The Panel is back for another year with a team of veterans mentoring a class of rookies as they embark on their NFL journey. FoxSportsSouth.com's Steve Eubanks had a chance to sit down with former Cleveland Brown quarterback Tim Couch to talk about The Panel and the impressions he hopes to leave on this latest group of young athletes.
Eubanks: As part of The Panel what do you hope to accomplish when talking to these guys as they get ready for the draft and their future NFL careers?
Couch: Well, we have been there and done it. We are guys who have been through the combine and the draft and who have been through all the ins and outs of the NFL, and we just want to give these guys a little advice and prepare them for what's coming. Maybe we can tell them a few things about what to expect on the field, but we're really here to help them understand what lies ahead for them.
Eubanks: What do you think they don't know? What is the biggest surprise that these new guys have coming?
Couch: The biggest adjustment is that it's a job now. It's not like college where you're still going to class. This is football 24/7. You have to treat it like what it is: a tough business. These guys need to understand that they have to come into the locker room and earn the respect of the veterans.
Being in the locker room with guys who are 30 years old instead of 18 years old is a big change. You're in a grown-man's league and you have to adjust the way you prepare and interact with the guys. Most of them don't understand that, yet, but they will soon enough.
Eubanks: Great expectations were heaped on you when you entered the draft. Did you feel the pressure as Draft Day approached?
Couch: Yes, I did. When I entered the draft I was potentially the overall No.1 pick along with Donovan McNabb, Rickie Williams and some others. I really didn't know until the day before the draft that I was going to be the No.1 pick. The Cleveland Browns were coming back into the NFL in 1999 as an expansion franchise, and I was the first person picked.
But there was certainly a lot of tension leading up to that moment. You do all the workouts and go through all the interviews and you hope they like you. Then when the draft starts it's out of your control. That's something every new class has to experience, but the feelings are pretty universal.
Eubanks: Was that stress something you expected, or did it come as a surprise?
Couch: I expected it. I knew there was a lot of competition at the top of the draft, and until the last minute I wasn't sure which way Cleveland wanted to go. They could have gone with a running back, or if they went quarterback, in my class you had Daunte Culpepper, Donovan McNabb, Akili Smith, Cade McNown: there were a lot of quality options in that class, so, yeah, the pressure was high.
Eubanks: Maybe it's the advent of the internet, but guys today seem to be a lot savvier than they were before. Is that what you're seeing?
Couch: Absolutely, I couldn't agree with you more. I watch these rookie-quarterbacks now and it amazes me how they handle themselves. It's also amazing the success they're having. When I came into the league it was unheard of for a rookie quarterback to succeed right out of the gate.
At that point I think only Dan Marino had had a great rookie season. Now, probably starting with Ben Roethlesberger, you've had this string of guys who have had great rookie seasons: Andrew Luck, Robert Griffin III, Cam Newton, the list goes on.
I can't imagine the kind of pressure those guys must be under. Back when I came in, guys had two or three years to learn under a veteran and build their confidence. Now they're told, 'You're playing from day one and we expect you to win games for us.' It's a much different league.
Eubanks: We've all heard that the NFL is faster and stronger than college, but how much smarter do guys have to be once they make it to the league?
Couch: There is certainly an adjustment. You have to know your position inside and out, and you have to know other positions just as well.
Quite frankly for me it wasn't that the guys in the NFL were that much faster than what I had seen playing in the SEC. It was the fact that the veteran defensive backs had seen an out route come at them so many times that they knew what was coming. They'd seen a corner route; they'd seen an end route: and so they were able to jump on those routes a lot quicker. That's where you have to be smarter.
Eubanks: The NFL seems to be in a transition when it comes to quarterbacks. Not long ago you had to be a tall, straight-back, pocket passer with great vision. That isn't the case anymore.
Couch: No, it's not. There were several players that sort of broke that barrier - Drew Brees, Russell Wilson and others – but it used to be that you were a mobile quarterback who couldn't throw, or you were a pocket passer who couldn't run. Now there are guys who can do both: people like Colin Kaepernick, Cam Newton, and RGIII. There still aren't a lot of them, but there are a lot more than there used to be.
Eubanks: Can this class of rookies expect some intimidation when they get to camp or when they get into the locker room? What is that first-year experience like?
Couch: There is certainly a respect factor in the locker room that you have to bring with you. Whether you're the first overall pick in the draft or a third- or fourth-round pick, you have to walk into that locker room hoping to be one of the guys. You have to be ready to work hard, keep your head down, keep your mouth shut, and contribute in whatever way you can. The players who do that are the ones that are accepted quickly.
It's rarely a problem unless a guy comes in the locker room with an attitude because he was a first-round pick. Those guys learn pretty quickly that things have change.
Eubanks: Were you nervous when you took your first NFL snap?
Couch: Oh yeah. I didn't start my first game. I started from my second game forward, but my first game, Ty Detmer started and we played the Steelers. It was a big rivalry game, Browns – Steelers, and it was the first game in the new stadium. They beat us like a drum. It was 40-0 in the third quarter. So, I went in the game and threw an interception on my first pass.
It's just like going from high school from college. There is a transition period before you feel comfortable and really feel like you belong at that level.
Eubanks: Is it a bigger transition going from high school to college, or going from college to the NFL?
Couch: For me it was going from high school to the SEC. In high school you're the biggest, fastest, strongest guy on the field and you can impose your will on people. When you get to the SEC, everybody is fast. It's just a small level down from the NFL.
Eubanks: How do you counsel a new professional about the changes he's going to experience in life? Most of these guys have never been rich. In fact, many of them have grown up poor. After Draft Day that's likely to change. What do you say to prepare them for that?
Couch: I went through that. I grew up in a town of 300 people, my dad was a teacher and my mom was a social worker, so we were far from rich. Then I went from living in a dorm room to signing the largest contract in NFL history at the time.
I was able to handle it because of the people around me. My agent was a big part of that and my brother helped, but I was able to surround myself with people who had my best interest at heart. That's the key. You can't have a dozen people with you everywhere you go. You can't always pay for everybody. You have to be responsible, because you never know how long it's going to last.
Eubanks: You're here to mentor these guys before they embark on their careers, but if you could only tell them one thing, what would it be?
Couch: The biggest thing is to work hard. I know it sounds clichéd, but that is the answer. You work hard at your craft every day and you will, ultimately, succeed.
