New Jersey Generals (2022)
The New Jersey Generals are a professional American football team based in New Jersey. The Generals compete in the United States Football League (USFL) as a member club of the league's North division. The team plays its home games in Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium in Canton, Ohio. The stadium is shared with the Pittsburgh Maulers.
| New Jersey Generals | |
|---|---|
 Current season | |
| Established 2021 Play in Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium in Canton, Ohio https://twitter.com/USFLGenerals | |
 | |
| League/conference affiliations | |
United States Football League (2022–present)
| |
Current uniform | |
| Team colors | Scarlet red, navy blue, gold, white |
| Mascot | General Jersey |
| Personnel | |
| Owner(s) | National Spring Football League Enterprises Co, LLC, (Fox Sports) |
| General manager | Billy Devaney |
| Head coach | Mike Riley |
| Team history | |
| |
| Championships | |
| League championships (0) | |
| Conference championships (0) | |
| Division championships (1) 2022 | |
| Playoff appearances (1) | |
| 2022 | |
| Home stadium(s) | |
| |
The Generals were one of eight teams that joined the USFL in 2022, and they are one of seven of that group still existing. They currently are the only team to have a Most Valuable Player (MVP) award winner, KaVontae Turpin (2022).
History
The New Jersey Generals were one of eight teams that were officially announced as a USFL franchise on The Herd with Colin Cowherd on November 22, 2021.[1] USFL co-founder Brian Woods had been using the Generals brand for teams in The Spring League since 2019.[2] On January 6, 2022, it was announced on The Herd with Colin Cowherd that former NFL, AAF, and NCAA Football Head coach Mike Riley was named the Head coach and General manager of the Generals.[3]
The team was placed to select fourth overall in the 2022 USFL Draft, where they selected Ben Holmes. Holmes was injured in training camp and ultimately released, but this allowed for the Generals to sign Luis Perez,[4] who impressed during the season, starting only 6 games, finishing in the top 5 in passing yards and touchdowns. The Generals also selected KaVontae Turpin as their top receiver, who lead the USFL in receiving yards (540), coupled with 4 touchdowns. He was also selected as to the All-USFL Team, alongside fellow teammates Darius Victor, Terry Poole, Garrett McGhin, Toby Johnson and Shalom Luani in addition to winning USFL Most Valuable Player Award.[5][6] The Generals won the top seed in the North Division with a 9–1 record.[7] Despite the top seed in the North Division, the Generals were upset by the Philadelphia Stars, 19–14 in the North Division Championship Game.[8]
On October 18, 2022, the team hired Billy Devaney as the team's general manager.[9]
Championships
Division championships
| Year | Coach | Record |
|---|---|---|
| 2022 | Mike Riley | 9–1 |
| Total Division Championships won: 1 | ||
Players
Current roster
Initially, each team carried a 38-man active roster and a 7-man practice squad, but the rosters were increased to 40 active players and 50 total in May, 2022.[10][11]
| Quarterbacks
Running backs Wide receivers
Tight ends
|
Offensive linemen
Defensive linemen
|
Linebackers
Defensive backs
Special teams
|
Reserve lists
Inactive roster
|
USFL MVP award winners
| Generals USFL MVP winners | |||
| Year | Player | Position | Selector |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | KaVontae Turpin | WR | USFL |
USFL Offensive Player of the Year award winners
| Generals USFL OPOY winners | |||
| Year | Player | Position | Selector |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | Darius Victor | RB | USFL |
Coaches
Current staff
Front office
Head coaches
Offensive coaches
|
Defensive coaches
| |||||
Statistics and records
Season-by-season record
Note: The Finish, Wins, Losses, and Ties columns list regular season results and exclude any postseason play.
| USFL champions | Division champions | Wild Card berth |
| Season | Team | League | Division | Regular season | Postseason results | Awards | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Finish | Wins | Losses | Ties | Pct | ||||||||
| 2022 | 2022 | USFL | North | 1st | 9 | 1 | 0 | .900 | Lost Division Finals (Stars) 14–19 | KaVontae Turpin (MVP) Darius Victor (OPOY) Mike Riley (COY) | ||
| 2023 | 2023 | USFL | North | 2 | 2 | 0 | .500 | – | – | |||
| Totals | 11 | 3 | 0 | .786 | (2022–2023, regular season) | |||||||
| 0 | 1 | — | .000 | (2022–2023, playoffs) | ||||||||
| 11 | 4 | 0 | .733 | (2022–2023, regular season and playoffs) | ||||||||
Records
| All-time Generals leaders | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Leader | Player | Record | Years with Generals | |
| Passing | Luis Perez | 1,200 passing yards | 2022 | |
| Rushing | Trey Williams | 579 rushing yards | 2022 | |
| Receiving | KaVontae Turpin | 540 receiving yards | 2022 | |
| Coaching wins | Mike Riley | 9 wins | 2022 | |
| Sacks | Toby Johnson | 2.0 sacks | 2022 | |
| Interceptions | Shalom Luani | 5 interceptions | 2022 | |
References
- "USFL unveils team cities, nicknames and logos for 2022 debut". FOX Sports. Retrieved 2021-12-18.
- "The Spring League Brands Team as Austin Generals in Homage to Host City". The Spring League. March 18, 2019.
- Stephan Rachuk (January 6, 2022). "USFL Officially Reveals the First Four Head Coaches on The Herd". Pro Football Newsroom. Retrieved January 6, 2022.
- Mike Mitchell (April 1, 2022). "USFL: New Jersey Generals Release Injured First Round QB Ben Holmes, Sign Luis Perez". www.usflnewshub.com. USFL News Hub. Retrieved February 23, 2023.
- Clinton, Bryan (2022-06-22). "Former TCU WR KaVontae Turpin Wins USFL MVP". Heartland College Sports - An Independent Big 12 Today Blog | College Football News | Big 12 Today. Retrieved 2022-06-26.
- "USFL Awards 2022: Generals WR KaVontae Turpin named MVP". USFL. 2022-06-22. Retrieved 2022-06-26.
- "USFL Week 7: Generals top Bandits, clinch playoff spot". www.foxsports.com. Fox Media LLC and Fox Sports Interactive Media, LLC. May 28, 2022. Retrieved February 23, 2023.
- Josh Frketic (June 25, 2022). "Stars pull upset on Generals to punch ticket to USFL Championship". www.wkbn.com. Nexstar Media Inc. Retrieved February 23, 2023.
- "USFL Hires New General Managers for Two Teams". www.oursportscentral.com. OurSports Central. October 18, 2022. Retrieved February 23, 2023.
- "USFL to have a "player selection meeting" on February 22–23". ProFootballTalk. 2022-01-04. Retrieved 2022-01-05.
- "USFL expands game-day rosters by two, total rosters by five". ProFootballTalk. 2022-05-18. Retrieved 2022-06-01.