The Hoover High graduate said he will pursue a coaching job and a spot in the XFL

Orlando Apollos quarterback Austin Appleby was getting ready for practice on Tuesday at Camping World Stadium when the team was called off the practice field and told that the Alliance of American Football was suspending operations “for the time being.”

Soon afterward, they got the news in a meeting at the team hotel — the league was folding permanently.

“It was very, very disappointing,” Appleby, a Hoover High graduate, said in a phone interview on Wednesday morning. “I thought the league was great. I really did. I thought the product on the field was first class and that’s due to the people they hired. The coaches and the general managers were awesome.

“League-wide, there were some great, great people and that’s what made the league work.”

Unfortunately for the AAF, controlling owner Tom Dundon thought otherwise, shuttering operations after investing $70 million in the league. Dundon wanted the NFL to share its bottom-of-the-roster players with the AAF, but couldn't come to an agreement with the NFL Players Association.

"I'm having a hard time understanding it," Appleby said. "But I couldn't be more proud of what we accomplished in the short time we were a league. It was one heck of a ride while it lasted."

Appleby played sparingly for the Apollos (7-1), mainly because he was backing up the league’s best quarterback in Garrett Gilbert. But with Orlando clinching a playoff berth with two regular season games remaining, Appleby expected to get some game action over the next two weeks.

“I had an opportunity to get some ever-precious game film for NFL scouts and put myself on display,” said Appleby, who was briefly in training camp with the Dallas Cowboys after going undrafted in 2017. “It really bites, for lack of a better term. I had an opportunity coming and it got snatched from underneath all of us. It’s bad for thousands of families and support staff who are now jobless. It just sucks.”

Appleby isn’t sure about his next step, although he is hoping to find a job in coaching this season. He also plans to pursue a job in the XFL, which is scheduled to begin play next spring.

“I know I can still play,” said Appleby, who played collegiately at Purdue and Florida. “I just need an opportunity. I was a No. 2 quarterback in this league, so that means I’m one of the top 24 guys not in the NFL. I’m definitely going to keep training and keep working toward my next opportunity.”

Appleby also believes many AAF players will be in NFL camps this summer, including Gilbert.

“I’d be blown away if he’s not on an NFL team,” Appleby said of Gilbert. “I’d be shocked if, of the 53 guys on the (Apollos) team, 20 don’t make an NFL roster. These guys showed they belonged.

“I’m just saddened for all of us. We were in the team meeting and we were kind of reminiscing and for a lot of guys, they were saying, ‘This is the first time I’ve had fun playing football in a long time.’ This league created that.”

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