Former Vienna Vikings QB signs with Memphis Express of Alliance of American Football

AFI | Alliance of American Football | 02/27/2019

Graphic: Igor Lazarevic

The Memphis Express of the Alliance of American Football have added former Dacia Vienna Vikings quarterback Kevin Burke, to their roster.

Burke had been re-signed for the 2019 season by the Vikings but apparently had attracted the attention of Express head coach Mike Singletary.

The Express have struggled early in the 2019 season falling to 0-3 this past weekend following a 21–17 loss to the Orlando Apollos. Starting quarterback Christian Hackenberg (former NY Jet) was benched in the second half of the game and replaced by Zach Mettenberger who will now take over the starting duties.

Viking’s President Karl Wurm:

“The chance to play in the AAF for the Memphis Express, which incidentally includes our previous year’s wide receiver Reece Horn, is, of course, an option that’s too tempting for a professional player to ignore. We knew Kevin could get offered this opportunity. The fact that the chance actually came, presents us as a club four weeks before the start of the season, of course, with immense challenges. On the other hand, Kevin’s potential commitment in the AAF also speaks of how high the game level in the AFL and how high-class the recruiting of the Vikings is.”

Burke spent part of the 2018 season behind center for the Bern Grizzlies in the Swiss National League, guiding them to the Swiss semifinals.

The 5’11”, 190 lb quarterback led the Vikings to the 2017 Austrian Bowl title beating the Swarco Raiders45-26 in the championship game. In that game, he threw for 375 yards and three touchdowns and led all rushers with 121 yards. Burke had finished the regular season as the second leading passer in Austria with 2,990 and 36 TDs.

He was quarterback of the 2015 USA squad that won the IFAF World Championships in Canton, Ohio. In addition to winning the 2015 World Championship title in 2015, the 24 year old Burke took his college team – the Mount Union Purple Raiders – to three straight NCAA Division III championship games winning the crown in 2012. The , amassed 14,573 total yards of offense and threw for 134 touchdowns in three seasons as the Purple Raiders’starter. Burke was awarded the Gagliardi Trophy in 2014 and 2015 as the most outstanding player in Division III football.