WATCH: USFL player smokes cigarette while performing drills, fans react to viral video

The USFL aims to separate itself from the countless spring leagues that attempted to attain relevancy during the NFL's dead off-season period. From using drones to follow kickoffs and field goal attempts and the tracking technology in footballs that hasn't exactly been a hit with players to using three-point conversions, the USFL is doing everything it can to stand out.

The players are too.

In an act that turned out to be a genius PR move for the league, former Florida State Seminoles linebacker and NFL veteran Reggie Northrup, now on the Houston Gamblers, went full-blown Paul Crewe from the Longest Yard and had a cigarette in his mouth during practice. Or so we thought.

Northrup revealed to Saturday Down South that it was a prop cigarette:

“Alright everybody, I know all y’all are wondering where the cigarette come from. But listen, I do not smoke cigarettes, first and foremost... But this cigarette is a prop cigarette, it’s not real, but it’s an attitude. It’s a symbolism and an attitude. It’s an attitude that I come out here on this football field and it’s time to work today.”

Northrup's unusual reasoning for having a fake cigarette in his mouth predictably set off a social media firestorm.

One fan was charmed by the stunt:

Meanwhile, this Twitter user was already a believer in Northrup's skills before seeing him flex his attitude:

Northrup has left enough of a legacy already to have people call this a 'Reggie Northrup' thing:

Another fan went as far as calling him the G.O.A.T through an emoji.:

This fan wondered why De'Veon Smith was cut from the Maulers for refusing cafeteria food when Northrup's antics were allowed on the practice field:

These fans caught the Longest Yard reference:

The USFL can't be upset about this if it has added a few fans...

However, not everyone was impressed.

Reggie Northrup's Gamblers take on Stallions on USFL Saturday night football

For fans who may want to see how the linebacker/MMA fighter follows up this stunt, they'll have a chance to catch him play when the Houston Gamblers take on the only true home team of the start-up league, the Birmingham Stallions, on Saturday at 7 pm ET.