Italy-bound Jeff Franklin makes a tackle for Team USA

Every year, American Football Leagues in Europe sign players from the United States to play as 'imports' overseas.  Teams from Finland and Italy have signed top players from the other side of the Atlantic, as reported by Europlayers.

The Seinajoki Crocodiles, a team in the Finnish top division Maple League signed two players from the United States - wide receiver Corey Sonnier and defensive back Chris Holmesly.

Corey Sonnier (5-10, 196), a highly versatile player came to the Crocodiles from the Reggio Emilia Hogs in the Italian Football League this past season. He played wide receiver, running back and handled all returns as well as playing safety on defense.

Corey played at Tulane University and in 2008, his junior year he started every game and led the team in tackles with 86, had one tackle for loss, six pass breakups. He had a career-high 13 tackles against UTEP. Against Alabama, LSU and UAB, Sonnier recorded seven tackles in each game. He was a teammate of Chicago Bears running back Matt Forte.

Born in Wurzburg, Germany, Corey grew up in Friendswood, Texas, and attended Clear Brook High School. He was a second team All-District quarterback which he played for three years.

Chris Holmesly, 5-10, 190, had an outstanding two-year career at Idaho State after moving from Orange Coast Junior College.

As a senior and team captain, he played in all 11 games at safety for the Bengals, finishing second on the team in tackles with 109, and leading all defensive backs in that stats for the second straight year. He was second on the team in both interceptions and fumble recoveries, and he led the team in forced fumbles with five. As a Junior, he was third on the team in total tackles with 82.

The Seinajoki Crocodiles reached the Finnish championship game in 2011.

Another team in the Maple League, the Helsinki Roosters signed Georgia native quarterback Robert Johnson for the 2012 season.

Johnson, 6-2, 218, is returning to the Roosters after a two year absence. He spent the 2011 season with the Catania Elephants in Italy helping the team reach the Italian semifinals. He threw for 2,344 yards and 29 touchdowns. He also carried the ball 77 times for 546 yard scoring 12 touchdowns.

In 2010, Robert led the Porvoo Butchers to the Maple Leauge championship title with his outstanding play for his second Finnish championship in four years having also won in 2007, and led the Roosters in 2008 and 2009. He led the league in passing in both 2008 (5,123 yards) and 2009 (3,655 yards). He set a Maple League record in 2008 for touchdowns with 58.

A Georgia native, Johnson had an outstanding career at Texas Tech. He came to Texas Tech as a quarterback but switched to wide receiver immediately making an impact with 67 receptions for 951 yards and four touchdowns and was named Big 12 Newcomer of the Year.

The Milano Seamen, a team in the Italian Football League, have signed brothers linebacker Alex DiMichele and defensive back Anthony DiMichele for the 2012 season.

Alex, 6-2, 240, was a three year starter at Robert Morris after transferring from Temple. He was the fastest player in school history to reach 200 career tackles (2009) and 300 (2010). He recorded 105 tackles in his senior year and finished his career with 330 tackles.

Anthony, 5-11, 188, played at Holy Cross, during his senior season he was ranked second with 82 tackles. He earned third team All-American honors from the Sports Network and was named First-team All-Patriot League.

The two are younger brothers of Adam DiMichele who played quarterback for Temple before playing in the Canadian Football League. Adam is now with the Philadelphia Soul of the Arena Football League. As a high school quarterback in Pennsylvania, he broke passing records set by Joe Montana, Dan Marino and Joe Namath.

Another team in the Italian Football League, the Martesana Daemons have signed defensive back Jeff Franklin (pictured).

Franklin, a member of the gold-winning Team USA in the 2011 IFAF Senior World Championship, joined the newly promoted Demons to the IFL. He was also named to the IFAF SWC All-Tournament First-Team.

Franklin previously played for the Cincinnati Commandos of the Continental Indoor Football League in 2010 and 2011. He helped the Commandos to amass a 23-1 record and won back to back championships. He was named to the First-Team All-Pro team and was second in voting for Defensive MVP of the league.

Jeff played four years at Central State University where he was a four-year captain and started every game from 2005 to 2009. In 2008, he led the country in interceptions and was ranked 19th in passes defended. The Don Hansen Gazette named Franklin as a First-Team All-American.