Getty Quarterback Nick Foles had a near prophetic conversation with current Raiders coach Jon Gruden in 2012.
Back in 2012, current Las Vegas Raiders head coach Jon Gruden hosted a fun series called Gruden’s QB Camp, in which he spoke with promising young college quarterbacks about to make the leap to the NFL. The series ran from 2010-2016, and it featured everyone from Foles to Jimmy Garoppolo to Dak Prescott. Gruden would ask the young signal-callers football-related questions, as well as questions about their personal lives and overall experiences.
As with many of his guests, Gruden incorporated humor into his segment with Foles, teasing the young QB about multiple subjects. “You’re from Austin, Texas, aren’t ya?” Gruden asks a much younger Foles, before inquiring as to why a kid from Texas never became a Longhorn. Foles ended up attending Michigan State his freshman year before finishing his final three years at Arizona.
“Why didn’t you like it at East Lansing? Too cold for you, wasn’t it?” Gruden teased. Foles, who was just traded to the Chicago Bears last month, denied that was the reason, but the following exchange the two shared is amusing to look back on now — especially considering how things turned out for Foles and the Bears.
Jon Gruden to Nick Foles: ‘I Hope You Get Drafted By the Bears’
GettyCurrent Raiders head coach Jon Gruden had a hilarious interview with new Chicago Bears QB Nick Foles back in 2012. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images)
Continuing on with his line of questioning in which he prodded Foles about his favorite playing conditions, Gruden goaded Foles a bit about being a player who clearly prefers to play in comfortable climates. “In Arizona, you guys always play in short-sleeved shirts, so I know you like that warm weather, man,” Gruden said. “I know you like playing in that tropical desert, whatever you call it, heat, don’t you?” Foles did not deny it. “It’s nice,” he said with a smirk.
Gruden then went in with a line that ultimately became slightly prophetic: “I hope you get drafted by the Bears and freeze your a** off,” Gruden responded, which made Foles laugh out loud.
While Foles didn’t get drafted by Chicago, he did get taken in the third round by the Philadelphia Eagles that year, and he spent five total seasons with the team, so he has some experience playing in colder climates. Foles also went into Chicago and beat this current Bears defense in the 2018 NFC Wild Card Game, so cold weather can’t bother him that much.
Gruden also asked Foles, who is on the bigger and taller side of quarterbacks (he’s 6’5″ and 243 lbs.), what the advantages are to being vertically gifted. “Smaller quarterbacks find the seams, but for me, I can see over the line, and then when you get hit, you’re able to sort of, a lot of times, shrug it off and deliver the ball after that, or even when guys are hanging on you, still get the ball down to your check down.”
The episode of Gruden’s QB Camp featuring Foles can be seen below.
READ NEXT: 2020 NFL Draft: Bears & Packers Both Eyeing Stud LSU Lineman