Undrafted rookies may give UFL a chance
Due to the National Football League (NFL) lockout, many undrafted rookies have taken interest in the United Football League (UFL) which will offer them a chance to play the sport that they love instead of waiting around for a new collective bargaining agreement
to be reached.
Players including linebacker Mark Herzlich from Boston College, Texas A&M University quarterback Jerrod Johnson and University of Delaware quarterback Pat Devlin were targeted in the UFL Draft, held on Monday May 2, 2011.
Even though Herzlich, a survivor of cancer, wasn’t taken in the NFL Draft, he was picked by the Omaha Nighthawks in the 10th round of the UFL Draft. Johnson was picked number one overall and will be joining the Hartford Colonials, owned by Jerry
Glanville.
Devlin was projected to be the number one overall pick by the UFL but asked him to sign a contract before the draft, which he declined. Because of Devlin’s decision not to sign with the UFL, he will be one of the top undrafted free agents once a new collective
bargaining agreement is reached and the NFL lockout is lifted.
Even though Herzlich and other rookies were picked in the UFL draft, it is not known if they will sign contracts with their selected UFL teams or not. If they do, they will be contracted to their respective UFL team for the entire season which means that
they cannot jump back to the NFL if the lockout is lifted sooner than they expected. The 2011 UFL season is scheduled to begin in August and is set to be over by October 31, Halloween.
Based on Johnson’s Twitter posting, he is looking forward to giving the UFL a try, saying, "Hartford, Connecticut it is... excited & blessed for the opportunity, thanx & gig em !!"
Herzlich was projected as a fifth round draft pick after January’s Senior Bowl. However, he was projected as a first or second round pick in 2008 before being diagnosed with Ewing’s sarcoma, a form of bone cancer. After missing all of 2009, he returned to
the field but his condition causes flags to go up in the NFL teams’ head offices.
Joe Moglia, head coach of the Nighthawks, hoped that he could bring Herzlich to the UFL, according to his Twitter which said "Mark Herzlich is a special person and we feel a special football player," he tweeted. "We would like to offer Mark the opportunity
to showcase his talents.
"He fits really well into what Coach [Tom] Olivadotti plans to do on defense and we will do everything we can to get him to come to Omaha."
Glanville said that he picked Johnson first overall because he is not sure if his previous starter, Josh McCown, will be back for another season.
Tags: