Category Archives: XFL

AAF, CFL, XFL

Nelson, Philip

Card: Topps XFL 2020
Acquired: 2020, Box Breaker
TTM 2020, C/o Home
Sent: 7/28 Received: 8/13 (16 days)

Philip Nelson split his time in college with Minnesota (2012-2013) and East Carolina (2015-2016). His best year was in his Senior year with the Pirates during 2016. Philip threw for 2621 yards and 16 TDs (8 interceptions) completing 237 of 349 throws, for an impressive 67.9 completion percentage. Philip wasn’t selected in the 2017 NFL Draft, but later attended camp with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in the CFL.

Philip was selected in the 3rd round of the Pick or Protect AAF Draft in 2019 by the San Diego Fleet. He’d quickly move up the depth chart behind Mike Bercovici after #1 overall pick Josh Johnson signed with the NFL. Philip was pressed into duty late in the Fleet’s inaugural game against the San Antonio Commanders. He’d then be named starter for Week 2, and lead San Diego to wins in Week 2 (Atlanta) and Week 3 (San Antonio) but during week 4 against the Memphis Express, Philip suffered a season ending shoulder injury. It was a shame as the Fleet had found their groove under Nelson and the offense was really clicking. He’d finish the season completing 45 of 77 passes for 513 yards and 3 TDs to 3 interceptions, while rushing for 82 yards on 16 carries.

The following year Nelson was selected by the Dallas Renegades of the XFL 2020. He’d see action right out of the gate with starter Landry Jones sidelined for the opener. Then after Jones was injured during Week 4 contest against the Roughnecks, Philip came in again- almost rallying the Renegades to victory over the Houston. He’d start the following week against the New York Guardians before COVID ended the XFL season after 5 games. Nelson completed 62 passes for 439 yards and 3 picks, while rushing for 25 yards on 6 carries on the year.

Philip sent me a nice note with his response thanking me for being a fan. He was pumped that The Rock had bought the league, and dropped in two copies of his Topps certified autographs for me to keep!

AAF, CFL, NFL, XFL

Williams, Marquise (2)

Cards: Panini Contenders Draft Picks 2016, Panini Prism 2016, Topps AAF 2019, Topps XFL 2020
Acquired: 2020, Box Breaker/ COMC
See Also: Marquise Williams

Marquise Williams played for the San Antonio Commanders in 2019. A dangerous scrambler with great pocket presence and a great touch on the ball, Williams was a great change of pace for the Commanders from starter Logan Woodside. Initially moonlighting on 2 point conversions, Williams saw his play time increase as injuries, and a porous offensive line plagued Woodside over the season. After the Alliance collapsed in April of 2019, Marquise was spotted at the XFL tryouts.

Williams was selected by the New York Guardians in the XFL 2020 draft. He’d back up Matt McGloin at quarterback as the Guardians traded for Luis Perez from the Wildcats. With McGloin melting down early in the season, Williams saw some gametime action in relief against the Defenders and the Battlehawks, but by late February Luis Perez was named starter for the Guardians. Two games later the XFL ceased operations due to COVID.

Marquise has some great authentic autographs, so I wanted to pick these up since I was never able to get them while he was with the Commanders. The XFL certified was a pull, and much like its AAF predecessor, showcases just a simplified, nice, wholesome press photo of Marquise. Panini Contenders was doing some interesting stuff at the time of this evolutionary cycle of design with an image of Marquise on a design focused canvas. I am not much for the gaudiness of the Prism sets, but I really liked how Williams’ blue uniform pops from this silver background.

AAF, NFL, XFL

Johnston, Daryl ‘Moose’ (4)

Cards: Topps AAF Certified Player Issue 2011, Upper Deck College Legends 2011 Bowl Game Heroes
Acquired: TTM 2020, C/o Home
Sent: 4/22/20 Received: 4/29/20 (7 days)
See Also: Daryl Johnston, Daryl Johnston (2), Daryl Johnston (3)

I really hustled hard for Daryl Johnston this time around. I had seen on a few sites that he was giving away his player issue version of his certified Topps AAF 2019 card- that I did not have, and along with the fact that he was GM of the Commanders, and it was super expensive on the secondary market, I really wanted to get my paws on that card. I wrote a solid 9 page letter talking about how our lives had intertwined over the last- 30 ish years or so. It was the longest letter I’d ever written to a player.

Daryl has been very good to the TTM community, and as a whole has been a gracious signer outside of those rare instances. Instead of flooding him with cards, I just sent this one Upper Deck College Legends card and asked him for the certified one, since I was a season ticket holder to the Commanders. I was very happy when he responded in no time flat and added the tag #Swords Up! giving the Commanders card a bit of personalization. It gave me a nice bounce in my step for the day.

I had high hopes that he’d pen an inspired response to me about his AAF experience, but the stories that I had read led me to believe that he was caught just as flat footed as the rest of us, even though he was fighting in the trenches everyday for the league. After his AAF experience, Daryl went on to join the XFL 2020 Dallas Renegades, and despite the boasted money behind it, the league folded only after 5 games due to COVID concerns.