Quinn Mecham: Senior Quarterback Leads Jayhawks by Example, Attitude
Oct. 21, 2011
Quinn Mecham is the type of player that football coaches love to have on their team.
KU followers might not know a lot about the Provo, Utah, native, who came to KU last season from Snow Junior College in Utah. But, as they will learn, there’s much more than meets the eye.
Kansas offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Chuck Long describes Mecham as a “lunch bucket-type of guy.”
“Quinn is such a mature young man,” said Long about his senior quarterback. “He’s always ready to go; he rolls up his sleeves every day and prepares and focuses like a starter. He just always shows up ready to go.”
This season, Mecham has served as the primary backup behind sophomore quarterback Jordan Webb. While Webb has earned the spot as the team’s No. 1 quarterback with his play over the first six games, Mecham has done the little things behind the scenes to help the team win.
While he and Webb are in competition, they remain close off the field. The elder Mecham has served as a mentor to Webb as well as the younger quarterbacks on KU’s roster.
“Quinn and I are really competitive on the field, but off the field we are great friends,” Webb said. “He’s one of my best friends on the team and he’s there for me anytime things are going bad. He’s a guy you like to have on your side because he’s a stand-up guy, a good character guy and an awesome teammate.”
Asked if he’s disappointed to not be the team’s starting quarterback as a senior, Mecham is quick to display his maturity and humble attitude.
“The coaches put the guy on the field who gives the team the best chance to win the game and that happens to be Jordan (Webb),” said Mecham, who played in six games last season when Webb was injured. “You can’t be upset with that at all. I want what’s best for the team.”
Coach Long knows he has a weapon on the sideline, biding his time until his name gets called.
“He’s never concerned about his circumstances, that he’s a backup,” Long explained. “He’s really good to have on your team because he shows other guys that here’s a guy who’s not playing as much as he wants, but he doesn’t complain about it and he just rolls up his sleeves and works.”
Many KU fans will remember one of Mecham’s first starts last season.
Trailing Colorado by four touchdowns in the fourth quarter, Mecham led the Jayhawks to the greatest comeback in team history. He finished 23-for-28 for 252 yards and two touchdowns, completing 17-straight passes at one point, to power KU to the upset of the Buffaloes, 52-45. It’s a game that neither Mecham, nor Long, nor the Jayhawk fans will soon forget.
“If Quinn doesn’t play again here, and you like for everybody to play, at least he can go away knowing that he did some great things for his team and he did bring us back in the greatest KU comeback ever,” Long said. “That will be with him forever. It was historic and he was part of that.”
Not many players can say they were part of the greatest comeback in a school’s history. For Mecham, his goal was just to play Division I football because Kansas was the only D-I school to offer him a scholarship after leading Snow Junior College to 21-2 record during his two years there.
After his KU career comes to a close, Mecham says he just wants Jayhawk fans to remember him as someone who was there for his team, regardless if he played or not.
“I’m always ready if I’m needed,” Mecham said. “I’m here to contribute to my team’s success and help my team get better.”
Weston Pletcher is a senior from Rosalia, Kan. He is majoring in journalism.
