Former CFL quarterback Dakota Prukop has officially signed with the New Jersey Generals of the USFL.
The six-foot-one, 208-pound passer spent this past season as the third-stringer with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, throwing for 181 yards and two touchdowns over 12 regular season games. He was also active in the run game as the team’s short-yardage quarterback, rushing 53 times for 209 yards and six touchdowns.
The 29-year-old broke into the CFL as a member of the Toronto Argonauts in 2017 and spent three seasons with the team, throwing for 284 yards, three touchdowns, and two interceptions. He started the club’s regular season finale in 2019, dropping the contest to the Hamilton Tiger-Cats by a score of 21-18.
The native of Newport, Calif. signed with the Calgary Stampeders in 2020 but never dressed for the team as the season was cancelled due to the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. He signed with the Edmonton Elks in 2021 and dressed for eight regular season games, throwing for 183 yards, one touchdown, and two interceptions.
Prukop dressed for six games as a senior with the University of Oregon Ducks in 2016 and completed 65.7 percent of his passes for 1,214 yards, eight touchdowns, and two interceptions. He previously played at Montana State (2013-15) where he threw for 5,584 yards, 46 touchdowns, and 16 interceptions.
New Jersey’s head coach is Mike Riley, who served as the defensive backs coach with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers for three seasons (1983-85) under Cal Murphy, winning a Grey Cup in 1984. He returned to the team as its head coach for four seasons at the end of the decade and won two more Grey Cups in 1988 and 1990.
Riley departed the league in 1991 to become the head coach of the San Antonio Riders of the World League of American Football (WLAF), which was later renamed NFL Europe. He eventually became the head coach of the San Diego Chargers (1999-2001) before stints as the bench boss at Oregon State (2003-14) and Nebraska (2015-17).
