Sam Darnold impressing Adam Gase as Jets QB grows into leadership role

FLORHAM PARK. N.J. — Adam Gase stood on the sidelines Saturday with recently retired Josh McCown and had a conversation about Sam Darnold. The gist of it was that Darnold has grown up very quickly.

McCown, who spent last season as Darnold’s mentor, told Gase that Darnold never really indicated when he didn’t understand something. As a rookie, Darnold just nodded his head and went out and tried to do what he was told. Darnold doesn’t do that anymore, Gase told McCown.

This is part of the maturation of Darnold. He’s now a more willing leader and communicator, and has no problem telling his coach when something isn’t clear to him.

“That’s experience,” Gase said after practice. “That’s what one year does for you. One year in this league feels like 10. He probably feels like he’s a 10-year vet.”

Darnold is carrying himself much differently than he did last year. How that translates into his performance on the field in Year 2 remains to be seen. But his presence and potential are big reasons the Jets think they’re on the rise.

“He’s 22 years and he can throw the [stuff] out of the ball,” Gase said. “It’s fun. It’s fun to call plays.”

Darnold has looked good in team drills through the first three days of training camp. He made one mistake Saturday, though, in the Jets’ first practice in pads. Darnold threw his first interception. Trumaine Johnson played Jamison Crowder well on a slant and picked off Darnold.

Aside from that, Darnold has handled the new offense well. He’s made some very impressive throws playing in a hurry-up and against defensive coordinator Gregg Williams’ ever-changing looks.

“Gregg’s been throwing the kitchen sink at us,” Darnold said.

Gase believes that’s only going to help Darnold develop.

“When you don’t have to wait for a game the first time you see something that’s unbelievable for a young quarterback,” Gase said.

Another part of the maturation of Darnold has come in his leadership style. Gase said Darnold is a natural leader.

Darnold seemed to have command of the huddle last year. But he had to develop a comfort level with his teammates before he could become more vocal. He has that now.

“Some guys click to different things,” Darnold said. “Some guys might be more quiet. You might have to talk to them one-on-one. Some guys might like to get talked to in front of the whole group. That fires them up a little bit. Then they go out there and want to prove it in front of their teammates. That’s about knowing your teammates and understanding how you got to talk to them.”

Darnold added, “As the quarterback you got to be able to lead. There’s not a better way to put it. You got to tell the guys what to do on every single play. On Sundays there’s no room for error. We got to be clicking on all things and practice is the time to fix it. For me I got to be very outspoken about what’s right and what’s wrong.”

Gase said knowing when and how to approach his teammates is huge for Darnold and the Jets.

“Him being comfortable in those situations, that’s so valuable for us as an organization because that’s the step you have to take to become that leader that we’re looking for,” Gase said. “He has natural leadership ability where he doesn’t even try and guys respond to him.”

It’s definitely important for Darnold to take this big step, especially with so many veterans and different personalities at the Jets’ skill positions. He has to be more assertive.

But maturity, growth and development are measured by wins and losses. Darnold believes he will lead the Jets to plenty of wins.

“I’m ready to roll,” Darnold said. “I’m excited. I think this team is poised to do great things this year. But it really starts one week at a time, one day at a time. For me, I have higher expectations than anyone for myself. It’s about going out there and executing, finding completions and doing my thing every single play.”