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1st March 2024
03:47pm GMT
Sure, the Super Bowl was a mere two weekends ago - but the NFL off-season kicks into full swing this weekend with the NFL Combine in Indianapolis - with significant Irish interest. Pro Football Ireland’s Michael McQuaid looks ahead to the potentially historic weekend for Irish athletes.
There was a time not too long ago, in the 1980s, where a cohort of NFL fans on the island of Ireland had to wait for a highlights package of games on television, namely Network Two or Channel 4 - days after the games had taken place.
Fast forward to 2024: Dan Whelan made history as the first Irish born player in the NFL in almost 40 years. This weekend, a little bit of history is extended to four Irish athletes when they enter the NFL Combine for the first time ever.
In 2023, it was announced by the NFL that for the first time, all thirty two teams would have to register an international player on their teams for the first time, creating an extra IPP (International Player Pathway) position on a squad, thus allowing players from around the world to have an opportunity to play in the United States and learn from the best.
Enter Tadhg Leader. An athlete who played both rugby and American Football professionally in the US, Tadhg set up Leader Kicking and was recently appointed as a coach for the NFL’s International Pathway Program, primarily focusing on kickers and punters.
Across the last year, Tadhg has identified various GAA and rugby players in Ireland who have been selected to take part in the NFL Combine this weekend: Monaghan goalkeeper Rory Beggan, Wicklow’s Mark Jackson, Charlie Smyth from Down and Darragh Leader, rugby player and brother of Tadhg. Rory, Mark and Charlie will focus on kicking, while Darragh is going to focus on punting.
The movement of three GAA players especially has brought about a huge amount of discussion, especially as the season has merely started for counties in the National League. For the players, the reward is life changing, to say the least. Last season, the salary for a non-veteran practice squad player was approx €200,000 for the season. That is without playing in a regular season game. The real primary reward for Beggan, Jackson, Smyth or Leader if they sign after this weekend would be an opportunity to learn from some of the best to do it in the NFL.
Over the last few weeks, the lads have been training at IMG Academy in Florida, with other IPP players such as Louis Rees-Zammit, who left rugby in January for the opportunity. The big question ahead of the weekend: can an Irish player be signed by an NFL team from the Combine? Tadhg Leader certainly believes so.
“The lads are in flying form”, Leader said. “We’ve been working hard for a long time back on the ground in Ireland and not just in the United States over the last month. This weekend, the path has the potential to become life changing. We wrapped up our last training session today (Thursday) and everyone is striking the ball really well - confident and prepared…..I think we are going to see lads getting picked up and getting signed to NFL contracts in the very near future.”
Rory Beggan is a household name for a GAA fan. When we had the opportunity to speak with Rory at a live event in Tyrone at the start of February, it was clear that he had developed his skills steadily over the last few months and his confidence has grown heavily over that time period.
Charlie Smyth played for Down at underage level, winning the Ulster U20 Championship with the Mournemen. A Green Bay Packers fan and a recently qualified teacher from St Marys in Belfast, he has been an NFL fan for years - and you can see how much this opportunity means to him this weekend:
For Darragh Leader, it will certainly be interesting to see how he performs in the punting scope, which is expected to last until early on Monday morning. Darragh has also been working with the kicking team, helping and holding the ball for their kicks. Mark Jackson is highly regarded in this draft process and his confidence shone through at a recent live event for Pro Football Ireland in Dublin, prior to the Super Bowl:
Coach with Leader Kicking and fellow kicking athlete Conor Mangan believes that his moment is huge for Irish sport. “I spoke to Tadhg to preview the combine for our podcast, Enter The Arena, and the lads are totally ready”, he said.
“They’re dialled in, focused and the plan is in place for them to perform at the highest level. They’re not out there having a cut or just a go off this - they’re at the level to compete with the best college kickers in the country, and win one of the 32 jobs on offer. Their preparation, not only at IMG in Florida, but in Ireland as well has been excellent. I don’t think people understand how monumental this is for Irish sport. If
anyone thought Aussie Rules was big, the NFL is literally Goliath in comparison.”
It is clear that this is a historic weekend for the NFL on the island of Ireland. It is amazing to see the guys get to this stage - and it is a credit to the work of Leader Kicking. It will all be about the process when they take to the field on Sunday and Monday. The biggest advantage for the four athletes is that they have been focusing on this in a full time, professional manner in recent weeks and this has helped them focus and develop their game.
I firmly believe that there is scope for at least one player to be signed, if not two or three soon after the NFL Combine. Some of the lads may not even need a return flight home if it goes well. The reality is - this is all new.
This is the unknown - but remember the names: Beggan, Smyth, Leader and Jackson. They are truly on the verge of making history not only for American Football on the island of Ireland, but sport on the island of Ireland.
Interested in the NFL Combine? You can follow Pro Football Ireland on all socials this weekend (X, Instagram, TikTok and Facebook) for live updates from the Combine in Indianapolis.
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