Minshew Resume Includes National Title, Rival Role On “Last Chance U”
August 30, 2017 | Football
By Joe Corley
ECUPirates.com
ECUPirates.com
Gardner Minshew's past caught up with him in late July 2016, and he was only too happy to share it with some of his new teammates at ECU.
As Minshew was preparing for his first season with the Pirates, Netflix was premiering season one of its series "Last Chance U," a documentary about the 2015 East Mississippi Community College football team. The premise was that the players there were on their last chance to show they had the ability and discipline to eventually make it to the Division I level.
Minshew had a close connection to it. He didn't go to East Mississippi, but he did play against the Lions as the quarterback for Northwest Mississippi. East Mississippi gave the Rangers their only loss during a season in which Minshew and Northwest went on to earn the national championship.
"I really didn't even find out that it was coming out until about a month or so before it was going to air," said Minshew, whose Northwest team had won its first seven before stumbling 49-16 against the Lions. "As soon as it came out, I think it came out at midnight, I and a bunch of my buddies from the team watched it kind of marathon-style from midnight into the morning, so that was pretty wild. I knew I was going to be on there, and I knew East was going to be talking their fair share of junk or whatever."
Northwest was the last major regular-season hurdle East had to clear on its march toward potentially a fifth-consecutive Mississippi Association of Community and Junior Colleges-North Division title and a fourth national championship in five years. East, which was undefeated after an earlier loss to Copiah-Lincoln was erased because Copiah-Lincoln had to forfeit for using an ineligible player, had a roster featuring a pair of quarterbacks who went on to SEC schools in Wyatt Roberts (walk-on to Mississippi State) and John Franklin III (backup at Auburn, now at Florida Atlantic).
East easily won the game, scoring the last three touchdowns, though Minshew threw for 211 yards with one touchdown and an interception. But the Lions' season ended after a 48-0 victory over Mississippi Delta in a brawl-shortened game in the regular-season finale the next week. The fight broke out in the last minute of the first half, and because both teams had players leave the bench areas, both had to serve a two-game suspension, carrying over into the next season. There would be no postseason for East.
After a 51-14 victory over Coahoma in its regular-season finale, Northwest took care of East Central 27-20 and Gulf Coast 34-24 in the MACJC playoffs before blasting second-seeded Rochester (Minn.) Community and Technical College 66-13 in the national championship.
When the show debuted, Minshew couldn't resist poking a little fun at East through social media.
"I took a picture of the show and I happened to have my national championship ring on, and I guess that was in the picture, and some people were upset," he said. "But it was all just fun. They had their jabs, so I had to throw mine."
Minshew was quick to say that life as depicted on the show at East was not how life at Northwest was.
"Our atmosphere was a good bit different, I would have to say," he said. "They do some different stuff over there with their program. The facilities are definitely different over there. They were better at the time. Now my junior college, the Northwest Rangers, they really upgraded with a $5 million facility, so it leveled the playing field a little bit."
The 2015 season was memorable in so many ways for Minshew, who initially had committed to Troy out of high school in Brandon, Miss. He graduated early – he was a 4.0 student in high school -- but left Troy after spring practice and enrolled at Northwest, where he completed 223 of 367 passes for 3,288 yards and 28 touchdowns. In the championship game, he threw for 421 yards and five touchdowns, including 302 yards and three touchdowns in the first half alone.
"I tell everybody that was the most fun year of ball I've ever had," said Minshew, who was on the Dean's List at ECU during the 2017 spring semester. "Obviously there was a lot of success. It was really a great time with a bunch of guys who are all on the same mission as you. Everybody's trying to move up, everybody's pushing each other and working hard, and that made it a really, really enjoyable experience."
It was such an enjoyable experience that Minshew was prepared to go back for more last season before the Pirates came calling.
"Even when I was coming to ECU for a visit, I was like, 'I'll go check it out,' but I was really excited to go back for another year and hopefully win another national championship," he said. "But you know, ECU came and kind of swept me off my feet. I really didn't know what they had up here until I came up and saw it."
The decision to become a Pirate is one he's glad he made.
"I loved it when I got here," Minshew said. "ECU football is a pretty big deal here, and coming from Mississippi there's no way for me to know that. The commitment they have to athletics, and football especially, is something special.
"It's definitely a world apart, but at the end of the day it's the same game."
As Minshew was preparing for his first season with the Pirates, Netflix was premiering season one of its series "Last Chance U," a documentary about the 2015 East Mississippi Community College football team. The premise was that the players there were on their last chance to show they had the ability and discipline to eventually make it to the Division I level.
Minshew had a close connection to it. He didn't go to East Mississippi, but he did play against the Lions as the quarterback for Northwest Mississippi. East Mississippi gave the Rangers their only loss during a season in which Minshew and Northwest went on to earn the national championship.
"I really didn't even find out that it was coming out until about a month or so before it was going to air," said Minshew, whose Northwest team had won its first seven before stumbling 49-16 against the Lions. "As soon as it came out, I think it came out at midnight, I and a bunch of my buddies from the team watched it kind of marathon-style from midnight into the morning, so that was pretty wild. I knew I was going to be on there, and I knew East was going to be talking their fair share of junk or whatever."
Northwest was the last major regular-season hurdle East had to clear on its march toward potentially a fifth-consecutive Mississippi Association of Community and Junior Colleges-North Division title and a fourth national championship in five years. East, which was undefeated after an earlier loss to Copiah-Lincoln was erased because Copiah-Lincoln had to forfeit for using an ineligible player, had a roster featuring a pair of quarterbacks who went on to SEC schools in Wyatt Roberts (walk-on to Mississippi State) and John Franklin III (backup at Auburn, now at Florida Atlantic).
East easily won the game, scoring the last three touchdowns, though Minshew threw for 211 yards with one touchdown and an interception. But the Lions' season ended after a 48-0 victory over Mississippi Delta in a brawl-shortened game in the regular-season finale the next week. The fight broke out in the last minute of the first half, and because both teams had players leave the bench areas, both had to serve a two-game suspension, carrying over into the next season. There would be no postseason for East.
After a 51-14 victory over Coahoma in its regular-season finale, Northwest took care of East Central 27-20 and Gulf Coast 34-24 in the MACJC playoffs before blasting second-seeded Rochester (Minn.) Community and Technical College 66-13 in the national championship.
When the show debuted, Minshew couldn't resist poking a little fun at East through social media.
"I took a picture of the show and I happened to have my national championship ring on, and I guess that was in the picture, and some people were upset," he said. "But it was all just fun. They had their jabs, so I had to throw mine."
Minshew was quick to say that life as depicted on the show at East was not how life at Northwest was.
"Our atmosphere was a good bit different, I would have to say," he said. "They do some different stuff over there with their program. The facilities are definitely different over there. They were better at the time. Now my junior college, the Northwest Rangers, they really upgraded with a $5 million facility, so it leveled the playing field a little bit."
The 2015 season was memorable in so many ways for Minshew, who initially had committed to Troy out of high school in Brandon, Miss. He graduated early – he was a 4.0 student in high school -- but left Troy after spring practice and enrolled at Northwest, where he completed 223 of 367 passes for 3,288 yards and 28 touchdowns. In the championship game, he threw for 421 yards and five touchdowns, including 302 yards and three touchdowns in the first half alone.
"I tell everybody that was the most fun year of ball I've ever had," said Minshew, who was on the Dean's List at ECU during the 2017 spring semester. "Obviously there was a lot of success. It was really a great time with a bunch of guys who are all on the same mission as you. Everybody's trying to move up, everybody's pushing each other and working hard, and that made it a really, really enjoyable experience."
It was such an enjoyable experience that Minshew was prepared to go back for more last season before the Pirates came calling.
"Even when I was coming to ECU for a visit, I was like, 'I'll go check it out,' but I was really excited to go back for another year and hopefully win another national championship," he said. "But you know, ECU came and kind of swept me off my feet. I really didn't know what they had up here until I came up and saw it."
The decision to become a Pirate is one he's glad he made.
"I loved it when I got here," Minshew said. "ECU football is a pretty big deal here, and coming from Mississippi there's no way for me to know that. The commitment they have to athletics, and football especially, is something special.
"It's definitely a world apart, but at the end of the day it's the same game."
Players Mentioned
Quarterback
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