London (AP) The NFL Academy in London has the best coaching and state-of-the-art facilities to help improve young American football prospects. However, it lacks one important element. It’s a game.
The Academy is part of the NFL’s initiative to establish a year-round presence in London and increase the popularity of the sport, a model that the league wants to recreate when hosting regular season matches in Germany.
More than 80 teenagers, primarily from the United Kingdom, study, train and practice in the hope of winning a scholarship to play at a university in the United States. It was released two years ago.
“I didn’t have the opportunity to play with anyone because of COVID,” Tony Allen said last week in a practice session at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, which hosted the NFL match last Sunday.
It will change on Saturday when the Academy will finally be able to play real games. They will face a team of freshmen at the University of East Anglia. In addition to the pandemic, finding players and opponents of the same age was a challenge.
More games are planned for other college teams, French and Swedish academies, and some European national teams.
Game films are important for student athletes who want to transfer to an American high school or win a college scholarship, but some academy players were able to jump without the game.
Academy officials are also aware that they need to be taken to college campuses to increase their chances. Several well-documented tours of college football summer camps by private recruiting firms have proven successful.
“In the future, and as early as next summer, we’ll be doing such a tour, because what you really need to do with these guys is, if they’re good enough, they’re in the United States. Because we need that exposure, “said Seni Majekodungmi. , Head of NFL Academy Relations. “Universities need to see them and coaches need to see them.”
Europe has become a reliable source of information for Division I and is becoming more and more popular with PowerFive conference schools.
Brandon Collier from Ohio, who runs PPI Recruit in Frankfurt, Germany, took the children of the NFL Academy to tour last summer. Linebacker Kofi Taylor-Barrocks has received a scholarship offer from Michigan State University.
“Coaches want to see them compete with American kids,” Collier said. “I know there are certainly a lot of talent coming (Academy). It’s like how something works, it’s like the people you know and the exposure. It needs the trust of the university coach. “
Even without games, many players “love the NFL brand, and of course,” Collier said. “This is the most powerful football brand in the world.”
In fact, the NFL was able to send the Hall of Fame Jerry Rice to the opening of the Academy’s gym. Also, practice sessions in NFL fields like Tottenham aren’t bad.
Majekodungmi warned that it wasn’t just football. The two poor performers were unable to attend Tottenham’s training session.
“It’s not just about taking these guys to the NFL. Education is the most reigning,” he said. “The number of children out of this group is really small, so they need to have that plan B.”
The NFL has partnered with Barnet and Southgate College near Tottenham in northern London. In addition to core subjects, students will also learn about character development, leadership, and financial literacy.
The academy uses Twitter to encourage rugby and basketball players and sprinters to give it a try, providing applicants with a wide range of nets.
“We try to keep them as young as possible, but they are very eco-friendly,” said coach Allen.
However, some are elite. Linebacker / defensive end Darren Ag switched from the Academy to Georgia High School before landing more than 30 scholarship offers. Londoners of 6 feet 6 and 225 pounds eventually chose Vanderbilt over things like Alabama and Notre Dame.
The Academy’s tight end Peter Clark has so far received one offer from San Antonio, Texas. The 17-year-old junior is just above 6 feet 5 pounds and 235 pounds. He commute from southern London to school by bus for 90 minutes and transfer twice by subway.
“This is not only a chance to play soccer at the next level, but also a chance to get a college education, so I dedicate everything I have to the game,” he said. “It’s a big deal for me because I’m one of the first people in my family to go to college.”
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London NFL Academy Eye Game, US College Summer Camp | WGN Radio 720
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