AAF's starting quarterbacks are names you will recognize - USA TODAY

Kevin Allen USA TODAY

Published 10:08 AM EST Feb 13, 2019

Garrett Gilbert had been cut by five different NFL teams and he hadn't started a regular-season game since he was SMU's quarterback in 2013. He was wondering whether it was time to have the conversation with himself about life after football.

Instead, the 27-year-old Gilbert finds himself playing for the Orlando Apollos as one of the eight starting quarterbacks in the much-talked-about Alliance of American Football (AAF).

"I truly don't know what's next," Gilbert told USA TODAY Sports. "But this will delay that decision-making process a little bit longer."

Like many players in the league, Gilbert seeks attention from the NFL. He completed two passes for the Carolina Panthers last season as an injury replacement and he wants another shot. But it isn't the AAF's only lure.

"It's fun to play football in a meaningful environment," Gilbert said. "It's been a while."

The early reviews of the AAF, considered a complementary league to the NFL, is that the compete level is high, the execution is sharp and the hitting is hard.

"It felt like pro football," Gilbert said of first-week action. "I think many of these guys can play, and many have played, NFL football."

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Gilbert said what he noticed immediately "was the fantastic job the league did in getting coaches with great pedigrees." That includes in Orlando where Gilbert plays for the creative, colorful Steve Spurrier, who, at 73, has returned to football with his bag of trick plays.

In week one, Gilbert threw for 227 yards and two touchdowns. He also caught TD pass — his first reception since high school. That's the level of trickery you get with Spurrier, who had coached in college for 26 years, most recently with South Carolina in 2015.

"I thought it was great timing on the call ... other than the fact that we hadn't hit it all week in practice," Gilbert joked.

Working for Spurrier is a perk for Gilbert. "He's been out of football, but he hasn't been far away from it," Gilbert said. "He's still sharp, and brings new ideas to the table. You get instant credibility with a guy like that. It's been a lot of fun."

Here's a look at other potential starters for Week 2 of the AAF season:

►John Wolford, Arizona Hotshots: The former Wake Forest star was the talk of the AAF after throwing for 275 yards and four touchdown passes in the 38-22 win against the Salt Lake Stallions. Wolford wasn’t even supposed to be the starter. Trevor Knight was Arizona’s first-round draft choice.

►Luis Perez, Birmingham Iron: The Los Angeles Rams may have been hasty when they cut Perez last fall. He was among the AAF’s most impressive players in Week 1, throwing for 252 yards in a 26-0 win against the Memphis Express. Perez threw 78 touchdown passes in his two seasons at Texas A&M-Commerce, where he led the school to its first Division II national championship.

►Logan Woodside, San Antonio Commanders: The Commanders drafted two other quarterbacks (Dustin Vaughn and Marquise Williams) before selecting the former Cincinnati Bengals draft pick. Woodside, the 2017 Mid-American Conference Player of the Year, threw for 255 yards and two interceptions in his debut.

►Josh Woodrum, Salt Lake Stallions: At 26, Woodrum has been cut five times by NFL teams. He won the starter’s job in Salt Lake but suffered a hamstring injury that kept him out of the second half of the team’s opener. His backup is Matt Linehan, the former Idaho standout and son of NFL coach Scott Linehan. Matt completed 7 of 13 passes for 56 yards and a touchdown.

►Christian Hackenberg, Memphis Express: Coach Mike Singletary is sticking with Hackenberg despite a rough AAF debut. He was pulled in the fourth quarter of the season opener after completing 10 of 23 passes with an interception. The New York Jets' 2016 second-round pick hasn't measured up in the NFL. But he is still only 23.

►Philip Nelson, San Diego Fleet: Coach Mike Martz said after Week 1 that Nelson would start in Week 2. He relieved Mike Bercovici and completed 5 of 10 passes for 68 yards and an interception. Nelson played college football at Minnesota and East Carolina. He transferred to Rutgers after two years at Minnesota, but he never played there. He was booted from the Rutgers team after being involved in a bar fight that left a person with a permanent brain injury. Nelson received probation after pleading guilty to fifth-degree assault.

►Matt Simms, Atlanta Legends: The son of former NFL star Phil Simms was the starter in Week 1, but his struggles (15 for 28 passing, 126 yards, one interception) in Week 1 opens the door for former Georgia quarterback Aaron Murray to end up with the job. Murray is a football analyst for CBS.

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