Wranglers Taking a Good Chance on Mock
by Tom Ando
Published on October 2, 2005 under Arena Football League (1987-2008) (AFL I)
Austin Wranglers
By signing with the Austin Wranglers, Chance Mock has made the Arena League the latest chapter in a highly credentialed life of football.
In Mock, a former starting quarterback at the University of Texas, the Wranglers have a face familiar to the fans of Austin. The former Longhorn could take this team a long way. The team currently has a solid starter in place with veteran John Fitzgerald, who last season completed 354 of 538 passes for 3961 yards and a career high 72 touchdowns, but the team still struggled offensively. Only three teams managed to put up fewer points.
Mock sees the competition as a benefit to both players.
"John is a great guy from everything I've heard and everything I've seen personally," said Mock. "I want to come in here and push for the starting job, but at the same time, he's a competitor himself and he's proven himself, but I don't think he'd do anything to hurt my development. If anything, he'd help me and continue what he's doing because he's done a good job so far."
You could say that so far, Mock has done a good job throughout his life when it comes to football. He has been around the game since a child. Before he was born, his father played linebacker for the New York Jets before becoming an assistant at Texas Tech, giving the younger Mock a chance to see the game up close.
After becoming a national sensation and a Parade All American in high school, Mock chose to become part of a university that was on the verge on something special.
"I really felt like Texas was a school on the rise," said Mock. "They had just come off of Ricky Williams winning the Heisman and there were dramatic improvements between the â98 season and the â99 season. I felt like they were really on the rise and headed in the right direction."
Mock began his collegiate career with a very impressive streak, throwing his first 160 passes without an interception.
"To be honest, when it was happening, I wasn't even paying attention to that," said Mock. "My job is to take care of the ball and that's what I tried to do. It was kind of funny when I threw that first interception because everybody was joking about it and I never thought about it."
After backing up Chris Sims, now on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Mock finally got his shot in 2003, becoming part of a quarterback tandem with a kid by the name of Vince Young. The interesting thing about the two-headed monster was the mutual respect.
"Vince is like a little brother to me," said Mock. "We worked very well together when we were both playing and I'm one of his biggest supporters now. We get along really well, we helped each other out during our times together. He'd look at stuff on the sideline whenever I was playing. When I got off the field, he'd let me know what I was seeing and vice versa when he was playing."
Although Mock played well, it became apparent that Young would be the guy during the 2004 season. Mock was faced with the chance to enter himself into the draft or to come back and be a team player. He chose the latter and admits his ticket to the NFL may have been delayed in that decision.
"I think so, I don't think I would've been drafted, but I think I would've had a better shot of getting into a camp," said Mock. "Because I had a bunch of films from my junior year and a lot of teams really liked my junior year films but there really wasn't much my senior year. When you've got a guy like Vince Young, it's hard to take him out of the ball game. So staying, in a way, hurt me as far as the NFL goes, but I wouldn't change it for anything."
Not being part of a football team in fall for the first time in years could have put Mock in the gutter, but the upbeat quarterback says it is quite the opposite.
"I don't think it's frustrating, I think it's encouraging because I do know what I can do so I look forward to getting the chance here in Austin. What better place to do it than the Arena League. It's a growing league and a great league for offenses, so it'll be fun."
The NFL has always been my goal, since I was a kid that's where I've wanted to play, but right now my goal is trying to help this organization."
If you talk to anyone who knows Mock, you get the feeling that he is earning points with the organization as a person just as much as he is as a player.
"Chance Mock brings many assets to the Austin Wranglers, including solid quarterback skills, great character and attitude, and an eagerness to play football again in front of his UT fan base," says Wranglers Head Coach Skip Foster.
Wranglers General Manager Glyn Milburn agrees.
"Chance Mock represents the kind of talent and character that we want," said Milburn.
Mock is officially going to sign his two-year contract on Tuesday when the free agency signing period begins. The buzz around the club is that good things are coming soon.
"I think, just from talking with everybody associated with the organization, they are bringing in some really good guys," said Mock, "The thing about the Arena League is that year in and year out, you have a great chance to improve. So hopefully this should be a breakout season for the Wranglers' organization."
It is too early to tell whether or not Fitzgerald will be dethroned, but the Wranglers have a competitor in Chance Mock.
Take It To The House
-Touchdown Tom's Tidbits
-Austin is a good fit for the twenty-three-year old Mock, but just as the Columbus Destroyers brought in former Buckeyes, the ex Longhorn wasn't sure if he would have received this opportunity with the Wranglers had he not played for Texas.
"I don't know," said Mock. "I definitely think that I have the ability to play. I think being in Austin definitely helped as far as name recognition. The fact that coach Foster had been able to watch me play during my time at Texas in games and stuff like that, so I think it helped in that aspect."
-Earlier this season, the number two-ranked Longhorns marched into Ohio State and beat the Buckeyes in what was billed as the game of the year.
"It was a great win for us to go in there, into the horseshoe, in a night game, where Ohio State is one of the toughest teams to play," said Mock.. "Then to pull it out in the end there, I thought that they did a great job and it shows what kind of character and swagger that this team has."
-Having attended just one Arena Football League game in his life, played by the Houston ThunderBears, most of Mock's knowledge of the league was hear-say.
"I know it's a very fun league," said Mock. "Everybody I've talked to says as soon as they see one game, they're hooked. It's a fast paced games and I know it's one of the big leagues on the rise right now."
-Although he hasn't played in a game since leaving Texas, Mock knew that opportunity would knock eventually and stayed in shape.
"I lifted and threw a lot. The most important thing for a quarterback is throwing," said Mock. "It's funny in the arena league because you don't see much running, it's a âhow quick can you get the ball out of your hands' deal."
I knew my chance was going to come. It was just a matter of being patient, and I knew what I could do. I just wanted to stay in good throwing shape and stay on top of my game so when I was able to get the opportunity, I would be able to show what I could do."
At Texas, Mock played for Mack Brown, and had nothing but positive things to say about him.
"Coach Brown is one of the greatest guys that I have ever met. We get along very well and have for years and he has done nothing but help me since I've finished up there at the university."
Arena Football League (1987-2008) Stories from October 2, 2005
- Wranglers Taking a Good Chance on Mock - OSC Original by Tom Ando
The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer(s), and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.
