Tyrone joint-manager Feargal Logan says he is thanking his lucky stars that goalkeeper Niall Morgan is not part of the NFL's international pathway and is remaining on inter-county duty after an influential display in their Allianz League win over Roscommon on Sunday.
Four Irish athletes will take part in the NFL International Player Pathway class of 2024 training camp at Florida's IMG Academy in February with a view to impressing American football's preeminent scouts as prospective punters and kickers.
That quartet includes three Gaelic footballers: Monaghan goalkeeper Rory Beggan, Wicklow goalkeeper Mark Jackson and Down's Charlie Smyth.
Morgan could have been among that number but ultimately the opportunity did not arise for him to tread the same route this year and he played his part as 14-man Tyrone saw off Roscommon by a 0-17 to 1-11 margin at Healy Park in the opening round of Division 1.
Speaking to RTÉ Sport, Logan was effusive in his praise of Morgan's performance and emphasised his delight that the 32-year-old would be part of the panel going forward.
"God bless the NFL that Niall's not sitting out in America, lads, because for my money he's one of the best footballers and indeed, the best goalkeeper," he said.
"He's amongst the top of them (goalkeepers) but he had a super performance today and we're just so glad that Niall's stayed with it and he showed his value today under high balls, breaking out.
"He's a super footballer, whatever about a goalkeeper, so we're just so glad that he's here."
Logan was also impressed by the impact Tyrone's youngsters made against Roscommon as they filled a gap amid retirements and injuries from the off-season.
"We might not have had much of a choice about it but they paid it back in spades," he said, namechecking Ciaran Daly and Ben Cullen.
"They dug in deep for Tyrone today, typical Tyrone win, man down and dug it out, so we're just glad that we're back to the real Tyrone that we loved over all the years."
On the straight red card shown to Conn Kilpatrick early in the second half, he added that, "It looked as though it was a challenge for the ball (but it was) just marginally late. But we'll have to look at it in the colder light of day on video and see where we go with it from here."
Watch Mayo v Dublin in the Allianz Football League on Saturday from 7.15pm on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player, follow a live blog on rte.ie/sport and the RTÉ News app and listen to updates on Saturday Sport on RTÉ Radio 1
Watch highlights on Allianz League Sunday on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player from 9.30pm, follow a live blog every Sunday afternoon on rte.ie/sport and the RTÉ News app and listen to live updates on Sunday Sport
