Former Gophers QB Demry Croft to start for AFL's Minnesota Myth
Croft started for the Gophers back in 2017.
A former Gophers quarterback will be coaching a former Gophers quarterback when the Arena Football League’s Minnesota Myth take on the Nashville Kats on Saturday in Nashville.
Myth coach Rickey Foggie, who started at quarterback at the U from 1984-87, told Mike Grimm on the Go Gopher Podcast that Demry Croft, who played for the Gophers from 2015-17 with an extended stint as a starter in 2017, will start Saturday’s game against the Kats.
Foggie was named the coach of the Myth this past November. He had several notable moments throughout his Gophers tenure, including an upset win over Iowa and Chuck Long in his true freshman season and an upset of Rose Bowl-bound Michigan in 1986 that brought the Little Brown Jug back to Minneapolis for the first time in nine years.
Croft, meanwhile, started the final six games for the Gophers in 2017 and played in nine overall, throwing for 674 yards and four touchdowns while completing 41.5% of his passes. Croft showed flashes during that season, including setting the Minnesota quarterback rushing record with a 183-yard, three-touchdown performance against Nebraska.
But Croft’s tenure at the U ended in controversy when he was accused of vandalizing an apartment complex on campus. He was indefinitely suspended from the team and later transferred to Tennessee State following the 2017 season.
The controversies didn’t end there. While at Tennessee State, Croft was arrested in Nashville and charged with multiple counts of rape and sexual battery. Those charges were later dropped.
In an interview this past fall with WTVO-TV in Rockford, Ill., Croft spoke out for the first time about both incidents, saying that he never damaged the apartment and that nothing ever happened between him and the woman who accused him.
Croft also filed a lawsuit against Tennessee State, saying his Title IX rights were violated. He never played in college again after the accusations. That case is scheduled to go to court in January 2025, according to the report from WTVO-TV.
Meanwhile, the Arena Football League is back this year after shutting down in 2019 due to bankruptcy. The league has had several different incarnations, and this time around, it will feature 16 teams with plans to expand to 18 in 2025.
Minnesota was one of the locations picked for the new teams, and the Myth will play their games at Target Center. The first home game is scheduled for May 5 against Philadelphia. You can find the home schedule and tickets on the Myth’s website here.
Minnesota previously had an AFL team in 1996 — the Fighting Pike.
