As soon as John Skelton’s cell phone rang, the crowd in his uncle’s Union Square apartment came to a screeching hush.
Skelton looked at the display and saw the area code — 602.
It was too good to be true. Skelton, Fordham’s record-setting quarterback, had trained in Arizona, met personally with the Cardinals’ coaching staff and knew that Kurt Warner had announced his retirement. But the Cardinals didn’t have a fifth-round pick, so surely they weren’t calling with good news.
“It was a scout and he said, ‘Hold on, don’t hang up, we’re trying to work something out,’ ” Skelton told The Post. “I just kept saying, ‘Yes sir. I’ll hold sir. Yes, sir.’ Then he said, ‘We just made a trade. Congratulations, you’re an Arizona Cardinal.’ ”
Skelton gave his family and friends and thumbs up and pointed to the TV. The Cardinals’ deal with the Pittsburgh Steelers was announced and the cheer in Javier Loya’s apartment probably violated New York City’s noise ordinance.
But it’s not every day a Fordham quarterback is drafted. Skelton went in the fifth round (24th pick, 155 overall) and the sixth quarterback taken, the first out of a non-BCS school.
“It’s an unbelievable feeling, one I can’t describe,” said Skelton, who said he began studying the Cardinals depth chart after meeting with Cardinals coach Ken Whisenhunt at the combine and having passing game coordinator Mike Miller and quarterback’s coach Chris Miller come to Fordham’s pro day.
“With Kurt Warner retiring, Matt Leinart will probably be the starter and they have Derek Anderson, an experienced veteran that I can learn from,” Skelton said. “I couldn’t have asked for a better situation.”
At 6-foot-5, 243 pounds, Skelton has NFL size. He threw for 3,713 yards and 26 touchdowns last season. Skelton said the NFL was always a childhood dream, but once he became a sophomore in high school he thought the dream could be become a reality.
When Fordham’s season ended, he began working with Brett Fischer at Fischer Sports Physical Therapy and Conditioning. Skelton said Fisher kept whispering in Whisenhunt’s ear.
“There are so many people who you want to thank the second that call comes,” said Skelton. “The best thing I can do is go to Arizona and work as hard as I can to prove to all of those people that I appreciate everything they’ve done.”