Morgan Drafted! To the USFL

Donate To GopherHole
matt said:
I did a few minutes of googling so naturally I’m an expert on the subject now. It looks like players can still be drafted by an NFL team or go the UDFA route. USFL teams try to draft borderline players they think will stick with the USFL.

Something interesting I read about the USFL draft order:
Click to expand...
This is just it. They own the rights if they come to the USFL.

So you don't just draft the best possible players because they will likely never play in the NFL. So you probably want to draft the best players who you don't thnk will make an NFL roster.
 

the first USFL played some fairly respectable games. I watched several games and teams like the Michigan Panthers were pretty solid. A lot of players wound up going to the NFL, including several players who wound up playing for the Vikings.

I vaguely remember the WFL - mainly because Larry Csonka jumped to the new league.
 


I wish we had a USFL or XFL team or something.

Not like we need MORE sports in this town but affordable football beyond the Gophers would be fun.
 

GophersInIowa said:
How does this work? Does a player have to make themselves eligible for their draft or is anyone available and the teams just pick who they think they have a realistic chance of signing.
Click to expand...
What do you mean ‘eligible’? The USFL or any league can draft whomever they want. It doesn’t commit anyone to anything. Even today, the NFL can draft a player and make no attempt to sign them. I think you have no concept of what a draft is…
 


short ornery norwegian said:
the first USFL played some fairly respectable games. I watched several games and teams like the Michigan Panthers were pretty solid. A lot of players wound up going to the NFL, including several players who wound up playing for the Vikings.

I vaguely remember the WFL - mainly because Larry Csonka jumped to the new league.
Click to expand...
I’ll be honest, I’m an alternate league wonk. I was a big fan of the ABA, WFL, WHA, and USFL. The XFL is already better than the USFL.

Who can forget the San Diego Conquistadors, Philadelphia Bell, Minnesota Fighting Saints, and San Antonio Gunslingers? Everyone but me.
 

highwayman said:
What do you mean ‘eligible’? The USFL or any league can draft whomever they want. It doesn’t commit anyone to anything. Even today, the NFL can draft a player and make no attempt to sign them. I think you have no concept of what a draft is…
Click to expand...

giphy.gif
 


highwayman said:
What do you mean ‘eligible’? The USFL or any league can draft whomever they want. It doesn’t commit anyone to anything. Even today, the NFL can draft a player and make no attempt to sign them. I think you have no concept of what a draft is…
Click to expand...
Not sure about the USFL but the NFL has criteria to be eligible for the draft and teams can't draft players who are ineligible.
 




GophersInIowa said:
LOL. Why be such a dick over such a simple question? I know how the NFL draft works. This isn’t the NFL draft.
Click to expand...
Any. Draft. Doesn’t. Commit. The. Draftee. To. Anything.

Any. Draft. Doesn’t. Commit. The. Drafting. Team. To. Anything.

You. Don’t. Understand. What. A. Draft. Is.
 


I still think he finds his way onto an NFL roster. Too smart, too accurate, and too much of a competitor.

Realize it's not the consensus opinion, but more of a gut feeling than anything else.

If he does something in camp like he did against Purdue then he's going to be a tough guy to cut.

Already got invited to an extra showcase game after the first. And it sounded like he performed well at both of them.
 




Did the Xcel ever have an Arena Football team? I know it had (maybe still has) that indoor lacrosse thing. Went to one of those years ago, great night for kids.
 

short ornery norwegian said:
the first USFL played some fairly respectable games. I watched several games and teams like the Michigan Panthers were pretty solid. A lot of players wound up going to the NFL, including several players who wound up playing for the Vikings.

I vaguely remember the WFL - mainly because Larry Csonka jumped to the new league.
Click to expand...
Interesting leagues. I remember watching a couple of WFL games. I think their television contract was only picked up by independent stations, so the games were probably right after All-Star Wrestling on WTCN. I had some interest because there were a number of former Gophers on WFL rosters.

The first USFL was much more organized, but couldn't make a go of it even with higher-profile college guys (particularly Herschel Walker) going to that league instead of the NFL.

One thing to remember is that back in those eras, NFL teams had 40-man rosters with 5-of-7 man taxi squads, so there were a lot of guys floating around. NFL camps weren't populated with guys the way they are now, so there were a lot of pretty good players looking to get a chance. Nature of the game has changed, especially for younger players, who will almost take a UDFA offer by default.
 

Plato said:
I have never seen a USFL game so I have no idea what a second or third-string QB might make.
But it is better than nothing.
Morgan has no chance of getting on an NFL team.
Click to expand...
Pretty draconian - never say never. Doug Flutie found a way, as did Kurt Warner, as did Keanu Reeves. Things can happen. But yea, very low, low chance.
 

Morgan in the USFL might be a tough go. I've heard coaches mention that the primary talent deficiency in the football minor leagues is in the offensive line. Meanwhile, Tanner has a tough time with A-gap pressure in his face. He'll need to improve his pocket presence to make it long term.
 

Bob_Loblaw said:
For a lot of people, yes. The next phase of his life will always be sitting there, it's awesome to get a chance at playing professional football.

I trust Tanner will know what's best for him.
Click to expand...
If Tanner's goal is to get into coaching eventually, playing a little pro ball and learning from other coaches will be a big benefit to him.
 

RememberMurray said:
If he hasn't signed a contract, I don't see how he could be bound to them in any way. I suppose the fact they drafted him means he can't sign with any other team in the USFL.
Click to expand...
You are right. That is precisely what it means. The draft for any pro sport is relevant to a particular player only to the extent the player wants to play for that particular league during that particular draft's timeframe (which could be a year or a few years). And nothing becomes binding upon the player until the player inks a contract to play for a team in that league. The 14th Amendment's abolition of involuntary servitude and enforced peonage ended the alternatives long ago.
 


Gophers_4life said:
Did the Xcel ever have an Arena Football team? I know it had (maybe still has) that indoor lacrosse thing. Went to one of those years ago, great night for kids.
Click to expand...
Xcel wasn't built at the time, but Target Center had a team in the old Arena Football League (the one Kurt Warner came out of that was fairly successful) for one season - The Fighting Pike. Ricky Foggie was the QB (or the coach, I forget), but they didn't draw well. I went to one game, and it was kind of fun.

Indoor football kind of splintered a few years ago when the original Arena League went under.
 

I watched some XFL this past weekend. It was fun. I also enjoy an occasional CFL game.

I wonder about the USFL though. Last year, all the games were in Birmingham in a basically empty stadium and the atmosphere was awful. The XFL seemed to have some decent crowds - San Antonio had 25,000. Sure they aren't NFL or major college, but definitely along the lines of say, MLS and more than the NBA or NHL.
 

disco said:
I watched some XFL this past weekend. It was fun. I also enjoy an occasional CFL game.

I wonder about the USFL though. Last year, all the games were in Birmingham in a basically empty stadium and the atmosphere was awful. The XFL seemed to have some decent crowds - San Antonio had 25,000. Sure they aren't NFL or major college, but definitely along the lines of say, MLS and more than the NBA or NHL.
Click to expand...
Putting one in San Antonio is smart. No NFL team, is big enough and has tried to get one, but Dallas will always block them. So if the product is good, it wouldn't surprise me to see them support a team like that. Similar to UTSA.

Those kinds of markets are who they should target. Like AAA Minor League baseball.
 

disco said:
I watched some XFL this past weekend. It was fun. I also enjoy an occasional CFL game.

I wonder about the USFL though. Last year, all the games were in Birmingham in a basically empty stadium and the atmosphere was awful. The XFL seemed to have some decent crowds - San Antonio had 25,000. Sure they aren't NFL or major college, but definitely along the lines of say, MLS and more than the NBA or NHL.
Click to expand...
I wonder if an pro ...but not NFL league could survive in college towns during the winter?
 


disco said:
Xcel wasn't built at the time, but Target Center had a team in the old Arena Football League (the one Kurt Warner came out of that was fairly successful) for one season - The Fighting Pike. Ricky Foggie was the QB (or the coach, I forget), but they didn't draw well. I went to one game, and it was kind of fun.

Indoor football kind of splintered a few years ago when the original Arena League went under.
Click to expand...
AFL was killed off by covid.
 


disco said:
No. The original AFL (arena) folded in late 2019, right before the pandemic happened.
Click to expand...
You are correct. I didn't look it up. We had a team in Cedar Rapids and I went to at least a game a year and I remember going to a game in 2019 however I just looked and they were in the IFL.
 

You must log in or register to reply here.



Top Bottom