Three former Florida Gators selected in the 2022 USFL Draft
Eight USFL teams participated in a 35-round draft to select players for the 2022 season throughout Tuesday and Wednesday, creating another chance at football for multiple former Florida Gator players. The draft was broken up into rounds dedicated to specific positions.
Three former Gators were selected: defensive lineman Adam Shuler to the Tampa Bay Bandits; center Nick Buchanan to the Houston Gamblers; and running back Mark Thompson to the Houston Gamblers.
Defensive end Adam Shuler
Shuler was a grad transfer for the Gators under Dan Mullen who played in 26 games. In his two years at Florida, Shuler racked up 69 tackles, 9.5 tackles for loss and six sacks. Shuler went undrafted in the 2020 draft but signed with the Arizona Cardinals as a free agent. Shuler was a member of the San Francisco 49ers practice squad in 2020.
In the third round of the EDGE/Defensive end selections, Shuler was the 22nd player off the board.
Center Nick Buchanan
Buchanan played for the Gators from 2015 to 2019, where he started all 13 games in his redshirt senior season. In 2018, the Georgia native played in 12 games for Florida. Buchanan was a leader for the UF offensive line throughout 2018 and 2019 but went undrafted in 2020.
The former Gator was the eighth center drafted and heads to Houston with Mark Thompson.
Running back Mark Thompson
As for Thompson, he’s been around the block. Thompson was a JUCO transfer to UF, playing in the Orange and Blue in 2016 and 2017.
During the 2016 season, Thompson tallied 299 yards on 68 carries, adding two touchdowns to his stat line. While he wasn’t active in the receiving game, Thompson recorded 105 yards on four catches. In 2017, Thompson finished with 297 yards on the ground, averaging five yards a carry.
The running back bounced around practice squads in the NFL, never finding a home after stints in Baltimore, Detriot, New York and Las Vegas.
As for the USFL draft, Thompson was the 11th selection at his position.
The USFL will kick off on April 16, and the season will consist of 12 weeks. The teams are as listed: Birmingham Stallions, Houston Gamblers, Michigan Panthers, New Jersey Generals, New Orleans Breakers, Philadelphia Stars, Pittsburgh Maulers, Tampa Bay Bandits.
Every regular-season USFL game will take place in Birmingham, Alabama, while the league playoffs will take place in Canton, Ohio.
All stats courtesy of floridagators.com.
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