AAFL hopefuls make first impression
Posted on Sunday, January 6, 2008
CONWAY — For the 100-plus players who showed up Saturday at Central Arkansas ’ football facility, the goals were simple: Get loose, get noticed and, hopefully, get paid.
This invitation-only workout for Arkansas’ All-American Football League franchise was the team’s first step in formulating a final roster for the April 12 season opener against Texas. The six teams in the first-year league have until Jan. 18 to submit a minimum of 15 “protected” players from the pool of available talent. Those not protected will be eligible for the AAFL’s Jan. 25 draft, which will take place in Atlanta.
Protected players must hold a degree from a college within that team’s state or, in the case of some teams, an adjacent territory assigned by the league. The AAFL has granted the Arkansas franchise Louisiana as an additional territory.
Getting slapped with the “protected” tag was on the mind of each player working out Saturday, and for good reason. Safely making an AAFL roster guarantees a base salary of $ 55, 000, and while that’s not NFL money, it’s hardly chump change for would-be pros on the outside looking in.
“There’s not a lot of jobs out there that start at that,” said former UCA tight end Landon Trusty (Hot Springs Lakeside ), who spent time in the NFL with the Dallas Cowboys, Denver Broncos and San Diego Chargers.
Another roster hopeful attracted by the chance to make a living while getting noticed by the NFL was former Clemson wide receiver Kevin Youngblood.
“A degree doesn’t guarantee a $ 50, 000-, $ 60, 000 job unless you’re an engineer or in computer science or something,” Youngblood said. “It’ll help a lot of people out, especially those who haven’t gotten a chance to showcase their skills on the next level.” Arkansas Coach Ron Calcagni organized the workouts after attending league-wide combines in franchise cities such as Knoxville, Tenn., and Houston. Having a select group of players working in front of the Arkansas coaching staff will give the team a clearer direction on building a roster, Calcagni said.
“This [workout ] is to start the process of our protected list,” Calcagni said. “We want to come out of this with some players we can look toward with the protected list.” Much of Calcagni’s evaluations at the league combines took place before he was able to hire assistant coaches, and Saturday was the first official chance for the franchise to evaluate players with a full coaching staff on hand.
With Calcagni’s experience being mostly on offense — he quarterbacked the Arkansas Razorbacks in the late 1970 s and later was an offensive assistant at Oklahoma, Oklahoma State and other programs — the job of zeroing in on defensive prospects falls to defensive coordinator Pete Kuharcheck.
“We’re on the same page,” Calcagni said. “We’ve got very capable guys with many years of coaching experience, but it all comes down to having the right players.” Calcagni won’t sweat the quarterback position, with former Razorbacks and Dallas Cowboys quarterback Clint Stoerner already with the team. Stoerner threw some Saturday and said he feels on schedule to be in football shape when the team breaks for its March training camp in Mobile, Ala.
“I haven’t been on the field in the last six months, but I’m fine,” said Stoerner, who last played for the Nashville Kats of the Arena Football League. “I haven’t been completely inactive. Could I be in better shape ? Sure. But as far as playing quarterback, I’ll be ready.” Most of the players who showed up Saturday didn’t have the same sort of guarantee Stoerner does, making a good showing more important. As Trusty pointed out, working as an every-down player in the AAFL could be a better career move than languishing near the bottom of an NFL roster.
“Everybody out here would rather play in the NFL,” Trusty said. “If you’re on the practice squad [in the NFL ], yeah, you’re in the NFL, but the other teams out there can’t see what you’re doing. This is a great opportunity for guys that got overlooked.”
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