Meet Your Tampa Bay Vipers: Offense

With the XFL Draft and pre-season concluded, the Tampa Bay Vipers have finally paired their roster down to the final 52 players. This week the Vipers released their depth chart for their inaugural game against the New York Guardians, so let’s get acquainted with the key players on offense:

Head Coach: Marc Trestman

Trestman is a former NFL Head Coach with the Chicago Bears, but is more known for his three CFL championships, including back-to-back Grey Cups with the Montreal Alouettes. Trestman is known as an offensive innovator who looks to move the ball through the air.

Offensive Coordinator: Jaime Elizondo

A Grey Cup winning Offensive Coordinator in Ottawa, Elizondo joins Trestman again after once serving as receivers coach in Toronto. Elizondo steered a high-octane offense in Ottawa and had a QB throw for over 5,000 yards in 2018.

QB: Local High School product Aaron Murray will be taking the first snaps for the Vipers. A standout at Georgia, he has a strong arm, good football awareness and NFL experience being drafted by the Kansas City Chiefs. He also has some spring football experience from his time with the AAF’s Atlanta Legends. He’s the type of pocket passer Trestman likes.

However, Murray does have some history with knee injury. Backing up Murray is Taylor Cornelius, a gunslinging QB who has a strong arm but is inaccurate at times. He had one real year of starting experience at Oklahoma State, and was a participant at rookie camp last year for the Green Bay Packers.

WR/TE: Without Antonio Callaway until he returns from injury, Jalen Tolliver, Reece Horn & Dan Williams are the starting WR corps. Nick Truesdell was the first ever player drafted by the Vipers, and will start at Tight End.

Truesdell is a 6′ 6”, 250 lb monster who can also run a 4.5 40. Truesdell runs pretty crisp routes, and his unique skill set will make opposing defenses double up on him.

Tolliver is a big-bodied receiver with good hands and a 4.56 40-yard-dash. If the former Arizona Cardinal can use his size and quickness, he is primed to be a yards-after-catch machine. Reece Horn is a scrappy receiver who competes for every ball to make up for his lack of straight-line speed. After an injury to Callaway, Daniel Williams was named a starter. Williams is a big play threat who is quick for his size at 6′ 2” & 220+ lbs. Williams is an above-average blocker who has a nice bit of aggression when called upon.

RB: De’Veon Smith, Jacques Patrick & Mack Brown make up the committee of running backs, with former South Florida standout Quinton Flowers playing a duel threat at QB/RB.

Smith is a tough downhill runner who can also block in pass protection. Patrick is a powerful one-cut back who can wait for the right hole to open, and then pounce to gain yards. Mack Brown is an NFL vet, spending time with Washington and the Minnesota Vikings.

Although Flowers isn’t a starter, expect there to be a package of plays designed to leverage his ability to run and throw.

O-Line: After becoming a where-did-he-come-from surprise in the AAF, Jordan McCray looks to continue his spring football domination at Center. McCray was a highly-respected run blocker for the Orlando Apollos.

Left Tackle Isaiah Williams will be protecting Murray’s backside for the second time, as he was also the starting LT for the Atlanta Legends in the AAF.

K/P: Andrew Franks is the placekicker, who played for the Miami Dolphins for two years, going 29/37 and a career long of 55 yards. Jake Schum is the Punter/Holder, returning to the stadium he played in as a member of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2015. Schum had over 100 punts in the NFL, with an average of 42.6 yards per punt.