1-on-1 with NFL quarterback & El Paso native Steven Montez
EL PASO, Texas -- El Paso native Steven Montez has no doubt in his arm strength. And despite not being selected in the 2020 NFL Draft, he'll tell you it beats every player who was picked ahead of him.
"I mean I’ve thrown with a lot of these quarterbacks," says Montez of his arm strength. "And that’s not to say that these quarterbacks, Justin Herbert, Joe Burrow, aren't talented guys. Very talented guys. But I still don’t think there’s a quarterback in the draft that has a stronger arm than I do."
Montez is aiming to become the second El Pasoan to play quarterback in an NFL game. And after signing a free agency contract with the Washington Football Team (formerly Redskins), he's well on his way.
After starring at Del Valle High School, Montez went to the University of Colorado where he broke records as a three-year starter.
Montez amassed over 8,000 yards of total offense during his career in Boulder.
"I think it’s just a testament to how much work I put into this game. I love this game, I put a ton of work into it every day, being a better quarterback, being a better me. And it think the records just kind of show and prove that I’ve been working my butt off for 4 and a half years."
At 6-foot-5, Montez has the prototypical build of an NFL Quarterback. ANd he joins a team in Washington with other young signal callers in Dwayne Haskins and Kyle Allen.
Haskins has the leg up as the incumbent starter, but Montez is going in with a chip on his shoulder after getting passed up in the NFL Draft.
"I’m going in there to compete. That’s just my mentality that’s always been my mentality whether it was high school, whether it was college, whether it was the NFL now. I think you have to go in there with that mentality just to go in there and compete at your best form."
"I think if you go in there thinking 'Oh I’m never gonna play, I’m never gonna get reps,' this and that. You start to feel sorry for yourself and you don’t play at your peak potential."
Montez has waited out the pandemic back in El Paso, working out and throwing at local high schools when he can.
In an exclusive face-to-face interview with ABC-7's Nate Ryan, Montez went all-access to discuss his hometown, his preparation for the NFL, and his mentality as he begins his life as an NFL quarterback. You can watch the entire interview in the video player at the top of this article.
