Twelve quarterbacks were selected during the 2011 NFL Draft, but only one had broken his hand in the Senior Bowl and was unable to take part in the pre-draft activities.
He's also the one whose standout reputation and accomplishments in college led him to be chosen anyway, when the Jets picked Alabama's Greg McElroy in the seventh round.
"They weren't really in the market, I think, for a quarterback," said McElroy, who started his final two seasons for the Crimson Tide, and led them to the 2010 BCS National Championship. "At that point, they were pretty comfortable with what they had in the room. I mean, Mark Sanchez was, of course, the franchise quarterback. Mark Brunell was there to help kind of cultivate and continue to bring Mark along. And Kevin O'Connell was there, as well.
"But as things kind of went the way they did on draft day, I think they just decided that, 'Hey, we'll roll the dice here. This is a kid with a pretty good pedigree and comes from a place like Alabama that has a winning culture. I think would be a nice addition.'
"And I was elated. I did not at any point in the process have any communication with the Jets. So I was thrilled to be going to New York and to be a part of an organization that really felt like it was on the rise."
McElroy's first year with the Jets under Rex Ryan was a combination of a 132-day player lockout, a surprise, and pain.
"I remember that first training camp and not having had any reps. And all of a sudden, I'm taking some reps with the twos because Mark Brunell, at 40 years old, he wasn't needing the reps," McElroy laughed. "After an amazing 18-year career, I don't think he needed to get reps with a bunch of rookies and second-team players. He was ready to go.
"But he ended up straining his calf two or three days before the first preseason game and I remember thinking to myself, 'Oh, no. I was going to play the third and fourth quarters, and now I'm going to have to play the second. I might have to face some starters. This is going to be a real welcome to the NFL moment. And it was.
"That first quarter that I was in there was brutal. It felt like it was moving 100 miles an hour. But things settled down as the game went along. I got more and more comfortable, and I started to play pretty well.
"And then I kind of carried that performance into the next week against Cincinnati. It was raining like crazy, but I felt like I played pretty well in what were pretty challenging circumstances.
"Unfortunately, in either the late first quarter, early second quarter against Philly (in the fourth game), I hit my hand on the back of my center's helmet and dislocated my thumb and broke it. It was bad. So it was kind of an abrupt end to my rookie season."
Spending that first campaign on injured reserve, McElroy approached it like a redshirt year in college, trying to absorb as much as he could about life in the NFL. His aim was to not only heal, but to also put himself in place to compete for a backup position in 2012.
And earning a spot on the roster as Sanchez's backup, McElroy had a team-first attitude.
"My No. 1 goal was to make sure Mark was as comfortable as humanly possible," he said. "I mean, that's all I ever wanted. I wanted to be a cheerleader for him. I wanted to be his eyes on the sidelines, and support him any way I could."
McElroy saw his first action under center in a regular-season game in Week 13 when the Jets hosted Arizona. Sanchez struggled with three interceptions against the Cardinals. And in the third quarter, it was time for his cheerleader, his eyes on the sidelines, and his supporter's time to take the field.
Completing 5 of 7 passes for 29 yards, McElroy led New York to its only score early in the fourth quarter on a 1-yard toss to Jeff Cumberland, and the Jets won, 7-6.
"When Mark, just for whatever reason, didn't have it going that day, Rex and (offensive coordinator) Tony Sparano came over to me and said, 'Alright, you're up.' And I managed the game really well. Kind of took what the defense gave me. But it all happened so fast that it was almost hard to prepare for it," McElroy said.
"It was kind of shocking and at the same time exciting. When we won the game, it was amazing. It was probably one of the uglier games in the history of the NFL, but hey, we could have scored again. We ended up kneeling on it, I think, on the 3-yard line. But that was exactly what Rex wanted. Grind it out and find a way to have more points at the end than the opposition.
"So while I'm excited for myself and I'm excited for the team and I'm glad our playoff hopes were still intact, you're also kind of crushed at the same time because you failed as a backup quarterback and doing everything you can to make sure that the starter was well positioned to have success. So it was very bittersweet, frankly."
McElroy would make his first career start three games later against the Chargers. Unfortunately, an ankle injury during the following preseason led to him being released. His time with the Green & White didn't last as long as he had hoped, but McElroy appreciated the experience and that he'll always be a Jet.
"I had some bad luck with injuries, but at the same time, I'm really grateful to have had the perspective. What short time I was in the league, I'm really happy to have had it at a place that I think so highly of," said McElroy, who'd spend the 2013 season on Cincinnati's practice squad.
"Some of my fondest memories were being in New York, representing that fan base, and playing for an owner that desperately wanted to win. Woody Johnson is a phenomenal owner. I really believe that. I had an amazing experience playing for him and playing for Rex, who I just think the world of. Just going to work every day was a real blessing. I'm just very, very grateful to have had that experience.
"And I think some of my fondest memories are the relationships that were cultivated as a result of playing on those teams. We were really close. And hearing the J-E-T-S chant as you're running out of the tunnel and the support of the fan base. Because I'm not sure there's a better fan base as far as just loyalty and commitment than the Jets."
McElroy's post-playing plan was to trade sidelines for sidebars, passes for pleas, a handoff for a hung jury. In short, he was going to be a lawyer. That changed, however, when an unexpected opportunity presented itself.
"Broadcasting was never at the forefront of my plans," McElroy said. "It all kind of changed, though, when the SEC Network was getting ready to launch on ESPN, and ESPN approached me after I had hurt my knee and said, 'Look, if you want to come and do this, we can do it.' I could have probably grinded out two or three, maybe four more years. Who knows exactly how it all would have worked out.
"But I had an opportunity where they wanted me to be a part of the launch. So it was kind of a perfect storm. I was still in football, so I didn't feel like I'd missed that part of my life too much. And it allowed me to get back to college football.
"I'm raising my kids as Jets fans and love the league, but I'm definitely a college football fan. And so I felt like it was an opportunity to get back home to where I have maybe a little bit more appreciation for how the game is played."
Now in his 12th year as a college football analyst for ABC/ESPN. This is also his 12th year broadcasting on radio, beginning with Sirius XM on a college football show called First Team.
"It was really more about finding my voice as a broadcaster," McElroy said. "Radio was a way to kind of hone your skills for 15 hours a week, because you don't get as many reps if you're just doing television. But it ended up being a great move for me and I really started to enjoy radio an awful lot."
In 2021, he joined WJOX in Birmingham, AL, and co-hosts McElroy & Cubelic in the Morning with Cole Cubelic.
"I felt like it was a good opportunity for me to get back to the Southeast and cover the SEC, which is where I kind of wanted to hang my hat," said McElroy, who also hosts ESPN and Omaha Productions' Always College Football with Greg McElroy podcast. "So it's been a great move. I haven't second-guessed retiring early for a moment. I'm honestly just very, very blessed and lucky to have this opportunity."
Making their home in suburban Birmingham, McElroy and his wife, Meredith, have three young children: Vince, J.G., and Mae.
"I think my favorite thing about where I'm at right now is just constantly trying to improve every day. I know it sounds cliche, but I really actively work on that. And that's as a broadcaster, as a father, as a husband, as a man of faith," McElroy said.
"I used to always be like, what if? What if I don't hurt my thumb Week 4 of the preseason in 2011? What if I don't tear my PCL Week 1 of the preseason in 2013? And I'm done with that now. I'm just proud of where life's taken me. I'm not so focused on what didn't happen, I'm more appreciative of what has."
