Austin picked up quarterback Adrian McPherson from the Utah Blaze in exchange for future considerations. McPherson played college ball with Florida State (2001-02) and completed 80 of 155 passes for 1,017 yards and 12 TDs with 180 yards rushing in his sophomore season, serving as the Seminoles backup QB. He was selected in the fifth round (152nd overall) of the 2005 NFL draft by the New Orleans Saints and served as the Saints third-string QB for that season. He attended training camp with the Saints in 2006, but was released prior to the regular season. McPherson was named the Arena Football League’s 2004 Rookie of the Year with the Indiana Firebirds. He ran into some trouble with the law for allegedly betting on pro and college football games in the spring of 2003 with his trial ending in a hung jury. Continuing his run of bad luck, the most notable event of his NFL career is being struck by a golf cart driven by the Tennessee Titans mascot, T-Rac, in August of this year. I had no idea the Titans’ macot was a gladiator raccoon. I guess it’s true, raccoons are bad drivers.
This article appears in November 10 • 2006.