Pair of former Georgia players picked in inaugural USFL Draft
While most of the attention amongst Georgia fans when it comes to drafts is likely looking towards the NFL, the USFL hosted its inaugural draft on Tuesday night with a pair of former UGA stars coming off the board.
Davin Bellamy, who played linebacker for the Bulldogs from 2013 through 2017, was selected with the first pick of the second round to the New Orleans Breakers. Given that the first round was limited to just quarterbacks, Bellamy was the first defensive player off the board.
Bellamy played in 48 career games for the Bulldogs, starting 27 with 25 of those coming in his final two seasons. He led the team in quarterback hurries (17) during the 2016 season, the first with Kirby Smart at the helm, while tying for the team-high in sacks with 5.0. Then, as a senior, Bellamy totaled 34 stops including 7.5 tackles for loss and 5.0 sacks with the third-most quarterback pressures on the team (14) for the SEC Championship winning Bulldogs. His lone tackle in that conference championship game was a big one, resulting in a quarterback sack and a fumble from Jarrett Stidham that was recovered by the Dawgs. That kept Auburn from going up by two scores, leading 7-0 in the second quarter at the time. Meanwhile, he also had highlights in the win at Notre Dame with six tackles including 1.5 for loss, a sack, three quarterback hurries and a forced fumble on the final possession of the game as well as 1.5 sacks in the College Football Playoff National Championship Game against Alabama.
Since his college days came to a close, Bellamy has bounced around offseason rosters and practice squads in the NFL. He went undrafted and was signed by the Houston Texans, where he was to start his career in 2018 and 2019. A brief stint with the Cincinnati Bengals occurred later in the 2019 season before ending back up with the Texans for the remainder of 2019 and all of 2020. In 2021, Bellamy found himself on practice squads for the Tennessee Titans, San Francisco 49ers and Los Angeles Rams.
Bellamy wasn’t the only Bulldog selected on Day 1 of the eight-team USFL Draft. The Tampa Bay Bandits selected offensive lineman Tyler Catalina with the 42nd overall pick, the eighth in the fifth round. Catalina played just one season at Georgia in 2016. He started 12 games for the Bulldogs at left tackle during Smart’s first season after transferring from Rhode Island, where he played 2013 to 2015. Catalina signed as an undrafted free agent with the Washington Redskins in 2017 and made his NFL debut during Week 8 as a starter at right guard. He was waived ahead of the 2019 season before being picked up by the Minnesota Vikings. Catalina spent time with both the Vikings and the Carolina Panthers in 2019 before signing with the Ottawa Redblacks of the Canadien Football League in 2020.
The USFL is a football league currently set to begin on April 16 and run through July 3. Game will be broadcast on Fox, NBC and USA. Day two of the 35-round inaugural draft takes place today (Wednesday) beginning at 10:00 a.m. ET. The draft isn’t broadcast on television, instead the teams announce their own picks via social media. Each round has a designated position assigned to it with a total of 280 players being selected over the course of 35 rounds.
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