The former Michigan State quarterback went undrafted last April. He was one of the many casualties among that third tier of quarterbacks who didn’t get drafted. For whatever reason, NFL teams waited to make a run on the second group of quarterbacks, pushing the next level of signal callers into temporary unemployment.
Hoyer, however, was wanted by New England, which worked him out in East Lansing, Mich., and remained in contact with him during draft weekend. Hoyer's phone blew up after the completion of the draft — “You wish your phone was ringing like that during the draft,” he quipped — but the thoughts of working with Tom Brady and Bill Belichick were far too enticing.
Hoyer entered training camp battling for a roster spot with 2008 third-round pick Kevin O’Connell, two-year veteran Matt Gutierrez and former Raiders quarterback Andrew Walter. Because Brady was coming back from his knee injury and Matt Cassel played brilliantly off the bench in 2008, it was widely believed the Patriots would opt to back up Brady with one or two experienced quarterbacks.
O’Connell's draft stock and Walter's off-the-bench familiarity in Oakland seemed to give the pair an immediate edge, and Gutierrez had two seasons in the Patriots' system, which also made him a viable option. Hoyer was the long shot, even by long-shot standards, which made last summer's events even more surprising.
Gutierrez was released Aug. 3, O’Connell on Aug. 31, and Walter on Sept. 4. Just more than four months after Hoyer went undrafted, he was Brady's first and only backup. Considering the uncertainty of Brady's health at that point — that’s a serious concern after such a devastating injury — Belichick was putting a huge amount of faith in Hoyer, who played well enough in camp to earn that role.
But even entering the 2004 and 2005 seasons — after Brady's second and third Super Bowls, respectively — the Patriots carried three quarterbacks on their roster. Hoyer, though, said he never gave himself a pat on the back, perfected his clipboard holding or just remained comfortable with his firm grasp on a roster spot.
"As crazy as this may sound to everyone, I wanted to try to compete with Tom," Hoyer said last week. "He is, in my opinion, the best quarterback in this league, but the only way I feel like I can get better is to try to compete with the guy that is ahead of me. So I never really laid back and was like, 'Well, there's no one behind me. I’m just going to take it easy.' I always went out there, and tried to be as competitive with him as I could and learned from him. So I didn’t feel like I laid off or anything like that. I kind of tried to push myself harder every day."
Hoyer's drive and determination had to be endearing factors in Belichick's eyes. The rookie worked hard on the field and was smart in the film room, studying himself, Brady, whoever. After all, it wasn't the first time Hoyer was backing up a clear-cut No. 1 starter. He also sat behind Drew Stanton, who was a Heisman candidate at Michigan State.
"I'll never forget," Hoyer said, "when I was being recruited at Michigan State, I was like, 'Well, you guys have a bunch of quarterbacks here.' And one of the coaches [said], 'There's always going to be quarterbacks wherever you go. You're always going to have to compete.' It kind of struck me then — no matter what you do, you're always going to have to compete against someone. If anything, it pushes me harder to work harder in the weight room, in the bubble, and throwing, and running, the little extra things."
Hoyer got some action in five regular-season games in 2009, completing 19 of 27 passes (70.4 percent) for 142 yards, and he rushed 10 times for 25 yards and one touchdown. Granted, his playing time came in low-pressure situations, but he always looked efficient and composed on the field, which wasn't always something that could be said for Cassel before the 2008 regular season.
A lack of playing time is obviously expected for someone in Hoyer's situation, but he still credited Brady's tutelage as a major reason for his development in 2009. Despite that lack of live action, Hoyer said the game did indeed slow down for him from the time of his first preseason snaps to the regular-season finale in Houston.
Hoyer was dead on with last April’s thought process, and he has done everything to take advantage of his time with the Patriots. He is still working hard to continue his development for next season.
"Game experience is nothing compared to practice, when those guys are really coming at you as hard as they can," said Hoyer, who has been working out at Gillette Stadium since mid-February. "They're trying to knock you out, and you're trying to make plays. Nothing compares to that, so I think it’s pretty valuable. I’m anxious that the preseason schedule came out [last week]. I'm already looking up Atlanta, New Orleans, seeing who they've got playing on their defense, getting ready for that, so I'm excited for that."
