One of the top players in the United States Football League is hopeful about returning to the NFL, and he’s hoping that his childhood team will come calling.
During an interview with Kevin O’Donnell of FOX 13 (h/t Matthew Davis of Heavy.com), Alex McGough of the USFL’s Birmingham Stallions expressed a hope to play for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers — a team he’s cheered for since he was a child:
“I’ve been cheering for them since I was five years old, and it would be a dream come true if I could see my name on a Buccaneers jersey,” McGough said. “That would be top tier.”
McGough also revealed that he’s been in contact with new Bucs’ offensive coordinator Dave Canales. McGough said that Canales told him to let him know if he’s in Tampa, and that they could meet up soon.
“I texted him. He said ‘congratulations and if you’re ever in Tampa let me know’. I text him back like right away and said ‘I’m here … just got here’, so maybe a little bit later next week we can catch up or go to dinner or something,” McGough. We’ll have to plan that out.”
The Buccaneers have a giant question mark at quarterback following Tom Brady’s retirement. They signed 2018 first overall pick Baker Mayfield (on his fourth team in three years) to compete with second-round pick Kyle Trask for the starting job.
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The 27-year-old McGough was a seventh-round draft choice of the Seattle Seahawks back in 2018. He was also on the Houston Texans’ and Jacksonville Jaguars’ rosters, but McGough has never taken an NFL snap.
McGough won his first USFL MVP award this past season, leading Birmingham to a second straight league championship. In 2023, McGough led the USFL in passing touchdowns, passer rating and completion percentage.
Hall of Famers Jim Kelly and Steve Young are among the quarterback greats who started out in the USFL before getting (and making the most of) their opportunities in the NFL. Could McGough be next? NFL teams won’t know unless they try him out.
