David Blough: "I am gonna prove Cleveland right"
David Blough’s phone was buzzing with text message alerts. And calls were coming in, too. It seemed like everyone who knew the Purdue quarterback wanted to congratulate him on signing as a free agent with the Cleveland Browns moments after the NFL Draft had ended.
“I got a bunch of texts from friends and family and a lot of people,” said Blough. “A lot of people have reached out and showed the support. I feels good to be loved.”
Now, Blough wants to make the team. He began to forge a relationship with the Browns in the winter. During Purdue’s Pro Day in March, Blough went to dinner with Cleveland assistant G.M. Eliot Wolf in West Lafayette. Later, the Browns flew him to Cleveland for a meeting.
“We knew from the beginning it was a good fit,” said Blough. “I have been in contact the most with the assistant general manage, Eliot Wolf, the son of Ron Wolf. He just got to Cleveland last year. He said he’s a big Big Ten fan and had been watching me for years. He wanted to make sure I was who they thought. So they brought me in.
“It feels good to have a home, to have a fit, a place that brought me in and interviewed me. I was impressed with what they were trying to build. And they wanted me to be a part of it.”
Blough will head to Cleveland this Thursday for rookie camp, where he will join a Browns franchise that has plenty of mojo coming off a 7-8-1 season led by quarterback Baker Mayfield, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2018 NFL Draft. Other quarterbacks on the roster are Drew Stanton and Garrett Gilbert. The franchise also has added star wideout Odell Beckham, Jr., in the offseason.
“(Mayfield) sat in there and watched a little film, watched my film and we had some conversations,” said Blough. “He grew up a Texas high school football legend, so I kind of followed him at (Texas) Tech and Oklahoma. Of course, I am a big Baker fan and I am gonna do whatever I can to make that quarterback room be successful. And I am gonna play my best, as well. It’s exciting to be a part of it.”
Blough was hoping to be the first Boilermaker signal-caller to be picked since Curtis Painter went in the sixth round to the Colts in 2009. And he almost thought he would get picked late in the draft.
“I did,” said Blough. “I really did. I was in contact with Indianapolis, I was in contact with Minnesota, Seattle, there were a couple other teams. I thought there was a chance I could be drafted.”
Blough—who recently got married—also had serious conversations with another team before picking the Browns.
“The Detroit Lions really wanted me to come,” said Blough. “They were willing to match what Cleveland was going to give me to come. There were a couple of other teams. I had it worked out with Detroit. There were a few other teams that wanted me, too, but I am excited and really pleased.”
Now, it’s time for Blough to get to work.
“I am gonna prove Cleveland right and I am gonna prove to those who believed in me to be right,” said Blough.
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