HOYER FINDS A MENTOR and ROLE MODEL in TOM BRADY

Hoyer finds a mentor and role model in Tom Brady
06:29 PM EDT on Friday, August 7, 2009
By ROBERT LEEJournal Sports Writer

Rookie quarterback Brian Hoyer gets some tips from Tom Brady as training camp opens on July 30.
Journal photo / Mary Murphy
FOXBORO – It was only a few short months ago that Brian Hoyer’s dreams of playing in the NFL looked bleak.
He watched the draft intently, waiting for his name to be called. But round after round, it wasn’t. And when it was all over, he was not chosen.
His disappointment didn’t last for long, however. Four days after the draft ended, he was signed by the Patriots.
As far as he is concerned, he couldn’t be in a better situation to develop into a pro quarterback. While he knows that his best chance to make the Patriots team is probably on the practice squad, he is soaking up everything he can from the quarterback he considers to be the best in the game today: Tom Brady.

“To come in and just see how he approaches and how he thinks about things, and then to come out and watch him practice has really helped me out,” Hoyer said. “It is hard enough as it is, but when you have a guy who is as experienced as he is, who knows the [playbook] like the back of his hand, and you just see the way he goes through his progression and you see how he affects people with his eyes, it has really helped. You just have to try to emulate that.”
Hoyer said that Brady has taken him under his wing and given him valuable advice during training camp.
“I try not to annoy him,” Hoyer said, “but for a guy who has so much knowledge in football and about this offense, if I have a question, I don’t hesitate to ask him. But a lot of times I can learn just by watching him and seeing the way he moves in the pocket. His footwork, the fact that he knows this offense like the back of his hand, it is impressive to watch. It is good to try to emulate him and try to be like him.
“For a guy to have the success that he’s had in this offense, I try to do everything he does.”
Hoyer’s long-term goal in the NFL is to become an All-Pro quarterback like Brady.
“For me, watching Tom, and seeing how fluid he is in the offense, how comfortable he is ... that’s what I want to strive to be,” said Hoyer. “It might take 10 years to get there, but that’s what I’m striving for.”
But Hoyer is realistic. He knows he won’t be a starting quarterback in the NFL any time soon. But he is quick to point out that former Patriots quarterback Matt Cassel went from a seventh-round draft pick to a starter in four seasons.
“This is a complex system for a rookie quarterback to come in and do it,” Hoyer said. “I’ve got a long ways to go. I’m getting a little more comfortable, but you look at the guy who has been in the system for 10 years and how great he runs it, you just have to aspire to get to that level, even if it takes you 10 years to get there. It’s something that is a challenge and you just want to go out and get better each practice. It is a lot of hard work, but you have to do it. That’s my job on this team, to try to become the best quarterback I can be and be ready for whatever situation is thrown my way.”
Hoyer isn’t bitter about the Patriots’ recent signing of Andrew Walter, which presumably moves Hoyer down on the depth chart.
“You learn quick that it is definitely a business,” Hoyer said. “It’s something that I can’t control. I can control what I can do out there, and that’s doing my job and getting better and just trying to get better every practice by [studying] the playbook and watching the film. Those are the things that I can control, so you just move right along and keep progressing.”
Hoyer has had a few highs and lows at training camp so far, and the fourth day of double-sessions was a perfect microcosm of that. On Tuesday he fumbled a snap with center Russ Hochstein and both players had to take a lap. He later redeemed himself when he connected with Joey Galloway in the end zone for a two-point conversion that forced the entire defense to take a lap.
“It was important, but it was just one play at the end of practice,” he said. “It is a competitive drill, so you want to succeed. You’ve got to come out in the afternoon, and it’s a brand-new practice. You just have to keep getting better and hang in there. It is good for that five minutes to celebrate, but you have to move on and focus on the next practice.”
Hoyer is getting more and more reps in practice to prepare him for New England’s first preseason game. He is getting more comfortable running the offense with the more reps that he is getting.
“The more reps you get helps and so does watching film, but I want to just keep getting better every day,” Hoyer said.
Hoyer spent five years at Michigan State and started the last 27 games of his career for the Spartans, posting a 16-11 record. He threw for 2,404 yards and nine touchdowns as a fifth-year senior, and as a result was named as an honorable mention All-Big Ten selection by the coaches and media.
He finished his career at MSU ranked second all-time in pass attempts (896), third in passing yards (6,159), third in pass completions (500), sixth in touchdown passes (35) and 10th in completion percentage (.559).