Former Magpie Flynn Appleby will be heading to the United States after accepting a full athletic scholarship to study and play Gridiron at Rutgers' University in Piscataway, New Jersey.
Appleby, who played 11 games for Collingwood across three seasons at the club, was delisted by the Magpies at the end of the 2020 season before moving over to North Melbourne in joining their VFL.
The defender was named captain of the Kangaroos' reserves side and gained selection in the 2021 VFL Team of the Year. Appleby averaged 17 disposals, eight marks, and 72.5 fantasy points over eight games.
Over the last few months, Appleby spent time with Pro Kick Australia founder Nathan Chapman and will join Rutgers' when their summer training begins in August.
On New Jersey Local News, the Scarlet Knights seem impressed with their new Australian signing, starting "a red-shirt year likely awaits Appleby, who arrives with four years of eligibility".
So expect to see the former Magpie make his presence known in the next couple of years.
Rutgers' University is famously regarded as the 'birthplace of American Football' as the college hosted the first-ever intercollegiate football game on November 6, 1869.
Rutgers' University is a member of the Eastern Division of the Big Ten Conference, and went 5-7 across the 2021 season.
Appleby was drafted to Collingwood in the 2017 as the sixth overall selection of the Rookie Draft.
