New coaches, new front office personnel and a new season. It is an interesting time to be a Cardinals fan to say the least.
This will be the first season since 2013 that the team will have a new general manager making the personnel decisions and are on their third different head coach since 2017.
Needless to say, things are different in the valley.
Now to put a bow on top of all of this the team will be without their 2019 1st overall selection and franchise quarterback, Kyler Murray, for the beginning of the season but possibly the entire year which begs the question? Who will be the signal-caller for the Cardinals?
My guess is the 139th selection of the 2023 NFL Draft QB Clayton Tune.
The Cardinals used one of their late 5th-round picks on the signal caller out of the University of Houston to be a solid backup for the foreseeable future. But with Murray’s status unknown, there are rumblings he could be the starter in Week One if he impresses this offseason.
Who is Clayton Tune?
In his teenage years, Tune attended Hebron High School in Carrolton, Texas where he threw for 6,686 passing yards and 66 passing touchdowns while also rushing for 1,074 rushing yards and 20 rushing touchdowns. Because of his dynamic high school performance, Tune was rated a three-star recruit by ESPN and 247Sports. He was also ranked the No. 19 quarterback by ESPN and was the No. 102 player in the state of Texas by 247Sports.
Tune ultimately decided he wanted to stay in his home state and went to school at the University of Houston.
Tune’s freshman year he didn’t see the field very much, however, this would change quickly as he would be thrust into the starting role for the season’s final two games. In his first collegiate start, Tune would go 18-for-43 passing for 256 yards with three touchdowns at the University of Memphis. The potential was there and Tune showed he could play on the big stage.
In his sophomore year, Tune started to see a little more action as he started the final seven games of the season and completed 106-of-179 passes (59.2%) for 1,533 yards and 11 touchdowns.
In a shortened 2020 season, Tune started 8 games and threw for 2,048 passing yards and 15 passing touchdowns.
Coming back for his full “junior” season, Tune once again was voted captain by his teammates and set single-season career-highs in games played (14), completions (287), passing yards (3,550), passing touchdowns (30) and completion percentage (68.3). This would just be a taste of the bigger accolades Tune would accomplish.
Tune would make a statement his final year in college football. Tune threw for 4,074 yards, completed 67.3% of his passes and threw for 40 touchdowns. Tune was given a 92.0 quarterback grade by PFF and was tied for best in country. In addition to this, his 91.3 quarterback passing grade was also tied for best in the country. His 119 career touchdowns set the American Athletic Conference record and his 40 passing touchdowns set the American Athletic Conference single-season record.
Now, Tune is 24, measures in at 6’3” and weighs 220 lbs. He throws a tight spiral and has the ability to throw in tight windows. Tune is patient with the ball and has the ability to stay calm in the pocket and keep his eyes down the field. Tune possesses an athleticness for quarterback-designed run plays or for him to improvise on broken plays with his feet.
Tune is everything you want in a quarterback. From athleticness to a rocket arm, Tune has it all and could have a bright NFL future assuming he can make the switch to the big leagues.
Now the question is, can he bring stability to a new Cardinals offense or will the disaster that has plagued the team this previous year continue into the next?
