INDIANAPOLIS — TCU quarterback Max Duggan has been on a nonstop whirlwind since last August.
From losing his starting job in his fifth year to regaining the job due to a teammate’s injury to taking TCU on a magical ride to the CFP national title game while becoming a Heisman Trophy finalist and Davey O’Brien winner as a college football’s best quarterback along the way.
And that was just during the season.
The award banquet circuit followed, coinciding with the process of preparing for the 2023 NFL draft and realizing a lifelong dream of playing in the NFL.
His presence at the NFL scouting combine this week, where he was poked, prodded, tested and questioned by NFL teams as well a throng of media on Friday, was just the next step in what has been a surreal journey.
“Yeah, it’s been a fast — you know whatever month it is since about August — stuff,” Duggan said to the Star-Telegram. “You don’t really know what to expect, but nothing’s really slowed down. I wouldn’t want it any other way. It’s been fun to go through this experience and compete and interview and grow and just get to go through the entire process. It’s been pretty fun.
“This is a once in a lifetime opportunity it’s a great experience a lot of us you know dream about being here you watch the combine growing up as a kid, so I think to be here, just taking it all in because you only get to go through the draft process once.”
Duggan trained for the combine and the NFL draft in California under the guidance of noted quarterback guru Jordan Palmer, who works with noted NFL stars Josh Allen and Joe Burrow with the focus on improving his footwork and mechanics.
“It’s something that I never really honed in on throughout college and I never had a private coach my entire life,” Duggan said. ”In the offseason, it was just kind of grabbing a bag of balls and going to throw with my receiver. So this time, it’s being able for me to specialize on footwork and my mechanics really clean up on.”
He said his focus at the combine is to show he can be a consistent passer, show good velocity on the ball, ball placement and accuracy while showing his knowledge of schemes and protections.
Duggan, who is expected to be a mid-to-late round pick, has talked to a number of teams including the Houston Texans, Dallas Cowboys, Green Bay Packers and Pittsburgh Steelers.
He will be happy to continue his career anywhere, just as long as he gets live out his lifelong dream of playing quarterback in the NFL.
But he acknowledged it would be special to be drafted by the Cowboys and learn from quarterback Dak Prescott.
“Yeah, it’d be really exciting to be able to go learn obviously in Dallas and with Coach McCarthy and you know learn under Dak and learn how to be a pro and everything he’s done to be successful,” Duggan said. “So you know it’d be really special. It would special to stay home in the Fort Worth area and be part of the Cowboys franchise.”
Duggan had an informal interview with the Cowboys and has yet to sit down formally with coach Mike McCarthy. But he will likely take a visit to the team’s headquarters before the draft as part of the local college visits.
He drew the attention of owner Jerry Jones at the Senior Bowl last month.
And he caught the eye of McCarthy during the season, putting him squarely on the Cowboys radar as a possible second or third day option as a future backup for Prescott.
“What a great year TCU had,” McCarthy said. “I just love the way he plays. You’re never out of the game with Max. I think that’s a huge characteristic as a quarterback you have to have in this league. You have to win those games. You see it every year in the playoffs. These games come down to the last series. Look at a Super Bowl, it comes down to the last series. You have to have that quarterback that can get it done.”
Duggan says competitiveness is his biggest asset.
Many are using former Iowa State quarterback Brock Purdy as a comparison for Duggan in the NFL. Purdy, who started 46 games in college was seventh-round pick of the San Francisco 49ers in 2022 and came off the bench to lead them to the NFC championship.
Duggan had 47 starts at TCU and has gone from a possible seventh-round pick or undrafted to a fourth or fifth-round prospect since last August, thanks to his eye-opening senior season.
But he likens his game and play style to another former Big 12 quarterback in Oklahoma’s Jalen Hurts, who led the Philadelphia Eagles to Super Bowl LVII, because of ability to make plays with his arm and his feet.
Duggan passed for 72 touchdowns and ran for 28 during four seasons at TCU. Those numbers were 32 and nine as a senior in 2022.
“Jalen Hurts is probably someone I probably played most like just just looking at what he does,” Duggan said. “Just the intangible assets of being a leader, being tough, gritty, fighting through adversity and leading a group of men. But also just physical traits. He’s an underrated passer. He is a pass-first guy but is athletic enough to go make plays, whether it’s QB design runs ,scrambled drills, third and short. Jalen hurts is probably someone I’m probably most similar to.
“I think that the game has turned into that where you need to kind of be mobile. And mobile doesn’t mean you need to run a 4.4 (seconds in the 40-yard dash). You look at a lot of guys that are just mobile in the pocket of making guys miss by an inch of a step and be able to get the ball off or be able to scramble on a 3rd and 6. You don’t need to have to run a you know a 4.4 to be able to do that. But just be athletic enough to help the team.”
Duggan doesn’t know what he is going to run in the 40-yard dash on Saturday.
But there are no questions about his athleticism and competitiveness.
