HUB Football: Alt Football QB Pathway Program
One of the biggest benefits of the XFL holding steady and USFL getting set to kick off, is the opportunity for developmental quarterbacks to receive valuable in-game experience. These spring leagues have done a wonderful job showcasing quality prospects capable of competing at the NFL level. However, quarterback is one position difficult to groom without facing real, live bullets.
HUB Football has served as a springboard for a plethora of quarterbacks who have passed through ‘The CAMP’ in recent workouts. XFL signal-callers such as Cole McDonald (Roughnecks), Jalan McClendon (Vipers), Luis Perez (Renegades), Deondre Francois (Guardians), Quentin Dormandy (Guardians) and USFL gunslingers J’Mar Smith (Stars), Ryan Willis (Showboats), McCleod Bethel-Thompson (Breakers), Josh Love (Panthers) all participated in the HUB in an attempt to get on the radar.
Making his HUB Football debut will be former Tulsa quarterback Zach Smith. Selected by the New Orleans Breakers in the 2022 USFL Draft, which featured 85 HUB alumni, Smith would endure a shoulder injury during the season. Previously, he received a minicamp invite with the Buffalo Bills. Now, he is looking to prove that he is 100% healthy, able to compete and ready to contribute.
Coming out of Tulsa, Smith was well-accomplished. The one-time Baylor transfer racked up over 8,000 passing yards and 50-plus touchdowns during his collegiate career. Here is what NFL Draft Bible had to say about him in the 2021 publication:
“In 2020, Smith delivered Tulsa to the Top 25 polls amid a 6-3 [COVID-shortened] season. Smith has smooth mechanics and very sound footwork. Mechanically he looks well beyond his years. Smith has nice command of the pocket and moves efficiently, though not fast, behind the line of scrimmage. He possesses adequate size for the position and has worked in a pro-style offense.”
Be sure to follow @HUBFootball2020 for live updates throughout the weekend and log-in to www.si.com/nfl/draft for the latest news from the San Diego showcase, buckle up!
ALL REGISTRANTS MUST BE A FREE AGENT AND CANNOT BE ON A ROSTER FOR ANY TEAM IN ANY LEAGUE IN ORDER TO PARTICIPATE.
The CAMP is curated only for elite street free agents who have exhausted their NCAA eligibility and are aspiring professional football players. This registration is NOT acceptance. You must register, be approved by HUB Scouting Personnel, AND submit the registration fee to be accepted for inclusion in The CAMP. HUB will provide additional information (including registration fee amount) to those approved to attend The CAMP in a timely manner. In addition to coordination with any NFL guidelines, The CAMP will only be executed if HUB officials, in their sole discretion, can provide an environment that abides by all federal, state, and local rules and regulations to hold a safe and proper event for its staff and attendees.
The CAMP is the first pro football audition product designed specifically to help propel aspiring professional football players toward their next professional football destination.
Our team launched a similar product in the Fall of 2019 as SCRIMMAGE. After executing two successful events, resulting in 30% of our street free agent attendees receiving professional football offers, we are reintroducing the event as The CAMP and incorporating valuable input and feedback provided by our athletes, NFL and CFL team executives and professional football agents.
The CAMP is the only event of its kind, where you are guaranteed to perform in front of multiple NFL and CFL scouts and/or executives. Outside of being invited by a specific NFL team to visit its facility, there is no other platform similar to the CAMP. Even if you are fortunate enough to be invited by an NFL team to visit their facility to perform, you perform in front of one team; at CAMP, the same performance occurs in front of multiple teams.
The CAMP is far more efficient than anything offered by the current talent supply pipeline of the NFL or CFL.
The CAMP is a 1 day strategically intensive, professional football audition camp where elite street free agents perform under the direction of former NFL coaches, and most importantly, in front of NFL and CFL scouts and executives. The CAMP is not a try-out or a Combine and does not conduct Combine testing. The football drills performed at the CAMP mimic the drills pro football players are asked to perform when NFL teams invite players to their facilities.
The CAMP will have a specialized audition curriculum for each position created by our position specific coaches. All of our highly specialized, experienced coaches are well known throughout the NFL and all have NFL coaching and/or playing experience and are well-versed in helping aspiring pro football players progress. CAMP attendees will go through drills designed to showcase their specific skills in front of NFL and CFL scouts and executives.
The CAMP is by invitation only - all applicants are pre-screened by our scouting team to ensure they are professional football quality talent. The CAMP provides a non-contact, non-padded, safe environment prioritizing the athletes’ health for future employment opportunities.
The CAMP maintains direct relationships with professional football league offices and teams and will (per HUB FOOTBALL policies) share player data, video and whatever is necessary to enhance the exposure of The CAMP players and provide an additional platform to secure their next professional football opportunity.
Our goal is to have every invited player affirm that the CAMP was the premier pro football audition experience.
Following a remarkably successful first season for the United States Football League (USFL), the USFL has signed a partnership with HUB Football, the preeminent audition stage for players looking to work their way into professional football.
Ric’s USFL Preview: 5 Key Players Who Will Impact The Season
With the return of the USFL for a second consecutive season this weekend, here’s a look at five players sure to impact the league!
We are living in the pinnacle of opportunity for American pro football. With sustainable leagues in the XFL and USFL, along with the oldest league of all, the CFL, plus the ELF, which is now entering its third year, never before have players had so many viable options.
It’s certainly an exciting time for football fans with USFL kickoff, the XFL season inching towards playoff time and the NFL Draft just two weeks away!
The start of the 2023 USFL season kicks off this weekend in Memphis and Birmingham. After a near 40-year hiatus, the USFL returned last year, proving that spring football in the United States can be sustainable. In addition, it can serve as a springboard for players looking to achieve or return to NFL status.
Every player aspires to be the next KaVontae Turpin, last year’s USFL MVP-turned-NFL Pro Bowl selection, who parlayed his success into a freshly minted three-year, $2.5M contract. That is what you call a game-changer.
So who are the top players in the USFL and which prospects will NFL teams be monitoring? Let’s take a look…
J’Mar Smith, QB, Birmingham Stallions – The journeyman signal-caller out of Louisiana Tech had stints with the New England Patriots (2020) and Hamilton Tiger-Cats (2021), plus an audition at HUB Football CAMP (2021) before reuniting with his former college coach Skip Holtz at Birmingham to bring home the USFL Championship (2022). His poise in the pocket and confidence level with where to go with the football will make the Stallions one of the odds-on favorites once again in 2023.
McCleod Bethel-Thompson, QB, New Orleans Breakers – In one of the more surprising moves of the offseason, Breakers head coach John DeFilippo was able to recruit Bethel-Thompson from the Toronto Argonauts, whom he led to the Grey Cup last season. Coach Flip is hoping to rekindle some old magic, as the two go back to their days with the Philadelphia Eagles. A 13-year veteran who has played for nine NFL teams, ‘MBT’ is the most accomplished player in the USFL.
Reuben Foster, LB, Pittsburgh Maulers – Football is a relationship business and Maulers head coach Ray Horton knows Foster from their days in Washington. The former first round pick is undoubtedly talented but looking to rehab his image much like the aforementioned Turpin. He most recently had workouts with the Miami Dolphins and Seattle Seahawks but dominating in the USFL might be the best way for Foster to make it back to the NFL.
Darius Victor, RB, New Jersey Generals – One might say Victor was the most exciting player in the USFL a year ago. He accounted for 758 all-purpose yards, while leading the league with nine touchdowns and earning 2022 Offensive Player of the Year honors. The compact runner runs with physicality and flashes elusiveness in the open field to make defenders miss. His performance earned him a tryout with the New Orleans Saints, he’ll try for an encore.
Ryan Willis, QB, Memphis Showboats – The biggest wildcard in the USFL is Willis, The Spring League MVP back in 2021 before TSL morphed into the USFL. After a stint with the Chicago Bears, Willis found himself on the wrong end of a quarterback battle in St, Louis of the XFL (lost out to AJ McCarron who took a $4M pay cut from the NFL to prove his worth as a starter). Now, he finds himself behind local fan favorite Brady White, a ticket sales play. Willis is patiently biding his time and owns the ability to take over the league!
