Tampa's Alex McGough: Ready for shot at the NFL

TAMPA (FOX 13) - Tampa quarterback Alex McGough is back home getting in some quick work with his quarterback coach John Kaleo, but Alex isn't here for long. Since finishing his college career at Florida International, the former Gaither quarterback has been racking up the frequent flyer miles with his NFL stock soaring. 

"It's really been a fun experience,” McGough told FOX 13 Sports. "You only get to do it once. It's a confusing time as well, because you don't know what's going to happen -- what city you are going to live in, you don't know what coach is going to be your head coach. So it's, I wouldn't say tough, but it's challenging to focus in on what needs to happen next."

Kaleo, who played for the University of Maryland, the CFL, and the Tampa Bay Storm, believes Alex has what every team is looking for a well-balanced QB. 

"If I was an NFL quarterback coach or an offensive coordinator, the things I like about Alex is not only can he make all the throws, he's got tremendous arm talent,” said Kaleo." He can throw the ball deep. He's got a lot of zip on his intermediate and short passes. He has tremendous accuracy and he's very athletic.

"In today's time of the NFL, you need those quarterbacks now to extend the play. Your Russell Wilsons, that's why Deshaun Watson, Aaron Rodgers extend plays. So Alex possess all of that. Being able to throw the ball with awkward release points and keep the play alive. More importantly though, he's very intelligent. He's like a sponge. He absorbs it. You don't need to tell him twice."

Just four months ago, it was hard thinking about an NFL career after suffering a broken left collar bone in the Gasparilla Bowl at Tropicana Field in front of family and friends.

"Just to see my teammates and my brothers put their heads down after that was tough,” said McGough. "I just got out of the locker room as soon as I could to try to pump those guys up. Get them ready to play."

Alex has meet with nine NFL teams, including the Bucs and the Patriots. New England actually hit him with the most challenging question during the interviewing process. 

"You have 30 seconds, name me all the things you can do with a paper clip,” recalls McGough. "I was kind of like what? I didn't know how to answer that. He started counting, so I kind of started rattling things off."

How many did Alex come up with?

"I think I got like to 3,” laughed McGough.

Being a local invite to the Bucs Pro Day this month gave Alex a taste of the NFL.  

"You go into One Buc Place and to see all the memorabilia,” McGough continued.  "The pictures of the team I grew up watching...The Super Bowl that I was such a huge fan of. Brad Johnson was the quarterback. He was like my hero."

After this workout, it's one more flight to Miami for a final visit with the Dolphins.