Troy Niklas was the back up to wonder TE Tyler Eifert while at Notre Dame. He played 3 years at the school from 2011 to 2013. Niklas played his Freshman year at linebacker, but realizing his talent and having a need at tight end, coaches decided to move Troy to the offensive side of the ball. He came on strong during his Junior year in 2013 when he recorded 32 receptions for 498 yards and 5 touchdowns. Troy was selected in the 2nd round of the 2014 NFL draft by the Arizona Cardinals. Injuries however have derailed most of his career. He had his first professional touchdown during week 6 of 2015 on a 13 yard reception. The Cards used him in sort of an H-Back role in 2017. In 11 starts he had 11 receptions for 132 yards and a TD. With the apparent emergence of Ricky Jones-Seals at tight end during the course of the season, Niklas was allowed to test the free agent waters in 2018 and signed with the Patriots. Currently he’s a free agent.
So this and another autographed card, I was digging through the collection and realized that I had never uploaded them (or I had uploaded them and something happened on the production side with my website and they were removed). Better late than never 4 years or so later! Guess it is time to do an inventory.
Ricky Seals-Jones originally committed to the University of Texas as the #1 WR in the nation, but had a change of heart and went to A&M instead, because the Longhorns wanted him to focus on just football and not basketball too. At 6’5″, 243, with good blood lines (he’s a cousin of Eric Dickerson), Seals-Jones caught 123 passes for 1442 yards and 10 TDs during his time at A&M. After his Junior year in 2016, he declared for the 2017 NFL Draft. He was not selected and signed with the Arizona Cardinals. With good size and a considered an effective blocker, it looks like Seals-Jones would be making the switch to tight end at the pro level.
He started on the practice squad in 2017 and was elevated to the regular team roster around mid-season. Ricky caught his first two professional touchdowns against the Houston Texans.
Mike Bercovici picked up for Brock Osweiler at QB for the Arizona State Sun Devils. The backup finally started seeing action in 8 games during 2014, throwing for 1,445 yards, with 12 touchdowns to just 4 interceptions. In his Senior year, Mike started 13 games en route to a banner year throwing for 3,854 yards (318 completions on 531 attempts), 30 touchdowns and 9 interceptions. While Mike displayed a zip on the ball that surprised many scouts, they picked apart his decision making and deep ball accuracy. Still many scouts were intrigued by his arm strength and competitiveness.
Mike went unselected in the 2016 NFL Draft. He’d become a focus of the NFL Network show Undrafted during his free agent quest to find a team. While he’d latch on to the Chargers through camp, he’d be released during final cutdowns in both 2016 and 2017. Mike joined the Cardinals practice squad during 2017 but after a month on the squad he was released. Currently he is a free agent.
I liked these Sage issues from 2016 though the type of the gold versions of the cards would get lost in the grass texture. Mike has a pretty nice looking autograph too. The M has just the right amount of point to it, while the B has a strong loop to it.
Celebrating the game, the players, the cards, and the autographs for over 25 years.
Card: Leaf Draft 2014
Card: Sage 2016 (173/250)