By Morgan Romans, EKUSports Communications Student Assistant
A dream to continue to the next level is a common theme among most athletes, especially in the collegiate ranks. But, football is a special type of animal.
There’s roughly 120 people per team. According to NCAA.org there are a total of 72,788 NCAA football players, of those 256 are drafted each season. This means that a mere 1.9 percent go on to play football professionally at the highest level. Once you get to that level, though, how drastically do those numbers decrease for athletes that get to be a part of an undefeated Super Bowl winning team?
Former Eastern Kentucky quarterback T.J. Pryor did just that for the Milano Rhinos, winning the Italian Football League (IFL) Super Bowl over the summer.
Pryor is a 2012 graduate of EKU and started at quarterback for the Colonels from 2009-12. The Louisville native owns all of the programs passing records – yardage (7300), completions (540), attempts (960) and touchdowns (51).
“Being a four year starter prepared me a lot. Most guys maybe play one or two years when they come to college,” explained Pryor. “It gave me more experience in the game and helped me slow it down so I can take it to the next level.”
Post-graduation the quarterback played Arena League football, then traveled to France and played for the Nice Dauphins. The Dauphins started the season 1-3, but after Pryor came in they started winning. They took a 1-3 season and finished with a 6-4 mark, losing only one game on his back.
His impact did not stop there. Pryor then signed a contract with his most recent stop, the Milano Rhinos. The Rhinos had not had a finish better than fourth place in the IFL since 2007, and had not made an appearance in the league’s Super Bowl since 1994. Yet again, Pryor came in and changed the whole game along with new coach Chris Ault (formerly at Nevada).
“Having an American coach and him knowing how to introduce his offense to the Italian Football League changed the whole game,” said Pryor. “They were not expecting it.”
The Rhinos finished the season 13-0 topped by taking home the Super Bowl trophy.
Professional football in Italy is a much different scene than American football. It is almost like a walk-on system and it is unpaid for the Italians. In an effort to keep the League Italian they only allow two Americans per team, so for them it is all about making connections and talking to the right people. The American athletes are paid – they get an apartment, a cell phone and some teams even give cars. The only thing most have to pay for are their groceries. For the Italians it’s all about heart.
“In college everyone knows a lot and is athletic. In Italy they may not know a lot or be as athletic so it puts more pressure on the American to make a play or win the game,” the Louisville native commented. “I like them more for the passion than here. They go to work 9-5 every morning then go to practice for two hours after, whereas here some guys are lazy, they might miss class and still dread practice. These guys do it for the heart.”
For most athletes on the Rhinos it has been a family affair to play for them.
“Italian League has been my favorite, the style, the family aspect, everything is more of a team and family instead of a job,” said Pryor. “Some of these guys have been playing football all of their lives and never been to something like this. I was really happy for them.”
Pryor hopes to continue his career with the Rhinos next season.