Vegas Vipers QB learned under Aaron Rodgers with Packers
A large contingent of Raiders fans is hoping Aaron Rodgers decides to play football in Las Vegas.
One of his former understudies has already arrived.
Brett Hundley was a late training camp addition to the XFL’s Vegas Vipers and could play in Saturday’s season opener at the Arlington Renegades.
Hundley, who left UCLA as the school’s all-time leader in touchdown passes, backed up Rodgers with the Packers from 2015 to 2017 and started nine games in 2017 after Rodgers suffered a broken collarbone.
“I learned a lot from him,” Hundley said of his time with Rodgers. “Good friend and good brother. How to be a pro is one of the biggest things I learned from him. How to carry yourself, how to lead. I attribute a lot of what I do as a quarterback to my days in Green Bay. Quarterback school with (Mike) McCarthy, with Aaron, tutoring under him for three years. My game is sort of built around learning from him.”
Hundley, 29, also spent time with the Seahawks, Cardinals, Colts, Ravens and Saints. His last appearance in an NFL regular-season game was with Arizona in 2019.
That’s part of what brought Hundley to the Vipers when his contract with the Ravens expired last month.
“I think just to play,” he said of the thought process of joining the XFL. “I’ve always loved the game of football. I have a passion to play … that’s the biggest thing for me is to get out there and have some fun and get the feeling of live action again.”
Hundley might get that opportunity Saturday, even though he has had only two weeks to learn offensive coordinator Duane Taylor’s system.
“He may take a few snaps in the game,” Taylor said. “He’s picking up everything. He’s so detail-oriented, so it’s been nothing for him to understand everything we want to do. It’s just a matter of translating the lingo that we use into something he’s been familiar with in the past.”
Luis Perez, who has had success in several spring football leagues, is expected to start at quarterback. Jalan McClendon offers a dynamic skill set with his threat as a rusher to complete the quarterback room.
“The (quarterback room) is awesome,” Hundley said. “They’re an amazing group of guys. Happy to be with them and happy to get rolling. (I feel like I bring) experience and energy … being in the league (NFL) for this long.”
Hundley said the closest system he has played in to what the Vipers will employ was the spread offense of Noel Mazzone at UCLA. His enjoyment of that system along with the NFL experience of the coaching staff were helpful in drawing him to the Vipers.
He cited some of the league’s other top players for sparking his interest in the XFL.
“You have Josh Gordon, Paxton Lynch, Vic Beasley, Geronimo Allison (whom he played with on the Packers), all these guys,” Hundley said. “These are guys I’ve played around and played with.
“It’s a cool opportunity to have this mix of guys who have played in the NFL and then this group that is right there on the cusp still fighting for that chance and to see their excitement and their want to for this.”
Contact Adam Hill at ahill@reviewjournal.com. Follow @AdamHillLVRJ on Twitter.