NFL

Serby’s Sunday Q&A with … Greg McElroy

Greg McElroy (Getty Images)

Jets third-string quarterback Greg McElroy took a timeout this week for a Q&A session with Post columnist Steve Serby.

Q: What’s the quarterback room like?

A: Obviously we’re all young guys, Mark being 26 and Tim’s 25 and then I’m 24. We all have a great relationship because we’re so close in age. We have so many similarities in the way we grew up. We have similarities in the way we handle ourselves. It makes it fun. I think the world of both of them.

Q: How would you describe Tebowmania?

A: It’s great. Obviously, Tim [Tebow] is a tremendous role model, he’s a tremendous football player. In the little bit of time that I spent with him before he came here, I always envisioned him being exactly how he is. He is who he is. He’s an incredibly hard worker, and he’s a fantastic teammate. It’s really been a joy to play with him.

PHOTOS: GREG McELROY

Q: Who’s the best prankster of the three of you?

A: Mark’s the best prankster for sure.

Q: Can you give me an example?

A: I can think of a few things — I’m not so sure that I want to share a lot of ’em (chuckle). I can always remember back to when I was watching “Hard Knocks” in college, and Mark was taking the pictures and drawing mustaches on [then-offensive coordinator Brian] Schottenheimer’s kids’ pictures and stuff like that with the dry-erase markers.

Q: How much of a hard time did you give him after the “buttfumble”?

A: Oh, not at all. It was an unfortunate turn of events. … Mark felt terrible about that and we were all disappointed, and it’s just one of those things, it happens, and you try to learn from it. You try to eliminate those mistakes as you move forward.

Q: How is Mark’s psyche?

A: Mark’s a fighter, I mean, he’s a warrior. I know Mark Brunell, he’s talked with him on a couple of different occasions, and [Sanchez is] our quarterback and we love him and we know that he’ll come out and play a fantastic game on Sunday.

Q: Can you be a starter in this league?

A: I would love to think so. I would love to have that opportunity at some point, obviously. But my parents always said, “Anything worth doing is worth waiting for,” and that’s something that’s always kind of stuck with me. So patience is extremely important, making sure that you have the right opportunity. Of course, when you come into the league, you always want to be on the field. That’s the competitor in all of us. We wouldn’t be here if we didn’t want that. But my role at this point is to be third-string quarterback and to help out Mark and Tim any way I possibly can, and I’m completely at peace with that. I appreciate that role, and I’m very thankful to Rex [Ryan] and Mike Tannenbaum for giving me this opportunity.

Q: What was it like when you heard Jets fans chanting for you?

A: I’ll tell you the truth (chuckle), I didn’t know what they were saying for a little while. When you’re in a game, you’re so focused, you’re so locked in on what’s happening on the field, you don’t really necessarily pay attention to what’s happening around. Of course it’s humbling and exciting, but at the same time, Mark’s our quarterback, and I know he’s gonna do some great things for us this week.

Q: How bad do you sense that Mark wants to make this right for himself and for this organization?

A: Mark’s a tremendous competitor. He works as hard as anybody. He puts in the hours. He does everything that you could ever imagine. He does so many things that people don’t know, as far as staying up here till all hours of the night studying, breaking it down, doing everything he can possibly do to be prepared. He has a tremendous passion for this game and that’s something that you want in your quarterback, and we’re very, very happy that that’s the way Mark is.

Q: What drives you?

A: I think fear of failure.

Q: Can you make all the throws?

A: I think that every quarterback in the NFL can make all the throws. Now can you make ’em as consistently as others? I don’t know, it’s difficult to understand. … I know what I can do, I know what I can do well, and I try my best to play within myself and play within the system.

Q: Who are some athletes in other sports you admire?

A: Kobe Bryant. Baseball’s my favorite sport. … I’m a huge Dodger fan. Someone I always kind of grew up looking to is Mike Piazza. I was a catcher. I loved the way he played the game, I loved his leadership ability. Also another Dodger is a guy named Paul Lo Duca. I thought he had a tremendous passion for the game, all 162 games. I felt like he was a leader out there, he controlled the game, he controlled the flow, and that’s something I really looked up to.

Q: What’s your best Alabama memory?

A: The best memory was probably winning the SEC Championship against Florida, and against Tim. We had played them the year before and we lost, and they came back and beat us in the fourth quarter. They’re No. 1, we’re No. 2, and quite frankly, no one expected us to win.

Q: How did you feel when anonymous teammates ripped Tim?

A: Well, one, I felt like it was completely untrue. I think Tim’s a tremendous football player. I think Tim’s a tremendous quarterback. He’s continually working to perfect his craft, just like all of us.

Q: Have you seen him improvements throwing the ball from him from training camp to now?

A: He picks something different to work on every day. I think he gets better every day, I really do. I think that’s why he’s become such a tremendous player at every level.

Q: How would you sum up Jets fans?

A: I love Jet Nation, I really do. It reminds me so much of school. You have that passion, you have that diehard mentality. I love the fans, I love their passion, I love their intensity, and I love that they demand a lot of us. That means a lot to us as players that they care so much, and we’re very, very grateful to be able to represent, to be able to play for a group of people like that.

Q: Were you saddened by Fireman Ed’s retirement?

A: We’re very grateful for everything that he did for us. Hopefully, some day down the line, whenever that day may be, he’ll be able to come back and he’ll be back on that perch and leading the J-E-T-S chant again.

Q: Your dad works in marketing for the Cowboys. Sum up Jerry Jones.

A: Mr. Jones is obviously a very, very close friend of the family. I grew up around that organization, I feel like. I think he’s a great person. He’s been tremendous to my family. He’s given my dad a lot of incredible things, and my dad loves working for him. He’s like a family member to us, so we think the world of him.

Q: Have you met Tony Romo?

A: Briefly, just a couple of times, not a lot, just kind of brushed elbows. I would know who he is well before he would know who I am (chuckle). I admire watching Tony. I think he’s an incredibly talented quarterback, and I think he’s a tremendous player.

Q: Any other quarterbacks you like watching?

A: Several. I’m a nerd in that regard. I love watching all these other quarterbacks because you might not have the same skill set, but you might be able to take one thing from … Tom Brady, or you might be able to take one thing from Aaron Rodgers, or one thing from the way Drew Brees does something. You look at what the best players in the world do, and you can just take maybe one thing and apply it to what you do and how you play, it might be able to benefit you somewhat.

Q: Describe Alabama coach Nick Saban.

A: I’ve learned more from Coach Saban than I’ve learned from anyone else in my entire life — from a how-to-be-a-man standpoint, from a responsibility standpoint. Understanding that you can’t be a champion on the field without being a champion off the field. What I mean by that is, you have to take pride in your preparation, you have to take pride in your schoolwork, you have to take pride in every single thing that you do in order to be successful on the football field because you reap what you sew. And Coach Saban just does a fantastic job of developing boys, and when they leave that program, they’re men, and they have a tremendous appreciation for all the lessons they learned.

Q: You lost a friend to cancer when you were a child.

A: It was a brain tumor, her name was Tianna Teagarden, a childhood friend, I mean, one of my best friends growing up. When I was 10 years old, she was in a snowboarding accident — or skiing accident, I can’t remember what she was doing exactly — but it was definitely a snow type of venture. And she fell and hit her head, and as a result, they noticed a tumor in her head. She eventually died from it. It’s heartbreaking for me. I was destroyed. But at that point, I didn’t really understand and comprehend death. I didn’t understand or comprehend the importance of life and the importance of enjoying your life. That’s when I really started to probably understand how special it is what we have and just really enjoy the gifts that you have and enjoy the life that you’ve been given.

Q: Three dinner guests?

A: Ronald Reagan, Bear Bryant, Ben Franklin.

Q: Favorite movie?

A: “Forrest Gump.”

Q: Favorite actor.

A: Denzel Washington.

Q: Favorite actress?

A: Anne Hathaway.

Q: Favorite book you’ve read recently?

A:. I really liked “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo” trilogy, loved that, thought it was great. And “The Five People You Meet in Heaven.”

Q: Favorite entertainer/singer?

Q: The Eagles. It’s on my bucket list to see ’em at some point, my dad’s seen ’em.

Q: What else is on your bucket list?

A: My original bucket was to go to The Masters, and I went this past year, and now I want to play it (laugh). That’s probably the biggest longshot.

Q: How good a golfer are you?

A: I’m OK, I’m not great. … I’m probably 12-15 [handicap], maybe. During the season, it’s really ugly.

Q: That was your first Masters last year?

A: It was.

Q: What was it like?

A: It was amazing. We were actually in a restaurant the night before, and our waiter was like, “I guarantee you won’t find a weed on the entire course.” And, sure enough, I looked, being as OCD as I am, I looked the entire day trying to find it on Wednesday and could not find it. And I was like, “Oh my goodness, this place is …” God was showing off when he made that place. It’s unbelievable.

Q: Anything else on your bucket list?

A: I want to go to Europe, never been to Europe. I’d love to see Manchester United play in person. … I’d love to go to a Republican National Convention at some point. … Politics has always just been, I’ve been interested in that my entire life. It’s definitely a hobby of mine to kind of follow it and study it. I always try to dive into the — not so much the parties — but I want to dive into each individual candidate and what they want to do and what they propose, and I like to evaluate the plans and things like that.

Q: Do you aspire to a career in politics?

A: I’ve always thought about it. I always said that I would love to eventually get into a career involving public service, whether that be politics or whatever it may be.

Q: Do you ever dream about being president?

A: Absolutely. Of course I’ve dreamed about that. … I’ve dreamed about a lot of things though. … I really have a passion for being well-rounded in well-roundedness. I can’t say that I’ve ever realistically dreamed of becoming the president, but, of course, I’ve thought of it from time to time (smile). It’d be a tremendous responsibility. … It’s hard to think about, I don’t think it would ever come true, but it would be neat, there’s always a chance, I guess.

Q: Where in the Cabinet would you put Rex?

A: I don’t know the intricacies of Cabinet all that well. Rex is the president in my world right now. He calls all the shots and makes all the decisions in the best interest of the team, so it’s difficult to view him in any other light, that’s for sure.

Q: How about Tebow? Where would you place him?

A: I don’t know, Tim would be a great addition though. Tim’s a great guy, he’s obviously got a high moral standard. He’d be a great guy to have around, that’s for sure, especially in a stressful situation like that (chuckle).

Q: Favorite meal?

A: This is gonna be crazy, but it’s Panda Express orange chicken. I had it when I was trying to gain weight. That was like the most sodium and all that stuff I could have (chuckle), so I just loved it. It’s definitely a comfort food for me. I never get it any more. But when I do splurge every once in a while, it’s still definitely one of my favorite foods.

Q: Superstitions?

A: On gameday? Everything on the left side of my body goes on before the right side of my body. So, left sock, left leg into the pants first, left ankle has to be taped before the right. And I have to have eye black. That started when I was in high school, and I haven’t gone a game without it.