College rugby players are still signing with Major League Rugby teams in this week after the first collegiate draft.

As we said in earlier posts, the draft was created in large part to stop a wild scramble among MLR teams as they chased the top prospects. Everyone had to take a number and get in line.

However, once the two rounds of the draft were over, all teams could try to sign the players who hadn't been drafted.

As several have pointed out, this can turn out to be a net benefit for the player involved. He has more of a choice on what city he moves to, and might also have a bit of a bargaining position. (The money teams are paying is not much at all, but teams can help in other ways which might be part of a player's requirements to sign.)

Among the notable signings this week are two scrumhalves, Connor Buckley and Tom Brusati. Buckley, the Iona College sparkplug and Scholz Award finalist, was a surprise undrafted play over the weekend. This was in part because the team that wanted him, RUNY, traded away their picks to Dallas. The backstory to this is that RUNY thought a team that picked before them was going to take Buckley, so RUNY bowed out. Then Buckley wasn't taken, and no one else was prepared to snap him up.

So the upshot was that Buckley has signed him RUNY anyway. He still has coursework to finish at Iona, so it was apparent he wanted to stay in the New York area.

Brusati played 24 D1A games for Saint Mary's over the past three years, including seven this truncated season—he was California All-Conference this year, too.

California Conference Names All-Conference Players

He was a wing and then a scrumhalf for the Gaels. A really effective #9, he was put on the wing when Sean Yacoubian landed at Moraga, and the coaches still wanted Brusati on the field. Tenacious and aggressive, he is a clutch performer. Of his 11 tries scored over the last three seasons, eight were against ranked opponents, including Cal, UCLA, and Grand Canyon. This week, New England signed Brusati in a smart move to get a hardworking young player who will fit in nicely with the Free Jacks.

Next on the list? Well there is still heavy expectation that Cam Dodson will sign, he is being courted by several teams, and not all in the MLR (so we understand). The English No. 8/lock was our pick to go #1, but a rumor that he was ineligible took too long to quash, and that incorrect info, along with his needing a visa, scared off teams. Another Grand Canyon player, Lincoln Sii, would be an excellent addition to any team, so we expect to see someone sign him.

(Meanwhile, San Diego has signed longtime England star and former captain Chris Robshaw. This would fall under the locker-room player-coach category of signings. Once again, we have to say that such a signing doesn't really bring in fans, but it could do wonders for team unity and adhering to standards.) 

Other players who have something to give and who weren't drafted:

Calvin Gentry, University of Memphis. A strong, intelligent rugby player who was a star for the USA South U19s some years ago, he's not that much different in quality from some other centers who were drafted.

Campbell Robinson, Kennesaw State. Robinson, who could be a lock or blindside flanker, is a Georgia native (state of, not republic of) and seemed a really good fit for Rugby ATL.

DaQuan Perry, Kutztown. A smallish flanker but one with a ton of pace. As the game evolves we are going to see a few players who can jump between back and forward. A flanker/wing might be Perry's future.

Matt Rogers, Arizona. Not as much of a classic scrumhalf as Buckley, Rogers is still a very intriguing athletic package.

Jeremy Brown, Texas A&M. Brown is one of those players who had settled into a role at his college and who might need to learn multiple positions in the pros. He is capable of doing that. Exciting and smart fullback.

Ani Mteto, Lindenwood. Thought to be one of the surprises of the draft, he slipped through because he's not a US citizen. Excellent fullback; very good kicker.

Jacob Goeppner, Kentucky. Another good fulback. Tough position to get signed for unless you can also show you're a wing, a center, a flyhalf, or, preferably, all three.

Darren Chan, Northeastern. Yes, we're still singing his praises. Great locker room guy.

Ken Kurihara, Cal. Like Chan, a good leader, an effective scrumhalf, and a good goalkicker. Unlike Chan, he takes up a foreigner spot.

Harry masrters, Mary Washington. Kind of a mix flyhalf/scrumhalf. Not a US Citizen, so again there's the foreigner spot/visa issue.

Eric Naposki, UCLA. A smallish but very elusive wing.

Tanner Wraa, UC Davis. A hooker we overlooked but who has a very high athletic upside.

Chance Horvath, Chico State. A versatile and tough loose forward.

Kelly Fernandi, Virginia Tech. One of several solid D1A and D1AA locks not taken.

Sam Ciancutti, Bowling Green. See what we said about Fernandi.

Michael Johnson, Indiana. Ditto.

Nick Hryekewicz, Saint Mary's. Another hooker with potential.

Matt Mairowitz, Life. It was a bit of a surprise that this flyhalf/center didn't get much interest.

Leon Patel-Champion, Penn State. Another very good hooker. Takes up a foreigner spot, though.

Joey Freeman, Penn State. One of several loose forwards who do good work and could easily have drawn more interest.

Joe Rusert-Cuddy, Colorado State. Same as Freeman, except he graduates in 2021.

Jack Miller, Colorado. Like Rusert-Cuddy and Freeman. All very good players.

Jack Russell, Wisconsin. Two Joes and two Jacks. All four are the types of players, athletically, emotionally, and skill-wise, that should at least get some consideration.

Max Coduti, Notre Dame. Another prop who could be helpful to a team.

Kareem Odeh, Life University. Stock fell before the draft, but he still has a shot.

Matt Davey, Indiana. In the same boat as Coduti.

Noah Niumataiwalu, St.Joe's. It's just really difficult for a flyhalf to get a look. That said, a couple have, and this is a champion-level son of an Eagle who understands the game.