FoxSports.com's Bruce Feldman interviewed Chad Morris, the new head coach of SMU and former offensive coordinator at Clemson, on his podcast this week. Morris made a name for himself as the head coach at Stephenville, Texas, where he coached former Ole Miss quarterback Jevan Snead and NFL quarterback Sam Bradford.
Snead, you'll easily recall, quarterbacked Houston Nutt's two Cotton Bowl teams at Ole Miss before opting to enter the NFL draft a year early. That would turn out to be the end of Snead's once promising football career, and as it turned out, the beginning of the end of Nutt's head coaching career.
"Bruce, he might very well be the very best quarterback I've ever coached to this day," Morris said. "That year, it was Sam Bradford, Jevan Snead, had Jevan been able to come out that year. Heading into his junior year, the two top quarterbacks (were) Sam Bradford and Jevan Snead at Ole Miss.
"That's the kid I had. He was probably going to be a top 10 pick."
Although Snead was considered a high 1st-round pick at the beginning of his junior year, his stock plummeted as he struggled in his final year with the Rebels. Interceptions were a major problem (I'm still convinced coaching was also a major problem).
"Unbelievable talent. I'm talking unbelievable. Big. Had it all. Gun for an arm. Rocket. 6 (foot) 4. Runs," Morris said. "I can tell you exactly what happened: He lost it between the ears. He lost his focus. He got involved, as we've seen it many, many times -- he was enjoying being a college quarterback, I guess, at Ole Miss.
"As you can imagine, the scenery and the girls, and he lost his focus. I think some of it is he lost some supporting cast around him that hurt him. He lost Michael Oher the year before. He lost the big wide receiver, Mike Wallace, and so, I don't think he put the effort and work in that he did the year before."
"He wanted to go do it and make some money and it just didn't happen," Morris said. "He lost his focus and couldn't get his confidence back."
Even though Snead never took an NFL snap, Morris still thinks he had the potential for greatness.
"I still tell him to this day, I tell him, 'to this day, brother, you very well may be the best I have ever coached.' Now, Tajh (Boyd) was good, but this kid had an arm. Crazy."
According to Morris, Snead is selling oil field supplies in Texas.