Quarterback Gardner Minshew Once Tried to Break His Own Throwing Hand

Philip Ellis

September 21, 2019 1:26 PM

Gardner Minshew has experienced an accelerated ascent in the NFL , filling in for injured quarterback Nick Foles and bagging his first win with the Jacksonville Jaguars on Thursday. The Jaguars' rookie quarterback's playing has quickly earned him fans, as has his quirky behavior on and off the field and it turns out his dedication to the game can come out in some pretty odd ways.

Gardner Minshew Once Tried to Break His Own Hand

In a recent interview with Barstool Sports on their Pardon My French podcast, Minshew revealed that back in college, he went to extreme lengths to secure himself more time on the field. In 2016, when Minshew transferred to East Carolina University, he found himself filling in for one of the injured senior quarterbacks but then got benched when the athlete returned to the game.

"I was pretty pissed so I started looking around at what I could do and what my options were," he said. "The only thing I could do would be to get a medical redshirt." The redshirt is an exception in NCAA rules which applies to players who have only had a limited amount of game time, allowing them to compete for an additional season. Minshew immediately saw an opportunity to secure himself more time playing college football: by breaking his throwing hand and qualifying for a redshirt extension.

"So I get an idea," Minshew continued. "I go home, I grabbed a bottle of Jack Daniels, and I grab a hammer. And I go back in my room, I take a pull of Jack Daniels and put my hand down on the table and boom, boom, boom! One, two, three, and hit the hell out of my hand, dude!" His plan didn't work; despite repeated attempts, Minshew was unable to break his own hand, and was forced to attend practice with it covered in bruises, telling his coaches that he trapped it in a car door.

Luckily no real damage was done, meaning that when Minshew found himself filling in for another injured quarterback this week, he succeeded in making two touchdowns, helping the Jaguars beat the Tennessee Titans 20-7.

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Philip Ellis