From the backup quarterback in the NFL to high school quarterbacks coach to starting quarterback in the NFL, Josh McCown has taken the unconventional route back to pro football.
But he was ready for whatever God had for him.
“There are paths that cross in your life that are out there; you don’t even know they are coming,” he said in a My Story video by the ministry, The Increase. “What are you going to do when you get them? And are you going to join God in His mission or are you just going to miss or are you going to be so consumed with what (you have) going on that (you) miss what you can do with Him?”
McCown’s career began in 2002 with the Arizona Cardinals, but he has never played a full season. After getting in only two games in 2008 and one game in 2009 (both seasons with the Carolina Panthers), he played in the United Football League in 2010 with the Hartford Colonials and had the league’s highest passer rating.
No NFL team came calling, though.
“My prayer and my desire was to be in the locker room, so I go through that whole offseason and, again, the phone doesn’t ring,” McCown said in the My Story video. “So, I said, you know what, I’ve got to do something besides sit on my hands and wait; I need to get out there and serve.”
He volunteered to coach quarterbacks at Marvin Ridge High School, just outside of Charlotte, N.C.
“That was one of the biggest blessings I’ve ever had,” he said of his time there in 2011 and 2012.
Just after the 2011 high school season ended in a playoff run in November, Chicago called McCown because of an injury to starter Jay Cutler.
McCown played three games near the end of that season, but returned to Marvin Ridge to coach quarterbacks in 2012 after being cut again.
Once again, Chicago called in November and signed McCown as a backup because of another injury to Cutler. Although McCown didn’t play that season, he started this season as a backup with Chicago and took over the starting job about midway through this season because of another injury to Cutler.
“We get scarred and we get hurt because what we expected did not happen,” McCown said. “When I sit in my quiet moments, I say I want to please God, my heart is to please God, and there’s gotta be faith involved, and there’s gotta be things and elements in my life where I can’t see what’s coming next. If anything, it has encouraged me to push myself in those moments as much as I can.”
By Brett Honeycutt
Brett Honeycutt is the managing editor at Sports Spectrum magazine. This story was published in the November 2013 DigiMag.
THIS IS THE SPORTS SPECTRUM PODCAST WITH MATT FORTE, FEATURING ROBERT MATHIS
Robert Mathis spent 14 seasons with the Indianapolis Colts (2003-16) and is the franchise’s all-time leader in sacks (123). He was inducted into the team’s Ring of Honor in 2021, and won Super Bowl XLI with the team in 2006-07. He retired as the NFL’s career record holder in forced fumbles (52).
Matt Forte welcomes Robert Mathis to the Sports Spectrum Podcast to talk about his journey of faith in Christ, the worst year of his life in 2014, the power of prayer, his favorite quarterback to sack, and the Colts’ culture.
Robert Mathis, who spent all of his 14 seasons with the @Colts and was part of the Super Bowl XLI winning squad, is now a Semifinalist for the Pro Football Hall of Fame's Class of 2025. #PFHOF25pic.twitter.com/CErpQyajCL
Ohio State safety Caleb Downs makes a catch during the school's Pro Day in Columbus, Ohio, Wednesday, March 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Paul Vernon)
Ohio State safety Caleb Downs has spent the past two seasons building one of the most decorated résumés in college football. Now, he’s on the verge of hearing his name called early in the NFL Draft — potentially within the first five picks.
He was named the winner of the 2025 Jim Thorpe Award — given annually to the nation’s top defensive back — and a finalist for both the Bronko Nagurski and Chuck Bednarik Awards, each honoring the nation’s best defensive player. Downs was also a two-time consensus first-team All-American and a key member of the Buckeyes’ 2024-25 national championship team and Big Ten runner-up squad in 2025-26. Furthermore, he was given the Big Ten’s Nagurski-Woodson Defensive Player of the Year honor and, for the second straight season, the Tatum-Woodson Defensive Back of the Year award.
His impact extended beyond the field as well, earning the Lott IMPACT Trophy, which recognizes performance, leadership, character and community involvement, and he was nominated as Ohio State’s candidate for the 2025-26 Jackie Robinson Community & Impact Award.
“I have spent 11 years coaching in the NFL and Caleb Downs is the best football player — pro or college — that I have ever coached,” Ohio State co-defensive coordinator and secondary coach Tim Walton said. “He is first-class and exceptional in all areas he touches.”
That combination of production, football IQ and consistency has made Downs one of the most highly regarded prospects in the 2026 NFL Draft. Multiple outlets project him as a top-10 pick, with ESPN and The Athletic placing him as high as No. 5 overall to the New York Giants.
“Downs would be the first safety taken in the top five since Eric Berry went to the Chiefs in 2010, and he’d be worth it,” ESPN draft analyst Mel Kiper Jr. wrote.
But Downs is more than just a football player. And he’s not shy in talking about what’s most important to him.
“There’s two things that are more important than me, more important than me playing football,” Downs told “The Walk” podcast in August as to why he wears No. 2. “My faith in Jesus Christ and my family. So those two things is what I wear on my chest every game and those are the two most important things in my life.”
His faith has been central not only to his personal life, but also to his platform at Ohio State. In 2024, several football players helped lead a worship gathering on campus that featured worship music, player testimonies and baptisms. When the event returned in 2025 — drawing an estimated 2,000 attendees, nearly double the previous year — Downs was among the players who spoke to the crowd.
“No play we make on the field — no touchdown, no interception — can compare to the Kingdom of God,” Downs said.
Speaking afterward, he emphasized where he believes true credit belongs.
“God is good,” Downs told local television station ABC 6. “I mean, I can’t take credit for it. None of my teammates can take credit for it. At the end of the day, His glory is above anything that we can do, but we know Jesus is real and we know that if you believe in Him, you will be saved.”
That message has also shaped how Downs talks about faith publicly. On “The Walk” podcast, he talked about the hesitation many feel about coming to Christ.
“Some people say, ‘I’m not ready to be baptized. I’m not ready to come to Jesus,'” he said. “But the realization is that Jesus is for the people that are sick. Jesus is for the people that aren’t perfect. You’re never going to be perfect enough to come to Jesus. That’s the point.”
He continued later: “Whenever you surrender to Him, that’s when everything will be washed away and you will be made renewed in Him. The faster that you can come to Him and run to Him and totally surrender your heart and your mind to Him, that’s the better off you’re going to be.
“There’s no amount of good behavior that you can do that will allow you to feel like you’re righteous enough to come to Him, because you never will be. It’s just a realization that He is what makes you righteous. He’s what makes you perfect.”
Downs, after just three collegiate seasons, officially declared for the NFL Draft on Jan. 7 and made sure to point his gratitude to God with a post on Instagram.
“Everything I’ve been able to achieve starts with my faith,” he wrote. “I’m grateful to God for the direction, strength, and purpose He’s given me. And I will continue to glorify, honor, and praise Him throughout this journey.”
The NFL Draft goes from April 23-25 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
THIS IS THE SPORTS SPECTRUM PODCAST WITH MATT FORTE, FEATURING DAVID POLLACK
David Pollack is a former University of Georgia All-American linebacker, who was a first-round draft pick in 2005 by the Cincinnati Bengals. After his playing career, he spent more than a decade at ESPN as a college football analyst. He is also the co-host of the “Family Goals” podcast and the host of the “See Ball Get Ball” podcast.
Today on Sports Spectrum, we welcome David Pollack back to the show as he provides an update on his wife’s battle with brain cancer, trusting God in the storms of life, his just-released book “Every Day Counts,” and the 2026 NFL Draft.
THIS IS THE SPORTS SPECTRUM PODCAST WITH MATT FORTE, FEATURING JAMEIS WINSTON
Jameis Winston is an NFL quarterback who played the 2025 season with the New York Giants. He was originally selected No. 1 overall in the 2015 NFL Draft by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and after five seasons with Tampa moved to New Orleans, where he spent the next four seasons with the Saints. In 2024, he signed a one-year deal with Cleveland, and in 2025, he signed a two-year deal with New York.
In college, Winston was the 2013 Heisman Trophy winner, and a few weeks later led his Florida State Seminoles to a BCS National Championship victory over Auburn.
Today on the podcast, Jameis Winston is back on the show for an inspiring and wide-ranging conversation about faith, football, his surprising receiving touchdown last season, and how much longer he plans to compete at the highest level of the NFL. A powerful and candid discussion between Winston and host Matt Forte.
