USFL MVP WR/KR KaVontae Turpin is headed to the NFC Pro Bowl as the #1 vote-getting returner on special teams. Turpin has had an amazing 2022, taking the USFL by storm with the New Jersey Generals, and then becoming a star for the Dallas Cowboys.

With the Boys, KaVontae Turpin has 713 All-Purpose Yards on the season and has an outside chance of surpassing the 1000 Yard threshold. He hasn’t scored a touchdown yet during the regular season. He did score two return touchdowns in the preseason.

However, through 14 games, Turpin has averaged 23.7 yards on 18 kick returns with a long of 63 yards, and 11.9 yards on 22 punt returns. Turpin has had two returns over 40 yards, and 14 over 20. As the season has progressed, several opposing teams have kicked the ball away from KaVontae out of fear of him breaking the big one. Perhaps that’s why Turpin is the leading vote-getter in the NFC from not only fans, and fellow players, but coaches as well.

KaVontae Turpin’s Redemption Ride From The USFL To The NFL

Turpin, a 25-year-old product of TCU, was a force both as a receiver and kick returner for the New Jersey Generals.  He was a threat to score every time he touched the ball; the versatile Turpin was an explosive playmaker who helped the Generals become the league’s top-rated offense on their way to a 9-1 regular season. KaVontae led the league in receiving yards (540) and Yards After Catch (316). He accomplished this despite being targeted only 53 times, well behind league-leader Lance Lenoir of Michigan (88 targets), who coincidentally has signed on with Cowboys’ rival, the Philadelphia Eagles this summer.

Turpin, appeared in 10 games, with the Generals, registering 44 receptions for 540 yards (led the league), 4 receiving touchdowns (second in the league), 23 carries for 129 yards, and one rushing touchdown, He accumulated 921 all-purpose yards, 12 punt returns for 184 yards and one touchdown. He was named the league MVP of the inaugural USFL season.^[

Turpin is one of nearly 60 USFL players who signed NFL contracts in 2022. 21 of those players currently reside on NFL rosters as the league pushes toward Week 16 of the 2022 season. But there was never any doubt from the moment, the USFL season ended, that KaVontae Turpin was headed toward stardom in the NFL.

Fittingly, enough the USFL’s biggest star in 2022 ended up in the lone star state with the Dallas Cowboys. Dallas signed Turpin to an unprecedented three-year contract. A testament to their belief in a player who was fighting for his professional life only a few short years ago.

KaVontae Turpin was a dynamic and record-setting playmaker in college at TCU. But off-field issues where he was arrested twice and pleaded guilty to domestic violence charges ended up with him being kicked out of school.

Undrafted and unsigned out of college by NFL teams in 2019, with red flags attached to him, due to his off-field troubles, Turpin was left with nowhere to play for nearly two years.

In 2021, He ended up playing and starring for half a season in the European League of Football and with the Sea Lions in the Spring League (a precursor to the USFL in 2022).

Alternative Pro Football Leagues like the USFL afford players the opportunity to begin or continue their pro careers. The USFL gave KaVontae Turpin a second chance, and it’s led to his first chance in the NFL.