Pumphrey riding XFL back to NFL?
How’s this for a fun flashback:
Donnel Pumphrey, running for yards and catching passes, is calling to mind his Aztecs football days, three years after joining the NFL but never playing there in a real game.
“I’m having fun again,” the former San Diego State star said Thursday from Washington.
Second chances are a wonderful thing, aren’t they?
Pumphrey had a dry run with the Philadelphia Eagles after they drafted him in the fourth round in 2017.
A leg injury in his first training camp landed him on injured reserve for his rookie year. More time with the Eagles (and the Detroit Lions) yielded only sparse playing time in preseason exhibitions for the 5-foot-8 back who’d run wild with the Aztecs to become the NCAA’S career rushing leader.
Along came a pro football league, the XFL, funded by wrestling magnate Vince Mcmahon.
Pumphrey landed a job with the DC Defenders, and said he has regained the football speed he had
•
with SDSU but seldom showed with the Eagles because of hamstring injuries in separate years.
“I’m feeling explosive,” said the 25-year-old, who will be in Carson on Sunday to face the L.A. Wildcats.
Pumphrey said he plays better the more chances he gets, a trait that went dormant amid his NFL struggles. Defenders coaches obliged him Saturday against New York, when he took 12 carries for 52 yards (4.3 average) and caught three passes for 26 yards. He dodged a defensive back to convert on third-and-13 and caught a pass with one hand in DC’S 27-0 victory.
“I’m just getting back into the groove and getting the feel for everything,” Pumphrey said. “The only way to get into football shape is to play football.”
Pumphrey said if he could go back to his first Eagles gig, he would’ve not added so much bulk.
“I was overweight,” he said.
He was up to 186 pounds after gaining 10 pounds between the NFL Scouting Combine and training camp. Finding the right speed-size balance entering the NFL can be tricky, especially for thin speedsters like Pumphrey, who clocked a 4.48-second 40-yard dash that winter.
Pumphrey had tied an Aztecs record by playing 54 games but hurt an ankle early in training camp and, trying to play through it, pulled a hamstring on a wheel route against an Eagles defender.
The Eagles involved him in daily meetings and had him on their sideline for all 19 games that year, including the Super Bowl. They also gave him a Super Bowl ring.
“The Eagles are a firstclass organization,” said Pumphrey, whose former college housemates, linebacker Calvin Munson and tight end David Wells, would pick up Super Bowl rings the next two years, with the Patriots and Chiefs, respectively.
The Eagles showed interest in adding Pumphrey to their practice squad last season.
Joining the XFL ensured playing time that exposes him to all NFL teams.
He’s happy to have joined another winner after helping SDSU to a 28-12 record in 40 starts and watching the ’17 Eagles overcome injuries to several starters.
The Defenders are 2-0. While the XFL slogan is “For the Love of Football,” its sub-slogan could be “Grab the Money.” XFL players get a $2,222 bonus for each win, to go with decidedly UN-NFL salaries of about $50,000 for non-quarterbacks.
Sunday’s game sends Pumphrey to the Carson venue where he attended Philly’s 2017 victory against the Chargers.
“I can’t wait,” he said, “because it’ll be the first time I played in front of my family since I left San Diego State.”
He’ll return to an SDSU classroom someday, he said, to take a Spanish class needed for his degree.
For now, the good news is: It’s February, and Pumphrey has a football game to play.
tom.krasovic@sduniontribune.com