By Kris Jones Have you ever heard of the German Football League? No, not Bundesliga, the soccer league, I mean the American football league. If you answered “no”, I thought so. If you answered “yes”, you know way too much about foreign countries. Anyway, the NFL may hear more about the German Football League because of wide receiver Moritz Boehringer. Moritz looks to be the first native-European player ever to be officially drafted in the NFL. Although he is touted as a true sleeper pick, he never really knew about American football until he was 17. Moritz was on Youtube one day and a recommended video popped up. That video was a highlight tape of Vikings halfback Adrian Peterson. Moritz watched the tape and was instantly hooked on the sport. He was quoted as saying about Peterson “Just the way he ran, the aggressiveness with the ball. When he runs people over, it’s crazy,” via an ESPN article. Boehringer is now 22 and he is making waves in the NFL as he is a 6’4”, 227 pound wide receiver who ran between a 4.38 and 4.45 second 40 at his Florida Atlantic University pro day. Moritz’s beginning also has scouts worried as well as intrigued. The video was his first exposure to football and when he tried to play for his hometown team, the team only had seven players and were unable to play. He then moved to another city and after 3 years of waiting, he was signed with the Schwäbisch Hall Unicorns. In his first season with the Unicorns, he had 70 catches for 1,461 yards and 16 touchdowns. He even won the German Football League Rookie of the Year award. He then went to Florida to work out with FAU prospects and wowed the scouts attending. According to NFL Media analyst Gil Brandt, “He’s the kind of guy you rush out to see.” But, the one question on everyone’s mind is “Can Boehringer handle the NFL’s faster style of play?” The German league was described as lower than even college football, seeing as American football is not that popular abroad. But, Moritz might open up more opportunities for more European American football stars down the line. Many scouts have compared Moritz to Tampa Bay wide receiver Mike Evans. Hopefully, he can live up to the hype and open up more opportunities for Europeans interested in the gridiron rather than the pitch.
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Dylan EdelmanWilson Senior Archives
February 2020
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