Hall of Fame quarterback Brett Favre loves getting excited about his fellow Southern Miss gunslingers.
Favre has been friends with San Francisco 49ers quarterback Nick Mullens dating back to Mullens time at Southern Miss when he was passing Favre in the Golden Eagles record book. Favre praised Mullens after a strong preseason campaign, and called in to speak with Mullens during the NFL Network postgame show.
On Monday, Favre made an appearance on SiriusXM NFL Radio to take it a step further (h/t Cam Inman). He talked about how Mullens was legit and could make all the throws. He made a reference to Tom Brady, if only to talk about players just needing opportunity to make something happen. He did not appear to be calling Mullens the next Brady, but rather compare simply getting the opportunity to show what they could each do.
That’s all well and good, but it’s worth noting this is not the first time Favre has invoked Brady to talk about the importance of a Southern Miss Golden Eagle quarterback getting an opportunity. In 2014, Austin Davis moved into the then St. Louis Rams’ starting lineup after Shaun Hill got hurt. He had a pair of three touchdown games, and then on October 19th, he put together a huge game against the defending Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks. Hill completed 17 of 20 passes for 155 yards and two touchdowns en route to a 28-26 win.
Later that week, Favre told ESPN’s Ed Werder that Davis could “definitely play at this level.” Then he went a step further to make another comment on getting an opportunity.
“Not to sound off my rocker, but [Davis] -- in my mind -- can be the next Tom Brady or Kurt Warner. [Brian] Hoyer as well. Austin, like those mentioned, just needed a legit opportunity.”
Hoyer is the random name there, but given how Davis’ career progressed, that might actually be the most useful comparison of the three mentioned. Hoyer sat on the bench for three years in New England and then much of a year in Arizona before getting a shot to start in Cleveland — fittingly enough, with offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan.
But Hoyer aside, Favre sure does enjoy making that Brady comparison when it comes to his fellow Golden Eagles. At the time of Davis’ very brief time in the spotlight with St. Louis, he was the only other Southern Miss quarterback after Favre to start more than one NFL game.
Nick Mullens has a chance to turn that group into a trio if he gets the start next Monday against the New York Giants. If he has another solid outing, I’m sure we’ll hear more from Brett Favre!