Los Angeles Times (@latimes) August 29, 2016
“That’s great news about Trevor,” Northwestern football Coach Pat Fitzgerald said.
“His goal wasn’t to be the starting quarterback for the Denver Broncos, his goal was to win a championship with the Denver Broncos and this is the next step.”
“He’s fallen into a great opportunity with an outstanding football team. He’s just got to go out and be Trevor. He’ll be fun to watch, but I’m not surprised. I thought this confidence level was very high this summer.”
“You wish he would have stayed have stayed healthy, but that’s in the rearview mirror. He’ll do a terrific job, he’s got a great team around him. We’re fired up for him.”
During much of the 2013 season, Trevor Siemian and Kain Colter were commonly referred to as “quarterbacks 1A and 1B” by Fitzgerald, but now he’s just QB1 as the NFL season kicks off. Before he even throws a pass in the NFL, he’s already an answer to the trivia question- “Who was Peyton Manning’s successor?”
We also got reaction from three of Siemian’s former teammates at NU. All three are co-captains who appeared at this week’s presser.
“I texted him and told him to get a haircut, but good for him” — LG Connor Mahoney
“He’s a competitor, but we’ve known that since he walked in the door. Really proud of how he’s representing the Wildcats in the NFL” — CB Matthew Harris.
“Got a little personal bias as Trevor’s from Florida, but definitely happy for him and I expect him to be even keeled and ready to work” — LB Anthony Walker Jr.
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net, partnered with FOX Sports Engage Network. and News Now. Banks, a former writer for the Washington Times, currently contributes regularly to the Chicago Tribune’s RedEye publication and Bold Global.
He also consistently appears on numerous radio and television talk shows all across the country. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram and Sound Cloud.