Some of the players in the USFL’s 2022 season left quite an impression on several NFL teams including the Dallas Cowboys, which is perhaps why they signed the USFL Most Valuable Player KaVontae Turpin on Thursday.
Turpin was a wide receive/kick return specialist for the New Jersey Generals this past season and he led the USFL in receiving yards (540) on just 44 receptions. He also led the league in yards after catch (316). Turpin had four receiving touchdowns, had the league’s only punt return for a score, and a league-best 15.3 yards per punt return.
Turpin specifically seems to have impressed Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy.
“The thing that jumps out is he is dynamic with the ball is in his hands,” McCarthy said Thursday, per Michael Gehlken of the Dallas Morning News. “I think he’ll have a really good opportunity here.”
Turpin has an excellent chance to make the team because Cowboys receiver Michael Gallop was put on the physically unable to perform list. Gallop and CeeDee Lamb were expected to be the top receivers on the team this year, but now there’s an opening on the roster.
Turpin was a wide receiver out of TCU and had played overseas before he played with the USFL. Several USFL players have been picked up since the season ended in early July and the league received decent TV ratings despite being able to only play in Birmingham all year. They played quality football, which not only caught the eye of football fans but the NFL as well.
{NFL.com}
About Stacey Mickles
Stacey is a 1995 graduate of the University of Alabama who has previously worked for other publications such as Sportskeeda and Saturday Down South.