ELMA, N.Y. - Thanks to the XFL draft, John Kling is once again a professional football player - much to the delight of the students he teaches in Depew.

"I always get the 'did you play football? Do you play football" questions," says Kling, who stands 6'8". "Then it's always the 'who do you play for?' Once they find out, you have to bring the class together and say 'that's cool, but we gotta learn. We gotta do something.'"

Up until now, Kling's pro career consisted of a training camp with the Bears, two camps with the Redskins, and a stay on Washington's practice squad. His last professional snap came with the now-defunct AAF in February. A traumatic injury cut short his season, shortly before the league folded.

"I remember saying 'damn that hurt.' My foot was turned 50 degrees to the left. I'm like 'shoot,'" he says. "More colorful language."

Kling says the nasty-looking injury could have been much worse - he underwent surgery two days later to repair a broken fibula and two torn ligaments. The Depew graduate pushed through the pain with deeper concerns on his mind.

"The first thing I thought was 'oh my God. I hope I'm not done playing football,'" he says. "You'll hear coaches say all the time 'play every down like it's your last. It's kinda in one ear and out the other. It's not going to happen to me. "

Kling was back in the weight room two months later. Soon after, he was physically cleared, and the XFL told his agent that teams were interested in his services. 

"I was excited to play football again," he says. "Do anything football-related again. The weightroom's great, weights are great, but there's nothing like actually getting out there."

The Cheektowaga native thought he stood a decent chance of getting drafted.

"Cautiously optimisic," Kling thought. "I was actually doing some work on my computer, and I had the draft up on my second monitor, just watching it. My phone went off, I got the call saying 'make sure you pick up the phone.'"

The next call came from the New York Guardians, who let him know that he had been taken in the sixth round of the XFL's offensive line draft.

"It's a dream come true. Anytime you can still pursue your dreams, do what you want to do," he says. "There's gonna be plenty of time to do a normal nine-to-five job. It's not often you get to play football."

When Kling finishes his Master's, he'll pursue a full-time career in physical education. In the meantime, he has a season to get ready for in 2020.