The Alliance of American Football (AAF) was created by CEO Charlie Ebersol to provide
players who wanted another opportunity to play the game of football and to complement the NFL. The AAF delivers a second chance to those athletes who want to show the NFL that they can still play the game at a high level.
Through three weeks of the AAF, every player has shown their competitive fire knowing that this could possibly be their last chance of showing NFL scouts, in live game action, what they are made of.
The Birmingham Iron have won their first three contests thanks in part to a suffocating defense. The team has only allowed 21 points in those games and have stepped up at every turn. On Sunday, the Atlanta Legends had 1st and Goal on the four-yard line, gained three total yards while turning it over on downs. The Iron went on to win 28-12 on the road at Georgia State Stadium. The Iron defense has played so well, they have a cool moniker, the “Iron Curtain.”
Allow me to introduce you to the star of that “Iron Curtain”, defensive back, #26 Jamar Summers.
Summers was a 3-star prospect coming out of Orange, New Jersey according to 247 Sports. Coming out of Milford Academy, a prep school in Berlin, New York, Summers actually was a wide receiver. His high school experience as a WR, explains his elite ball hawking skills, while covering the AAF’s best offensive pass catchers week after week.
After switching positions from WR to playing defensive back at UCONN, he showed the American Conference his talent on the field throughout his four-year career. Summers really hit his stride during his sophomore year in the interception category in 2015. He led the American Conference with 8 interceptions in 13 games including one of those that was taken back for a Huskies’ score. Summers’ 8 INTs were second in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) in 2015. He was tied with former Iowa Hawkeye and now Los Angeles Chargers starting DB Desmond King, who also had 8.
Over the next two years, INTs did not come that often for Summers, but his total tackles improved every single year. He finished with 63 tackles in his senior campaign which was good for 4th on the UCONN defense. His move to Safety came with a change in defensive schemes that started with now new Louisiana Tech defensive coordinator Bob Diaco’s 3-4 scheme to former UCONN defensive coordinator Billy Crocker’s 3-3-5 formation (Crocker was fired after Summers' senior season). Summers was moved to the second team in the spring of his senior season after head coach Randy Edsall wanted to preach consistency throughout spring practice.
The 2017 UCONN squad had a disappointing season under Edsall, finishing 3-9, and Summers only appeared in 10 games, and that led to him falling off the NFL’s radar when it came to NFL Draft time. If Summers would have had his sophomore numbers during his senior season, there is no doubt he would have been looked at more favorably come draft time.
The 2017 NFL Draft came and went. I can only imagine what it is like to not hear your name called for something that you have worked so hard to be able to hear.
Watch this excerpt from an emotional speech by former Oklahoma LB Eric Striker during the 2016 NFL Draft after realizing he would not hear his name called. This is just one example of how well a player responds when he realizes that despite not getting drafted, that does not mean his dream of playing professional football is dead and this experience would not define him.
Summers set out to prove just what Striker described in his draft day speech, that not getting drafted does necessarily mean that your story is over. As an undrafted rookie free agent, Summers was free to sign with any NFL team that offered him and he managed to sign with the Pittsburgh Steelers with an invitation to training camp. Summers was one of two cornerbacks who signed with the Steelers as an undrafted rookie free agent.
After playing with the Steelers throughout the preseason, Summers was one of the last 15 cuts on the Pittsburgh active roster. He did stay in Pittsburgh on the practice squad where he covered the best receiver on the roster in Antonio Brown every day in practice.
Now here comes the opportunity of a new spring league, The Alliance of American Football. The AAF was formed to provide guys like Jamar Summers another chance at playing football. Summers signed with the AAF and since he spent time on the Pittsburgh Steelers, he was assigned to the Birmingham Iron. The Steelers, along with the Cleveland Browns are affiliated with the Iron.
Throughout the preseason, there were rumblings about how much potential this Iron defense had, and the "Iron Curtain" has exceeded those expectations throughout the team's first three games. Summers has given his valuable contribution to this “Iron Curtain" on the back end of this defense. The Iron lead the AAF with 9 total takeaways and seem like they were prime for a few more. Throughout three games, Summers has tallied two INTs along with seven tackles while only allowing a few complete passes all season.
According to Pro Football Focus, Summers rates as the best defensive back through the first three games of the AAF.
He also contributed to the only TD on special teams in Birmingham's second game versus the Salt Lake Stallions with this forced fumble that was recovered in the end zone by former Samford University LB Shaheed Salmon. The Iron went on to win 12-9 at Legion Field.
Summers can impact a game with his premier cornerback play and also with his valuable production on special teams. The Iron are one of only two undefeated teams in the AAF, along with the Steve Spurrier-led Orlando Apollos. If this "Iron Curtain" keeps performing like this, the rest of the AAF needs to watch out.
You will see Jamar Summers on an NFL team playing on Sundays in the fall with the Alliance of American Football in his rearview mirror.
Summers and the Birmingham Iron (3-0) take on the San Antonio Commanders (1-2) at 3:00 pm on Sunday, March 3rd, on CBS Sports Network.
*Disclaimer: Grant works for the Iron's promotional / operations team. He will be there on Sunday.*
Sources:
Sports Reference CFB
247 Sports
Pro Football Focus
Clip provided by ESPN
Alliance of American Football YouTube page
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