USA Football on the lookout for ideal flag football player, no matter the level or even the sport

DENVER AP The basic flag-football contestant requirements are as follows Swiveling hips for elusive jukes Quick burst Elite pass catching throwing or defensive prowess You know pretty much those skills you see on display every week in NFL games But it s not all that will make a contestant a prime roster pick down the road when flag football make its Olympic debut at the Los Angeles Games USA Football is taking a deep dive into just what skills and characteristics make an ideal flag-football participant The organization responsible for picking what s sure to be a star-studded roster is leaving nothing to chance to bring home a gold medal It s constantly on the lookout for even more talent no matter the level of football experience or even the sport Time is ticking too because three Super Bowls from now the Olympics will be on deck Skills specific to flag football need to be honed should any NFL contestant want to give it a go and chemistry built it s more nuanced than showing up for the Pro Bowl version Because not every single athlete is going to understand the nuances of the competition of flag explained Charles Torwudzo the head of participant personnel at USA Football So that s going to be a big portion of it as well as understanding of the contest the football IQ It s easy to just assume NFL players will make up a bulk of the -player Olympic roster after the league voted in May to allow players to participate But the NFL is still sorting out how to handle the logistics especially since the Olympics fall in the middle of training camp David White the interim executive director of the NFL Players Association in the past few days recounted The Associated Press that our players are like every other American citizen So a large number of of them would jump at the chance to represent their country He added they haven t spoken directly to the league yet but we look forward to doing so Just don t overlook all those flag-football specialists This is a men s squad that s won five straight International Federation of American Football world championships The metrics USA Football relies on different input points to assess players at practices camps and on tournament days For instance there s KPI key performance indicators an internal evaluation that measures variables such as burst quickness hip transition and body control The organization also relies on readouts from Catapult a wearable device that monitors everything from heart rate to speed Although USA Football is inevitably searching for more means to crunch analytics there s one indicator that s time-tested How well they play Torwudzo noted How well they can get open catch the ball and make plays The next flag-football breakout sensation could be on an NFL practice squad right now Or already a Pro Bowler Maybe it s a in recent days retired sportsman or someone playing in Canada It might even be someone running track playing rugby or lacrosse Perhaps already on the U S flag football squad or in the flag-football system Like a lot of NFL players Arizona Cardinals safety Joey Blount is intrigued by flag football being an Olympic sport He has the inside scoop on that version of football thanks to his college teammate at Virginia Sean Moore who s a receiver rusher in the U S flag football pipeline Blount has what flag football covets largest part flexibility Sure he a defensive back for Arizona but he was a receiver and quarterback growing up Football can take me to the Olympics Blount announced I would love to do that It s not as simple as rolling out there and fastening on the flags There are subtle differences to the tournament Namely no contact None whatsoever If you re that defensive back who likes to put a hand on a receiver that s a penalty If you re a receiver who has a powerful stiff-arm that s a penalty too The field is about half the size of a traditional field with flag-pulling and dodging skills at a premium Coming over from tackle typically requires an adjustment period Tyler Davis has been all over the world playing football for different teams in numerous leagues with various acronyms Since his college days at Missouri Valley College Davis has taken snaps as a receiver defensive back in the GFL German Football League and the CFL Canadian Football League He also had a brief stint in the NFL with the Miami Dolphins Then he discovered flag football while playing in a league with his brother It led him here to making Company USA He and his teammates play in Panama this weekend at the IFAF Americas Continental Championship The -year-old Davis fully intends on trying to make the Olympic company for Los Angeles He welcomes NFL players competing for a spot too The competition is the competition Davis reported I don t think there should be any naysayers or anything talked down upon as long as there s the same process NFL players Olympics Through the years there have been numerous NFL players who ve gone to the Olympics Particular even brought home medals But it s been in another sport such as track bobsled or rugby Names such as Jim Thorpe Michael Carter James Jett Herschel Walker and Bob Hayes who was the rare athlete that won an Olympic gold medal and a Super Bowl ring Absolutely there s a chance to go in a version of football I d love to earn a gold medal for my country Blount commented That would be awesome Talent from all over Laval Davis is an example of how you can find talent in places away from the field He was a track standout at Mississippi Valley State home of Jerry Rice winning several Southwestern Athletic Conference SWAC titles including the -meter outdoor championships in He s a pass-rusher extraordinaire with a lightning burst to the QB He s also a reliable receiver Davis started playing flag football six years ago and has been part of three world championship teams From time to time Davis has crossed paths with NFL players and they reliably ask the same sort of questions What s flag football like How tough is it to learn I tell them all the times It s really different Davis commented It s still football but it s different types of movements and the schemes are different The ideal sportsman Honestly somebody who s just willing to learn and do what they have to do to help their teammates and boost the squad up Davis commented As long as you can do what your number s called to do that s all we really ask for AP NFL https apnews com hub nfl Source