Tag Archives: houston roughnecks

NFL, XFL

Cook, Connor

Cards: Panini Contenders 2016 GameDay, Panini Contenders 2016 Passing Grades, Leaf Draft 2016, Leaf Draft 2016 All-American, Score 2016 ScoreCard, Panini Elite 2016, Topps XFL 2020, Panini Prism 2015, Panini Draft 2015
Acquired: IP 2019, Houston Roughnecks Fan Meet & Greet.
TTM 2020, C/o Home
Sent: 7/3 Received: 7/24 (21 days)

Connor Cook was a 3 year starter for the Michigan State Spartans. He played college ball there from from 2011 to 2015, and saw action in 43 games, passing for 9,184 yards and 71 TDs to 22 interceptions. Cook was selected by the Oakland Raiders in the 4th round of the 2016 NFL Draft. The Raiders saw value selecting him and decided to groom Cook behind incumbent quarterback Derek Carr.

He was pressed into his first starting duty- a grinder of a game against the Houston Texans in the first round of the 2016 Playoffs. The Raiders fell 27-14, as Cook threw for 161 yards and a TD to 3 interceptions. Connor saw no action in 2017 and was cut in 2018 after the Raiders traded for AJ McCarron.

Connor spent the next year on and off the rosters of the Panthers, Bengals and Lions. He was selected in the first round of the XFL 2020 Draft by the Houston Roughnecks. I sort of questioned the move considering the Roughnecks already had Philip Walker allocated to the team, but coach June Jones insisted that he was picking the best player available with NFL experience.

I pulled every card I had of Connor and added 2 or 3 more hoping to get Connor’s autograph during the season. Luck was on my side as the Roughnecks frequently put together fan events.

The Roughnecks put together an event in the Woodlands where they had Connor Cook and Sammie Coates at. It was a no brainer. I was going to call it a success if I could get 2 or 3 cards signed- but in the end I was able to get all 5 knocked out along with a stack of cards of Sammie as well.

The event itself went well. The players were friendly and approachable. Connor talked to me one on one for a few minutes. We talked about briefly about the AAF and how it failed before he had to go up on stage. There Connor really shined, with a quick wit and clever smile. Afterwards both he and Sammie signed more autographs for fans. I was able to get them both on posters before I headed back out.

Of this group, the Panini Contenders cards really stood out. I love the Gameday cards. I wasn’t really fond of either of the Leaf entries, but the Score Scorecard makes up for the Leaf cards trite design.

Well the quarterback competition between Cook and Walker apparently went down to the wire. In the end PJ was named starting quarterback of the Roughnecks. I really had hoped to see more of Connor, but PJ played lights out the entire way. Still I think Connor has the prospects of being one of the brighter stars in a spring league if he decides to try that route again.

I got a few more cards of his after being caught flat footed at the Roughnecks season ticket holder event, but the cards, ordered 2 weeks before the league shut down- didn’t arrive until after 2 months after the league shut down. Still that gave me a chance to add his Topps XFL 2020 card to the batch, which really pushed him up on my list of players I wanted to get an autograph from thru. I really liked how the Elite cards were designed in 2016 as well. The abstract design is actually really smart as the lines all cross artistic points of emphasis. It’s a beautiful card, but like many the distribution kills my interest in making this one a set to collect. I’m not very hot on the gaudy Prism set, but I liked the die cut helmet one enough as it is eye catching.

NFL, XFL

Sharp, Hunter

Card: Sage 2016
Acquired: 2017, Box Breaker

Hunter Sharp played wide receiver for Utah State from 2014-2015.  He posted some solid numbers playing for the Aggies, catching 66 passes for 939 yards (7 TDs) in 2014, and 71 receptions for 835 yards (9 TDS) in 2015.

Sharp was not selected in the 2016 NFL Draft, but signed as a free agent with the Philadelphia Eagles. Later in the year he joined the practice squad of the Denver Broncos- a team he’d be on and off the roster throughout much of 2017.  The Giants picked Hunter off the Broncos roster in December of 2017, where he’d finish the season with 5 receptions for 54 yards and a TD. Unable to make the cut with the Giants in 2018, Hunter subsequently joined the Bills, and the Bengals. He’d be selected by the Houston Roughnecks of the XFL in 2020 during the supplemental portion of the draft- but was injured in camp.

AAF, NFL, The Spring League

Edwards, SaQwan

Card: Topps AAF 2019 Certified
Acquired: 2019, EBay

After making his mark at Blinn Junior College, SaQwan Edwards transferred to New Mexico where he played from 2012 to 2014. Originally for the Lobos, SaQuan was a wide receiver. He’d record 11 plays from scrimmage for 90 yards and a TD. Then he’d convert over to corner in 2013 and post 42 tackles, 2 tackles for loss, 2 sacks, 3 fumble recoveries, 4 pass deflections and an interception. Edwards improved off those numbers slightly in 2014 with an additional 42 tackles, 3.5 tackles for loss, 9 pass deflections, and 2 interceptions.

After not being drafted, thanks in part to a highly publicized rape accusation that was later dismissed, SaQwan was signed by the Raiders, and spent a good portion of 2015 and 2016 on and off the bubble of the team’s practice squad. In 2017, he was briefly a member of the Giants, before moving on to The Spring League in 2018.

In early 2019, SaQwan signed with the Arizona Hotshots of the AAF and saw limited playing time with the team making 1 tackle and a pass deflection on the season. He was later selected by the Houston Roughnecks of the XFL 2020, but declined to join the franchise after feeling the pay was not sufficient enough.