Cleveland Browns head coach Rob Chudzinski announced earlier today that Saint Ignatius alumnus Brian Hoyer ’04 will make his first start in a Browns uniform this weekend on the road at Minnesota. Starting quarterback Brandon Weeden came down with a thumb injury of unknown severity in last Sunday’s game against Baltimore, and Coach Chud opted to start Hoyer, listed as the third-string quarterback on the depth chart, over backup Jason Campbell.
Hoyer appeared in two games for the Arizona Cardinals last year, and completed 30 of 53 passes for a total of 330 yards, 1 touchdown, and 2 interceptions over that span. He also started the Browns’ preseason finale this year, connecting on 24 of 35 attempts for 307 yards, 1 touchdown, and 2 interceptions. There have been mixed reactions from the local media in response to this move by the Browns; some, including Terry Pluto of the Cleveland Plain Dealer, are in support of the move, while plenty of others question the reasoning behind passing over the experienced Jason Campbell (71 career starts). Obviously, all of us at Wildcat High have a slightly biased opinion on the matter, but personally I don’t see anything wrong with starting Hoyer.
While he may not have all that much starting experience under his belt, he was Tom Brady’s backup for a number of years- there are few better guys to learn from than Tom Brady in this league. In addition, Browns general manager Mike Lombardi gave Hoyer a ringing endorsement back in 2011 when he was working as a NFL Network analyst: “I think Brian Hoyer and Ryan Mallett (current Patriots backup) are starters. I’ve said this many times: If I would have taken the GM job of the 49ers, I would have gone after Brian Hoyer, because I think he has all the traits and characteristics.” If you ask me, these are two compelling reasons to have some faith in Hoyer. At the end of the day, though, it’s simply a very cool thing to see a Cleveland native and Ignatius grad go from starting under center for the Wildcats to starting under center for the Brownies.
Regardless of the outcome of Sunday’s game against the Vikings, the Saint Ignatius community is proud of and will be pulling for Brian as he takes the field for the Browns. Congratulations to Brian and his family, and best of luck to him (and the Brownies) this weekend.
