Linebacker Jerimiah Spicer’s persistence got him an invite to an XFL Summer Showcase in Los Angeles and drafted to the XFL Wildcats training camp roster. However, the Wildcats have now waived him, near the end of their inaugural minicamp.
Spicer says he is not ready to give up on his dream of playing pro football.
“I’m not going to quit,” Jerimiah said defiantly, via a telephone interview. “I’ll keep pushing my film out and wait for the opportunity to come.”
We all know how Spicer has faced adversity in the past. In fact, Spicer was recently showcased in an XFL video that focused on his inspirational journey from homeless to a football career.
When Jerimiah was drafted to the XFL, he received a highly publicized phone call from the Wildcat’s draft room, which included a personal congratulation from Wildcat’s President Heather Brooks Karatz.
Speaking from the XFL training camp at UNLV in Las Vegas on Tuesday 17 December, Head Coach Winston Moss talked about the team’s decision to waive players from their roster. “It’s an ugly part of the business. It’s something you don’t ever want to go through. Moss also pointed out the Wildcats were happy to give Spicer an opportunity. “Jerimiah was a special case. He deserved a shot. We gave him an opportunity. It was unfortunate we had to release him, but we have to do what is best for the Wildcats.”
With the Wildcats, Jerimiah knows where he stood when he came into their minicamp. “I was an underdog, and I came in an underdog,” he said. “I learned a lot at minicamp and I was definitely getting better and better.”
Spicer feels he held up his end of the bargain, but he is forever grateful for the opportunity.
“I felt like I was working at being the best linebacker in the XFL. I was working at giving the people what they wanted to see. That’s how I feel… I am forever grateful they gave me the opportunity. I’ve got nothing bad to say about Coach Moss.”
For Spicer, being waived by the Wildcats was a business decision.
“It is business. They brought in a guy from the Vikings today. It is what it is.”
Surely, football fans will be watching Jerimiah Spicer, and waiting to see what is next in his pro football career.
