The Jump To the NFL, Why Spring League Superstars Don't Always Get Picked Up by NFL Teams
By Pat Rifino
Cam Phillips, Reggie Corbin, the list can go on and on. Whenever a spring football league comes out, at the conclusion of the season many fans often flock to Twitter to plead the case of their beloved new spring league hero or why their favorite NFL team should sign their favorite AAF, XFL, or USFL All-Pro. To fans, it is often mind-blowing how this could happen, how Cam Phillips could score 9 TDs in five games yet be an afterthought come training camp. The reason? It’s actually pretty simple, these players lack one thing that coaches desperately, look for versatility.
Now versatility? What do you mean my favorite player can line up in the slot, stretch the field, etc? Well, being a versatile football player means a bit more than where you line up oftentimes in these alt-leagues players may put up gaudy stats but does that mean anything? To an extent, yes but it takes a bit more than just a successful stat-line for an alt-league player to transition to the NFL.
The question has to be why is this alt-league player in the FCF, USFL, or XFL to begin with? There are plenty of answers, small-school, injuries, coaching changes, etc. But there usually is a reason, for KaVontae Turpin it was legal issues that led to IFL, FCF, ELF, and then the USFL for others it’s a guy like Damon Sheehy-Guiseppi who has a completely non-traditional path to any league much less someone with a non-complete college career. But despite the success, many alt-league stars have there is something that many are missing that NFL coaches long for.
Special Teams. We mention versatility, and while some may think it is a one-dimensional aspect just taking place on that player's specific place on the ball, it really is so much more than that. Coaches value the aspect of special teams over everything when it comes to filling in roster spots.
In reality, the majority of roster spots are already claimed on an NFL roster, whether that be because of skillset, coach familiarity, or contracts, the number of opportunities for the backend parts of the rosters is extremely limited. Thus maximizing the importance of special teams.
Coaches need players to cover kicks and punts, act as gunners, block punts, etc. It’s probably why a guy like Reggie Corbin hasn’t been signed and his backup Stevie Scott did or why his 3rd string option Cam Scarlett is a more valuable option. While Corbin is definitely a dynamic runner, and a top-tier running back in the USFL, NFL coaches don’t need that. They need a guy like Cam Scalertt, who can be a personal protector, block on third-down, and be on the kickoff or 2nd line of the kick return unit. Corbin didn’t and hasn’t done any of that really in the USFL.
It’s the same with Cam Phillips. Coming out of college, Phillips instantly saw the field, and was a part of the core group of receivers his freshman year catching 40 passes and immediately being a starter, and foregoing the “grunt work” coaches are less than impressed that their WR5 can’t contribute on special teams and for Phillips, it’s been his Achilles heel. Cam Phillips IS finding success north of the border in the CFL currently with the Toronto Argonauts, although his path hasn’t always been certain.
Not to sound like a broken record, but the path from the alt-league to the NFL is seemingly pretty linear. Contribute to special teams, add value at your position group, and fill in the back half of the roster in multiple different ways. For a guy like KaVontae Turpin and DeMarquis Gates they figured it out for others, for Cam Phillps and Reggie Corbin, it seems like they are still trying to figure it out.
