Jack Coan agrees to deal with Colts as undrafted free agent

Jack Coan always has embraced learning. It’s how he became one of the best quarterbacks in Long Island high school history, and how he quickly picked up Notre Dame’s playbook and won the starting job last year as a graduate transfer from Wisconsin.

As he prepared for the NFL Draft, the former Sayville standout kept that mantra at the forefront. Sure, hearing his name called would be nice, but he was more concerned with landing in a situation where he could sit and follow in the footsteps of an established veteran quarterback.

It might not have been the way everyone expected, but he’ll get to do just that — and he’ll do it not too far from where he last played.

Coan didn’t get drafted this weekend, but he wasted little time finding his next home, agreeing to a deal with the Indianapolis Colts.

He’ll get the chance to compete with Sam Ehlinger and former Jet James Morgan for the chance to back up Matt Ryan, whom the Colts traded for in the offseason. He’ll also be coached by Frank Reich, a former NFL quarterback who was roommates at Maryland with another Long Island legend in Boomer Esiason.

“Perfect fit,” former Sayville head coach Rob Hoss, who worked with Coan, said in a text. “It’s where I wanted him to get drafted all along.“

Coan still ranks among Long Island’s most prolific high school passers, throwing for 9,787 yards and 128 touchdowns at Sayville. He won the Hansen Award in 2016 as Suffolk’s most outstanding player and was a three-time All-Long Island selection.

Coan began his college career at Wisconsin and eventually led the Badgers to the Rose Bowl as a junior in 2019. He broke his foot before the 2020 season and ended up transferring to Notre Dame for a graduate season in 2021, a move that was somewhat of a practice run for the journey he’s about to embark on.

Colts fans hope they found an undrafted gem in Coan. One of the traits that made him an appealing prospect was his football IQ: his ability to process a play pre-snap, then stand in the pocket and deliver the pass.

“He’s not somebody that was really on a lot of teams' radars, but he's 6-3, 217 pounds,” NFL Network draft analyst Daniel Jeremiah said before the NFL Combine in February. “He makes good decisions. He's really, really comfortable and poised inside the pocket. He was accurate, especially in [the East-West Shrine Game].”

Entering the weekend, the quarterback class as a whole was seen as weaker than ones in recent memory, but many of the top names fell even further than expected. Only one quarterback (Kenny Pickett) went in the first round, while Malik Willis, Matt Corral and Desmond Ridder — all of whom had some first-round buzz before the draft — fell to the third round.

That depressed positional value may have pushed Coan down as well, but in the end it may have been for the better.

Said Hoss: “Some things work out for a reason.”

By Nick Klopsis

nicholas.klopsis@newsday.com@nickklopsis

Nick Klopsis is Newsday.com's sports editor. He often can be found studying NFL and college football film for his latest draft breakdown.