Tag Archives: tampa bay vipers

CFL, NFL, ufl, XFL

Glanville, Jerry (2)

Cards: ProLine 1992 Portraits, ProLine 1992, ProSet 1990 , Topps XFL 2020
Acquired: TTM 2020, C/o Home
Sent: 5/19 Received: 5/29 (10 days)
See Also: Jerry Glanville

After the final death rattle of the UFL, Jerry slipped into semi-retirement for a few years there. I mean don’t let him hear me say that. He probably kept himself busy doing all sorts of things. Jerry returned to coaching in 2018 alongside his former coaching buddy June Jones, who was now head coach of the CFL Hamilton Tiger-Cats. Jerry took the reins at defensive coordinator, but after a season he resigned due to personal reasons.

It didn’t take Jerry long to return to the sport again, this time with the XFL. He’d sign up to be defensive coordinator of the Tampa Bay Vipers under head coach Mark Trestman.

I was intrigued by the signing but had hoped that Jerry would be signed as Houston’s defensive coordinator. When I went to the Houston Roughnecks/ Tampa Bay Vipers joint scrimmage, I grabbed the three 90s cards I had of Jerry and went to the event. I camped out the Vipers side of field. Jerry was in his element, and his Man in Black personality always bring the crowd. I decided to not go for Jerry’s autograph at the event for a couple of reasons. First, Jerry’s name was listed in the checklist for the Topps XFL set that wasn’t out yet. Second, if I went for Jerry, I’d probably miss out on quite a few players. Third and finally, I was already aware of Jerry’s stellar TTM reputation. -He didn’t disappoint.

I was not a fan of the ProLine series but the portrait set card of Jerry was pretty unique. I really liked the design style, as the sharp edges matched Jerry’s style. He was kind enough to take the time to sign this one in silver so it picked up nicely. His other ProLine card I had, I liked it because it was a shot of him when he coached the Oilers. His final Pro Set card of the Falcons Back in Black was a set filler for me. (On a side note, I’ve never been fond of the black, and after a few years its become very stale. I wish they’d go back to those reds.) Jerry’s final card, from Topps XFL 2020 seems to capture all the usual of his ambiance and Man in Black persona.

AAF, NFL, XFL

Horn, Reece

Card: Topps XFL 2020
Acquired: TTM 2020, C/o Home
Sent: 5/4 Received: 5/26 (22 days)

Reece Horn played wide receiver at Division I football for the University of Indianapolis from 2012-2015. In both 2014 and 2015, Reece eclipsed the 1000 yard barrier, posting 1046 yards and 12 TDs in 2014, and 1396 yards on 108 catches in 2015. Playing 48 games for the Hounds, he posted 272 catches for 3562 yards and 31 TDs. In addition he spent time returning punts, and had 2 TDs in his senior year- including a 92 yarder.

After going undrafted in 2016, he spent the preseason with the Tennessee Titans, then took his game to the European circuit, playing in both Italy and Austria. In 2019, Reece signed with the Alliance of American Football. He was allocated to the Memphis Express.

The Express had offensive woes that stemmed from the quarterback position. Their #1 QB pick didn’t even make it through camp, and after Brandon Silvers became entrenched as starter, Johnny Manziel was brought in to keep the heat on him. As the season continued on however, Reece established himself as the go to receiver on the Express offense. He never failed to catch less than 4 passes per game, and in back to back games (in Week 6 and 7), Reece went over 100 yards (129 in Week 6 and 113 in Week 7). On the 2019 AAF season, Reece caught 28 passes for 429 yards and a TD. He returned to the NFL seeing some preseason work with the Miami Dolphins.

Reece was selected by the Tampa Bay Vipers of the XFL 2020. I remember hearing the pick and saying to myself, “That’s a good pick. Ugh, I wish the Roughnecks had gotten him.” He finished with 27 catches for 246 yards and a TD. His best game came in the final contest against the Wildcats when he caught 9 passes for 90 yards and a TD in a 34-31 loss.

I went to the Houston Roughnecks / Tampa Bay Vipers scrimmage before the season began with my buddy Lance. I felt that the players I really needed to concentrate on were from the Vipers, so I camped on their side of the field where they put their gear down. I knew Reece was on the Vipers from his days on the Express, but I was pretty surprised he didn’t have any cards of any sort. When he came over, I stopped him out of respect and told him I knew who he was and wanted to shake his hand, and that I knew that he was the machine behind the Express’ improvements over the last few weeks of the AAF season.

In Reece’s letter back to me, he thanked me for being a fan, and told me that the best is yet to come!

NFL, XFL

Tolliver, Jalen

Card: Topps AAF 2020
Acquired: EBay, 2020

Jalen Tolliver played at Arkansas-Monticelo from 2014-2017. In both his junior and senior campaigns he had over 1,000 yards receiving, and cumulatively 30 TDs. Over 4 years with the Boll Weevils Tolliver caught 192 passes for 3,168 yards and 39 touchdowns. Jalen was not selected in the 2018 NFL Draft.

Jalen signed with the Arizona Cardinals as a free agent. He spent time on and off the team’s practice squad and onto the regular season roster. On the season he recorded 3 catches for 37 yards. In 2019, Jalen was in camp for both the Titans and the Chiefs.

He’d later be selected by the Tampa Bay Vipers during the 4th round of the XFL 2020 Draft. Jalen finished 4th in the league with 21 catches for 297 yards and a TD in 5 contests- before the league was cancelled due to COVID concerns.