Gallery: Students spearhead bid to bring the NFL to the Gold Coast

A former NFL star has called on the Gold Coast to host marquee clashes in the future, as a host of students put on a show. All the images of the action here >>

As he watched the students of Varsity College cement themselves a place in history, former Los Angelas Rams star Todd Gurley threw his support behind the Gold Coast hosting NFL clashes in the future.

Varsity’s victory in this week’s inaugural Flag Football Tournament in Carrara booked the students’ tickets to the Las Vegas Pro Bowl in February, where they will represent the nation on the big stage.

Now Gurley, the 2018 NFL Offensive Player of the Year, has endorsed the Glitter Strip as the place to harness a new wave of talent and fans by bringing the product to the region.

Given American football is still very much in its development stage in Australia, Gurley said it was crucial to remain engaged at the junior levels to inspire a generation of viewers, and players taking part in the NFL’s international pathways programs.

He said from there, the hope was NFL fixtures could soon feature down under.

“We’ve come over here to represent them and hopefully grow this thing up and get it big, just like we have the London Games and the German Games,” Gurley said.

“Hopefully we can bring something over here. I feel like that would be awesome, and it’s not a bad place to be at — the Gold Coast is definitely a great city.

“The biggest thing is having a good support staff; the coaches, the communities.

“I know in the States a lot of the time a coach can have control over a young kid on what position they play, where they go, so just having that fair equal opportunity because a lot of people don’t get that chance.”

Varsity College overcame Hillcrest Christian College in the tournament’s final at the Gold Coast Leisure Centre to kickstart their own journeys in the American code.

Who knows how many future Australians featuring in the NFL will eventuate from these formative stages?

But that, according to Gurley, was never the point of the competition.

The 28-year-old, who attended the tournament as an international ambassador for the NFL, spoke with the Gold Coast Bulletin about his early years working towards the NFL.

For him it was never a matter of keeping his eye on the plateaus of the game.

Schools NFL tag championship on the Gold Coast at Carrara. NFL legend Todd Gurley II . Picture Glenn Hampson

That future was born out of the passion he developed for every snap he took part in, and he implored the future generation to approach it in the same fashion.

“Me growing up I just played because all my friends played, and if I wasn’t doing that I probably would’ve been getting in trouble,’ Gurley said.

“I just always treated it as a game and had fun, and I guess I got good at it.

“Like I tell kids, figure out what you want out of your life and put yourself into the situation where you can control yourself.

“Obviously it’s a lot easier for me to say – growing up in the States, playing division one university, going first round – but everyone’s road or path is different.

“Some people are going to have to overcome more things than others, but I feel like at the end of the day whether you play one snap or you play a thousand snaps in the NFL it’s a blessing.

“It’s all about perspective, being grateful and taking advantage of a situation.”

‘Change your life’: Australian NFL star’s bold 12-month declaration

— November 23

Australian NFL star Jesse Williams has put a call out to prospect athletes eager to pursue a future in the American code, adamant that if given 12 months to work with a hopeful he could “get them ready to start somewhere in the US”.

Speaking at an NFL Flag Championship Tournament at the Gold Coast Leisure Centre to promote American football at the grassroots, the former Seattle Seahawk has sought to foster in a new generation of talent.

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As Gridiron Australian seeks to strengthen its junior impact, Williams, former Los Angeles Rams star Todd Gurley and eight-year NFL veteran Ben Graham engaged with hundreds of students vying for the chance to represent the nation at February’s Pro Bowl in Las Vegas.

Despite being the first Australian to don a Super Bowl ring, the 32-year-old Queenslander admits it was a chance encounter with the Bayside Ravens that inspired his ascent to the NFL ranks and exposure to elite American coaches who saw something in his skill and stature.

Now he was determined to help inspire a new era towards the tiers he reached.

Schools NFL tag championship on the Gold Coast at Carrara. NFL legends Ben Graham, Todd Gurley II and Jesse Williams meet the young players. Picture Glenn Hampson

“It’s extremely tough, it was very tough when we did it. We didn’t have a lot of information around — what, how, why, when? We barely knew what the NCAA stood for,’ Williams said.

“Honestly I didn’t have a lot going for me here; I was on a path most young indigenous kids are and in high school we would play every sport we could.

“None was more than the other, and then football jumped out for me and I was lucky enough timing wise and made some big risks.

“It was a lot of hard work, a lot of sacrificing, but we ended up stringing it together in the end. But it’s part of that hard path that for these kids I want to make fresh and easier.

“I think areas we can work on heavily is this age group; there’s primary school going into high school and young kids who are still impressionable.

“This is sort of the legacy piece of these kid; as they get older they’re the kids we’re going to be seeing in five to 10 years breaking in.”

Through junior initiatives such as Tuesday’s Gold Coast tournament and the International Player Pathways program a relationship between the NFL and Gridiron Australia is beginning to gain a stranglehold down under.

But Williams said in addition to developing the junior ranks, he had a goal to recruit a host of older athletes from rival codes whose bodies and skillsets aligned better with American football.

He said all an aspiring player with the blossoming attributes needed was a window to work within the Australian programs to “change your life”.

Jesse Williams during his Seattle Seahawks days.

“Low hanging fruit is big guys; offensive, defensive linesmen they’re pretty easy. With six, 12 months I can get them ready to somewhat start somewhere in the US,” Williams said.

“I think when it comes to those skill positions it just takes a lot of reps to get instinctual and that’s where the development areas are. It’s a mix of getting guys in earlier to play here, as well as the coaching to increase here.

“We’re working on the framework of that; bringing a lot of American guys over and having the NFL on board to bring guys over to help coach and develop is so important.

“Right now, with a strong Polynesian background and rugby background, I think Queensland is doing well in sending big guys. If you look at Jordan Mailata you look at a guy who’s probably too big for elite rugby league, but fits perfectly playing old (offensive) left tackle.

“How we are now, the grassroots football and the building stage, there’s a crazy amount of opportunity for younger kids to go to the US and change their life.”