Being patient nothing new for NFL prospect Petty

NFL teams have questions about Bryce Petty. The Midlothian and Baylor product acknowledges he doesn’t yet have all the answers.

But he has no doubt that he will figure it out at the next level.

“The best way I can say it is: You’re going to [get a] guy who is passionate about football, loves football, loves to learn, loves to absorb,” said Petty, who measured just under 6-foot-3 Thursday and weighed 230. “I think that’s what is hard to find on paper. You’ve really got to just get in there and be with them and talk X’s and O’s with them.

“… I’m going to be on a team that loves me. I love them back. I’m going to give them all I’ve got.”

Petty did a lot right during his two seasons as the Bears’ starter. His résumé starts with the 21-4 record and back-to-back Big 12 championships. He finished with 8,195 passing yards, 62 touchdowns and only 10 interceptions.

“The offense runs through him,” George Whitfield, Petty’s personal quarterbacks coach, said. “I think that’s going to bode well for him when he gets to sit down and meet with teams. This is a kid who every time he came out of that tunnel understood, ‘I play well, we win this thing.’ It isn’t, ‘whether I play well or not, I have a Marshawn Lynch behind me, or we have a defense that’s going to pitch a shutout for us. I’ve got a little leniency there.’ There’s nothing wrong with that. Those are luxuries that just weren’t afforded to Bryce.

“Even though Baylor is improving in all areas, No. 14 still has to start the deal and finish the deal for them. He’s still got to do it. That’s a high volume of offense, week in and week out.”

Petty, 23, will get his first chance to show off his skills Saturday during quarterback workouts at Lucas Oil Stadium. His second comes at Baylor’s Pro Day on March 18. He also will conduct private workouts with teams after that.

Whitfield, who has worked with Petty for three years, said 90 percent of Petty’s pre-combine work has been under center and in the pocket.

Petty played in a spread offense at Baylor, which uses a signal system for relaying plays. He had never called a play until the Senior Bowl last month. Thus, the questions.…

“He was very successful at Baylor,” Houston Texans general manager Rick Smith said. “He’s smart and talented. He came out of a spread offense. Some questions have to be answered: Can he make the transition to a pro-style offense? Can he call the play in the huddle? And when he gets to the line of scrimmage, can he read the defense and set the edge and go through his reads? Whether you’re on the board, watching film or in conversation, you have to put him in those situations and see how he responds.”

Petty’s struggles at the Senior Bowl, transitioning into a pro-style offense, were expected, according to New York Jets general manager Mike Maccagnan.

“He’s got a chance to be a good quarterback in this league,” said Maccagnan, formerly the college scouting director of the Texans. “He’s an interesting prospect. He had a lot of success in college, but there’s a bit of concern about him being in the spread in college. He’s got a lot of good qualities to overcome that. He’s very bright. He’s got all the intangibles you look for at his position.

“I think what happened at the Senior Bowl was good for him. What happened is to be expected when you see what system he played at Baylor. It was a chance to see how he adjusted. I thought he did some good things at the Senior Bowl. He has plenty of ability to play at the next level.”

Petty’s transition to the NFL might not be overnight, but he obviously has patience. He sat behind Robert Griffin III and then Nick Florence for three seasons before getting his chance.

He already knows that good things come to those who wait.

This story was originally published February 19, 2015 at 8:17 PM with the headline "Being patient nothing new for NFL prospect Petty."