SE: XFL Files — McCrane Eager for Opportunity to Kick at Pro Level Again
Feb 10, 2020 | Football, Sports Extra
By Corbin McGuire
Matthew McCrane figured with how he finished his rookie season in the NFL, his phone would not be silent last offseason. Even this past regular season, he thought some team would call.
Well, K-State's former standout kicker was as right as he was wrong.
Despite multiple workouts, McCrane never got an offer from an NFL team in 2019. But another opportunity arose: the XFL. In November, McCrane was selected by the New York Guardians, one of eight teams in the reborn league's supplemental draft. He played his first game on Sunday.
"It was pretty exciting when I got the call,' McCrane, with K-State from 2013-17, said, "to know that I was still wanted to kick at a professional level."
The opportunity pulled McCrane out of an otherwise disappointing period of time.
He spent all last fall waiting. He worked out at APEC, the same training facility Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes uses in Fort Worth, Texas, where McCrane and his wife, Megan, now call home. McCrane kicked three times a day and worked out five times a week, staying ready.
"Because with what happened with me in 2018, they can call at any time during the week," McCrane said. "So, you have to be ready to go."
But, as McCrane was already well aware, life as an aspiring NFL kicker can be cruel, with very few opportunities.
McCrane knew his rookie season, which included multiple stints with the Arizona Cardinals, a three-game stretch with the Oakland Raiders and one game with the Pittsburgh Steelers, was not perfect.
He went 5-of-9 on field goals with the Raiders. It's worth noting his misses were from 48, 47, 50 and 57 yards, and some were kicked from the team's dirt infield that the MLB's Oakland A's use. Still, "kicks that I definitely should have made," McCrane said, who had a game-winner in his NFL debut with Oakland.
In the last week of the 2018 regular season, McCrane got picked up by the Steelers. Less than 72 hours later, he went 3-for-3 from 39, 47 and 39 yards — the last, a game-winner. He proved reliable, consistent and clutch, a parallel from his time at K-State, where he finished with the school-record in career field goal percentage (86.4) that ranked second in Big 12 history and seventh in NCAA history at the time.
"To have that success in the NFL, I was sure that I was going to get the workout or the next call or signed to an NFL squad, and when that didn't happen, it knocked me down a little bit," McCrane said. "So, to get the call from the XFL and to get another chance to play with NFL-caliber guys, I'm extremely excited about it."
McCrane's excitement goes beyond just the opportunity to play again.
For one, he sees it as another potential path back to the NFL. McCrane referenced the Alliance of American Football, another U.S.-based professional league that launched in 2019. While the AAF ultimately went bankrupt, there were NFL opportunities created from it.
"Guys that performed well in the AAF had workouts this fall for (NFL) teams. A good example is Younghoe Koo. He did really well in the AAF and now he's the kicker with the (Atlanta) Falcons and he did really well this season," McCrane said. "So, it's relevant. Teams are looking for current film and they want to see you perform, not just kicking on a high school field, putting a YouTube video out there. They want to see game reps. That was important for me with the XFL, I get that. I get pressure situations, pressure kicks, all that. It's nationally-televised games, so I think that will be very beneficial whenever NFL teams start to look to sign a guy in April."
The XFL's 10-week schedule will have all of its games on ABC, ESPN, ESPN2, FOX, FS1 and FS2. Three teams in the league — the Seattle Dragons, Tampa Bay Vipers and New York Guardians — will also play their home games at their city's respective NFL stadiums. McCrane said he plans to utilize that to his advantage.
"I'm getting to play in NFL stadiums, so that'll be a cheat for me. I get to make notes in my book that I have of what the turf's like, what wind conditions are like in these NFL stadiums and I get to do that in February, March, April before the NFL season starts," he said. "That's kind of a big advantage that I have and something I look forward to."
Matthew McCrane figured with how he finished his rookie season in the NFL, his phone would not be silent last offseason. Even this past regular season, he thought some team would call.
Well, K-State's former standout kicker was as right as he was wrong.
Despite multiple workouts, McCrane never got an offer from an NFL team in 2019. But another opportunity arose: the XFL. In November, McCrane was selected by the New York Guardians, one of eight teams in the reborn league's supplemental draft. He played his first game on Sunday.
"It was pretty exciting when I got the call,' McCrane, with K-State from 2013-17, said, "to know that I was still wanted to kick at a professional level."
The opportunity pulled McCrane out of an otherwise disappointing period of time.
He spent all last fall waiting. He worked out at APEC, the same training facility Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes uses in Fort Worth, Texas, where McCrane and his wife, Megan, now call home. McCrane kicked three times a day and worked out five times a week, staying ready.
"Because with what happened with me in 2018, they can call at any time during the week," McCrane said. "So, you have to be ready to go."
But, as McCrane was already well aware, life as an aspiring NFL kicker can be cruel, with very few opportunities.
McCrane knew his rookie season, which included multiple stints with the Arizona Cardinals, a three-game stretch with the Oakland Raiders and one game with the Pittsburgh Steelers, was not perfect.
He went 5-of-9 on field goals with the Raiders. It's worth noting his misses were from 48, 47, 50 and 57 yards, and some were kicked from the team's dirt infield that the MLB's Oakland A's use. Still, "kicks that I definitely should have made," McCrane said, who had a game-winner in his NFL debut with Oakland.
In the last week of the 2018 regular season, McCrane got picked up by the Steelers. Less than 72 hours later, he went 3-for-3 from 39, 47 and 39 yards — the last, a game-winner. He proved reliable, consistent and clutch, a parallel from his time at K-State, where he finished with the school-record in career field goal percentage (86.4) that ranked second in Big 12 history and seventh in NCAA history at the time.
"To have that success in the NFL, I was sure that I was going to get the workout or the next call or signed to an NFL squad, and when that didn't happen, it knocked me down a little bit," McCrane said. "So, to get the call from the XFL and to get another chance to play with NFL-caliber guys, I'm extremely excited about it."
McCrane's excitement goes beyond just the opportunity to play again.
For one, he sees it as another potential path back to the NFL. McCrane referenced the Alliance of American Football, another U.S.-based professional league that launched in 2019. While the AAF ultimately went bankrupt, there were NFL opportunities created from it.
"Guys that performed well in the AAF had workouts this fall for (NFL) teams. A good example is Younghoe Koo. He did really well in the AAF and now he's the kicker with the (Atlanta) Falcons and he did really well this season," McCrane said. "So, it's relevant. Teams are looking for current film and they want to see you perform, not just kicking on a high school field, putting a YouTube video out there. They want to see game reps. That was important for me with the XFL, I get that. I get pressure situations, pressure kicks, all that. It's nationally-televised games, so I think that will be very beneficial whenever NFL teams start to look to sign a guy in April."
The XFL's 10-week schedule will have all of its games on ABC, ESPN, ESPN2, FOX, FS1 and FS2. Three teams in the league — the Seattle Dragons, Tampa Bay Vipers and New York Guardians — will also play their home games at their city's respective NFL stadiums. McCrane said he plans to utilize that to his advantage.
"I'm getting to play in NFL stadiums, so that'll be a cheat for me. I get to make notes in my book that I have of what the turf's like, what wind conditions are like in these NFL stadiums and I get to do that in February, March, April before the NFL season starts," he said. "That's kind of a big advantage that I have and something I look forward to."
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