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Last week, the Cleveland Browns made headlines when they drafted brash Oklahoma QB Baker Mayfield #1 overall. According to Browns exec Alonzo Highsmith, Mayfield had the off-the-field intangibles the team was looking for.
Via CantonRep
“Then comes the part where you meet them off the field. You watch their workouts. You watch everything. And Baker blew me away. Highly, highly intelligent. Highly competitive.
“And he had a trait that some of the good ones have. I call it efficacy. That includes the power to effect other people. I thought that of all the quarterbacks I watched, he stood out far and above the other guys. When he walked into a room, you knew he was there.”
Apparently UCLA QB Josh Rosen didn’t have the off-the-field “it” factor the Browns were looking for. Highsmith went on to share a bizarre story on how a random encounter with UCLA women’s volleybaLl team at the airport may have influenced him to not consider drafting Rosen.
“I was at an airport,” he said. “UCLA’s volleyball team was in front of me. You heard so much about Rosen. He’s this or that. We all know how people talk.
“So I asked one of the volleyball coaches, ‘What’s Rosen like?’ He said, ‘Aaaaa, you should probably ask his girlfriend. She’s one of the players. She’s over there.’
“I’m like, ‘All right coach. That’s good enough.’
“I don’t know what all this means, but there was something about him that bothered me”
The Browns deciding to not draft Josh Rosen because of the tone of volleyball coach is so Browns. Amazing.