Trick shot quarterback Alex Tanney eager to bury his YouTube past

BEREA, Ohio – The trick-shot YouTube video featuring new Browns quarterback Alex Tanney is approaching 4 million views because most people think it’s just plain cool.

Tanney, however, isn’t one of them.

He actually said he “kind of” regrets making the video that made him famous two years ago coming out of Division III Monmouth (Ill.) as an undrafted free agent.

“I think that a lot of people have the idea that I would not be in the position that I am in right now if it was not for the YouTube video,” Tanney said before his first practice with the Browns, who signed him off the Dallas Cowboys’ practice squad last week. … “I’ve heard so much about it. It’s just kind of old to me. But I like to think that I’m here because of the skills on the field, not throwing into garbage cans.”

Heading into his first chat with Browns beat writers, Tanney knew questions would inevitably be asked about the viral video and the appearance it earned him this year on the History Channel series Stan Lee’s Superhumans.

“Was that the third question it took before it came up?” he said.

Tanney, 26, clearly wants to prove he’s more than an Internet sensation known for throwing footballs at goal posts and through basketball hoops from long range. He could receive his first real shot this season.

Tanney, who has never played in a regular-season NFL game, will likely serve as Brandon Weeden’s backup today when the Browns (4-7) host the Jacksonville Jaguars (2-9). Weeden will start in place of Jason Campbell, who’s recovering from a concussion sustained last weekend in a 27-11 loss to the Steelers.

When asked if he’ll be ready to face the Jaguars, Tanney said, “I would like to think so, yeah. I’ve still got a lot of learning to do.”

Now Tanney hopes to make the most of his opportunity the way he did at Lexington High School in Illinois and then at Monmouth, where he set NCAA Division III career records with 14,249 passing yards and 157 touchdowns, the highest total of all divisions.

“I came from a small high school. I wasn’t given much of an opportunity to go to a Division I school,” said Tanney, whom the Browns list as 6 feet 3 and 223 pounds. “I’d like to think I’ve outworked a lot of people.”

— Akron Beacon Journal