Tag Jerdy. If you didn’t follow football like many of us, you would have little clue what this was. But for us who knew Jackson Erdmann, QB from St John’s (MN), you knew it was something special.
Erdmann was a walk-on at Penn State, before transferring back home to Minnesota, and starting for the Johnnies. All-Conference Honors from the MIAC, All-American in DIII, Gagliardi Trophy winner.
The accolades just kept coming.
He graduated in December of 2019, just before the pandemic hit, and changed sports as we knew them. Invited to workout with the University of Minnesota, and participate in their Pro-Day, Erdmann took full advantage.
Tyler Johnson just won a Super Bowl with the Buccaneers, Rashod Bateman is a top 5 WR in this upcoming draft. Erdmann worked out with both of them.
Unfortunately, the Pro-Day was canceled. Erdmann went on to train with some of the Vikings players, in hopes of getting his name out there. Adam Theilen, Chad Beebe, CJ Ham, Kirk Cousins, and Jake Browning.
This year was tough for a lot of guys coming out of small schools. But as the old saying goes…another man’s treasure.
Jerdy hit professional football’s radar this fall in The Spring League, playing for the Blues, with former Michigan QB Shea Patterson.
We got the opportunity to talk to Erdmann, and see what the Tag Jerdy movement was all about, first-hand.
We spoke first about his path to professional football, and how it was to come from the DIII level:
“One of my best friends, LT (Ben Bartch) just got drafted to the Jaguars from DIII, and played. So, if you can ball, you can ball out. It doesn’t matter where you come from. They’re gonna find you if you’re talented”
Even though he got to workout with NFL players during the offseason, mini camps are a major way that small school guys get on in the league. Those were also canceled.
Basically in limbo for most of this year, the FCF worked Erdmann out before he went to The Spring League, and in mid-December, he got the call to come to Atlanta and be part of this inaugural season.
The Tag Jerdy movement was full-on for the Wild Aces, it seemed like it was just a matter of time. Our talk was before he was announced as the Franchise Tagged player for the Aces, but as I learned later, he found out just before we spoke.
“I’m all for it, obviously. I guess it all started when I was on their show and they asked me what team did I want to play for and I said the Wild Aces. I love the vibes they’re putting out, I like the owners, and I just think the logo is sick too.”
Erdmann is getting a lot of hype around him leading up to the season, and I can tell you from watching him, it’s all legit. On the field, and off, his energy is infectious.
They just had the draft festivities Wednesday, part of that is MAN UP! A competition for QBs, WRs, and DBs to earn Team Powers for whatever team that drafts or has tagged them.
Jerdy won.
He can play at a high level, and he has the size and pocket presence of a franchise QB.
We’re able to see him in the FCF because the pandemic made leagues throw away their offseason workouts. And like I said earlier, that makes this our treasure.
“Everyone who is involved in this league, and the fans once you tune in and see what’s going on, knows this is special and has a lot of potential. And all the personnel, the coaches, I don’t even know if they sleep. They are working so hard, and once everything gets going, this is going to blow everyone out of the water, and be so incredible. This could legit be the future of football.”
We think so too. Jerdy leads his Wild Aces against their arch nemesis the Glacier Boyz on Saturday at 8:00pm ET, as the FCF v1.0 gets started.
I know we’re big fans, and looking forward to what the future holds for Jackson Erdmann. Thanks for talking to us.
Power to the Fans
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