Talk about perseverance. Minnesota Vikings rookie quarterback Joel Stave once forgot how to throw a football during his tenure at Wisconsin.
This isn’t a joke. He legitimately hit a mental wall — better known as “the yips” — during his junior season after having the starting job taken from him.
“I’ll be throwing it good, throwing it good and then all of a sudden I feel like I hang on to it too long,” Stave said at the time, via the Star Tribune. “One will sail, one will slip and then you start thinking, ‘Oh, I’ve got to hang on to it longer.’ That’s what happens when you start thinking too much.”
Thankfully he did break through and remembered how to throw again “after a few weeks” of agonizing ineptitude.
The Vikings loved what they saw in him from mental standpoint. Being able to get through something like that isn’t for the feint of heart, and the 6-foot-5 quarterback has some serious physical tools to work with, to boot.
He was signed as an undrafted free agent this spring to compete with Taylor Heinicke for a shot at making the roster as one of the three quarterbacks heading into the season.
“He was inconsistent, but when he played well he really played at a high level. We thought this is a guy with size who has shown arm strength. He’s actually a pretty good athlete for someone of his size,” quarterbacks coach Scott Turner said. “We thought this is someone we can work with, so he was the No. 1 guy we targeted as soon as the draft was over.”
In Stave, there is no doubt the Vikings are hoping his potential starts to shine through. Playing in a run-heavy scheme at Wisconsin, he never was particularly accurate, even on his best days. He finished his career with the Badgers having completed just 59.5 percent of his passes with 48 touchdowns and 37 interceptions.
Still, given his ability to sling the ball, combined with his ability to push through some hard times, perhaps Stave does have what it takes to maintain a long career in the NFL.