Another Competitor of the NFL: UFL Holds Draft
by Dane Noble on Jun 19, 2009 10:58 AM CDT
41 comments
Over the years, we have seen numerous attempts by professional football leagues to compete with the NFL. On one hand, there can never be enough football, especially in some larger markets who are unserved by the NFL. On the other hand, we can expect the best talent to remain in the NFL, with the castaways being relegated to the spinoff leagues. Enter the Universal Football League. Jim Fassell, Ted Cottrell, Jim Haslett, and Dennis Green will be the head coaches, and the UFL has just held their "Premier Season Draft".
Play will begin in October, with the Championship game held Thanksgiving weekend. Games will tentatively be held on Thursday and Friday evenings. Check out their website if you are interested in learning more.
So far, the rosters are as follows. You will recognize a lot of the players.
| UFL LAS VEGAS | |
| DB | ARCHULETA, ADAM (ARIZONA STATE) |
| DE | AWASOM, ADRIAN (NORTH TEXAS) |
| P | BAUGHER, DANNY (ARIZONA) |
| OG | BOONE, JASON (UTAH) |
| NT | BRYANT, WENDELL (WISCONSIN-MADISON) |
| LB | BUTLER, EZRA (NEVADA) |
| DB | DADA, WALE (WASHINGTON STATE) |
| T | GAUSE, GEORGE (SOUTH CAROLINA) |
| DB | GAUSE, PAUL (SETON HALL) |
| K | JACAS, ANDREW (FORT VALLEY STATE) |
| TE | JACKSON, NATE (MENLO COLLEGE) |
| T | JOYCE, BRANDON (ILLINOIS STATE) |
| WR | KIRCUS, DAVID (GRAND VALLEY STATE) |
| TE | KUHN, SCOTT (LOUISVILLE) |
| NT | LONG, GABE (UTAH) |
| LB | MOORE, BRANDON (OKLAHOMA) |
| RB | PALMER, RONNIE (ARIZONA) |
| LB | STILLS, GARY (WEST VIRGINIA) |
| RB | THOMPSON, TYSON (SAN JOSE STATE) |
| WR | THURMAN, ANDRAE (SOUTHERN OREGON) |
| LB | TOAL, BRIAN (BOSTON COLLEGE) |
| DB | TURNBULL, NICK (FLORIDA INTERNATIONAL) |
| DB | WILLIAMS, CHAZ (OREGON) |
| RB | WHITEHEAD, TERRENCE (OREGON) |
| UFL NEW YORK | |
| QB | BACHER, CJ (NORTHWESTERN) |
| DB | BROWN, TREY (UCLA) |
| DB | CELESTIN, OLIVER (TEXAS SOUTHERN) |
| NT | CLEBERT, RICHARD (SOUTH FLORIDA) |
| DE | FOUNTAIN, MAURICE (CLEMSON) |
| TE | GHENT, RONNIE (LOUISVILLE) |
| RB | GROSS, TYRONNE (EASTERN OREGON) |
| T | GUTEKUNST, SAM (GERMANY) |
| C | HARVEY, JASPER (SAN DIEGO STATE) |
| QB | JOHNSON, BRIAN (UTAH) |
| WR | KINOSHITA, NORIAKI (JAPAN) |
| DB | LOFTON, DAVID (STANFORD) |
| LB | MAGRO, MARC (WEST VIRGINIA) |
| DB | MAZE, TERELL (SAN DIEGO STATE) |
| T | NORELL, RAY (BUFFALO) |
| T | PRUNEDA, RAMIRO (MONTEREY TECH) |
| RB | RUBIN, JOE (PORTLAND STATE) |
| WR | SANDERS, STEVE (BOWLING GREEN) |
| RB | SAPP, CECIL (COLORADO STATE) |
| NT | SAVE, BRYAN (COLORADO STATE) |
| DE | SPICER, MICHALE (WESTERN CAROLINA) |
| RB | TOEFIELD, LABRANDON (LSU) |
| LB | WILLIAMS, NATHAN (MURRAY STATE) |
| RB | WOODS, SHANNON (TEXAS TECH) |
| UFL ORLANDO | |
| NT | BLEDSOE, FRED (ARKANSAS) |
| QB | BOLLINGER, BROOKS (WISCONSIN) |
| FB | CRUZ, RONNIE (NORTHERN STATE-SD) |
| DB | DOSS, MIKE (OHIO STATE) |
| DB | FASSITT, GREG (GRAMBLING) |
| WR | GESSNER, CHAS (BROWN) |
| TE | HEINRICH, KEITH (SAM HOUSTON STATE) |
| NT | LONG, RIEN (WASHINGTON STATE) |
| DB | MASON, GRANT (MICHIGAN) |
| LB | MCGARIGLE, TIM (NORTHWESTERN) |
| RB | PERRY, CHRIS (MICHIGAN) |
| T | PETITTI, ROB (PITTSBURGH) |
| OG | PILLAR, ZACK (FLORIDA) |
| DE | POWELL, ERIC (FLORIDA STATE) |
| LB | SCHLEGEL, ANTHONY (OHIO STATE) |
| DE | SCHOBEL, BO (TCU) |
| WR | THOMPSON, DOMINIQUE (WILLIAM & MARY) |
| CB | TRIBBLE, DEJUAN (BOSTON COLLEGE) |
| NT | TRIPPLETT, LARRY (WASHINGTON) |
| DB | VINNETT, DARIUS (ARKANSAS) |
| T | WAND, SETH (NORTHWEST MISSOURI ST) |
| TE | WIGGINS, JERMAINE (GEORGIA) |
| RB | WILSON, QUINCY (WEST VIRGINIA) |
| DB | WRIGHT, TJ (OHIO UNIVERSITY) |
| UFL SAN FRANCISCO | |
| FB | ARMSTRONG, ODIE (NW OKLAHOMA ST) |
| RB | AYANBADEJO, FEMI (SAN DIEGO STATE) |
| QB | BOYD, SHANE (KENTUCKY) |
| WR | BRACKINS, LARRY (PEARL RIVER CC) |
| LS | BROWN, KAI (BROWN) |
| QB | FITZGERALD, MARCUS (MARSHALL) |
| DE | GUNN, MARQUIES (AUBURN) |
| RB | HUTSONA, DARRELL (WASHINGTON STATE) |
| LB | KWATENG, PRINCE (NORTHWESTERN) |
| TE | LEDBETTER, BRANDEN (WESTERN MICHIGAN) |
| T | LEKKERKERKER, CORY (CALIFORNIA-DAVIS) |
| LB | MARTIN, JOE (SAN DIEGO STATE) |
| QB | O'HAGAN, LIAM (HARVARD) |
| T | RIMPF, BRIAN (EAST CAROLINA) |
| WR | SAMS, BJ (MCNEESE STATE) |
| T | STAMPER, BRIAN (VANDERBILT) |
| NT | STEWART, JASON (FRESNO STATE) |
| DE | SUGGS, DAMON (GEORGIA SOUTHERN) |
| DB | TREAUDO, AHMAD (SOUTHERN UNIVERSITY) |
| DB | UNDERWOOD, MARVIEL (SAN DIEGO STATE) |
| DB | UNERTL, JEREMY (WISCONSIN-LA CROSSE) |
| RB | WASHINGTON, JOHN DAVID (MOREHOUSE) |
| WR | WEST, JOE (TEXAS EL-PASO) |
What are the odds of this league holding up? See any names worth discussing?
0 recs |
41 comments
|
Email
Print
Comments
DB UNERTL, JEREMY (WISCONSIN-LA CROSSE)
gonna miss watching him put big hits on people for our chicago rush (afl)
by chitownsports25 on Jun 19, 2009 12:03 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs
Adam Archuleta?
Any one else think the Las Vegas franchise will have the worst pass D in the UFL?
by Lester A. Wiltfong Jr. on Jun 19, 2009 12:10 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs
me
watching him miss/flub tackle after tackle will be enjoyable. f that guy. i think i am just jealous due to his playmate g/f or wife or whatevr.
by reefermadness3 on Jun 19, 2009 3:54 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
he cost us Chris Harris
for that I will always dislike Archuleta
If you want to crown em...
by JohnnyTruant on Jun 20, 2009 3:12 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
I like the mission statement...
but with 4 franchise, only 2 serve that statement – to server “underserved” markets. I can see Las Vegas and Orlando. But San Francisco and New York?! New York is huge. I get that. I guess 2 NFL isn’t enough for the market. But San Francisco?! How about San Jose if you want to stay in the Bay Area. How about, I don’t know, LOS ANGELES?! Houston? Chicago could support another pro team without much of a hiccup. We will see what happens.
by Boilerbuzz on Jun 19, 2009 12:15 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs
it's just for the initial season
they plan on bringing in more if they make it past this one. people might think these things are ridiculous but i’ll watch some games in orlando. i’m in tampa now but i had season tickets for the orlando rage in the xfl and we had a great time out there. or course we had one of the highest attendences in the league, some other cities weren’t drawing anyone. so, what i’m saying is orlando is definitely one of the underserved markets, they pack the house for arena games too. the part that’s stupid is that they’re playing in the fall, they should move it to spring.
by genetic on Jun 19, 2009 12:29 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
Agreed
the part that’s stupid is that they’re playing in the fall, they should move it to spring.
when I read the article, that’s the first thing that popped into my head….
hey man, you got a j? No? You'd be a lot cooler if you did...
by ChiTown2ShineIn'09 on Jun 19, 2009 12:37 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
I agree
Initially I thought that’s what would happen with the UFL. I think playing during regular NFL season will make it harder on them but if they offered games during the offseason I think there would more of an audience wanting to watch.
I also agree they should bring a team to L.A. I just relocated here and it would be nice to see a game without having to drive to another city.
There's always next week,,, and when we run out of weeks, there's always next year!
by Spiderwomn69 on Jun 19, 2009 3:28 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
maybe you'll get the vikes...
i hear they’re looking for a place to live…
Courage is not the absence of fear, but rather the judgement that something else is more important than fear.
by windycity72 on Jun 19, 2009 9:39 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
I think
what he was saying is that New York and San Francisco are definitely NOT under served markets. San Francisco has only about 750.000 people living there (obviously there are more in the Bay area as a whole, but still), and has the 49ers within the city limits, and the Raiders just over the bridge.
New York has the Giants and the Jets with the Pats, Redskins, Eagles and Ravens all within about 200 miles of the city (basically, driving distance). That’s a pretty saturated area of the country… though there are a butt-ton of people living there lol.
Even Orlando has the Bucs, Dolphins and Jags within spitting distance.
The point is that they could have picked some other fairly large markets that are nowhere near as “served” with football as the ones they chose (the only exception is Vegas). L.A. would be the first place to come to mind. 2nd largest market, no NFL team…
Though I’m sure that the need for a proper stadium played into their choices, which is hard to find in an area without a football team.
by DDigital on Jun 20, 2009 3:29 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
sorry for the typos...
meant to say to SERVE, not server. And 2 NFL TEAMS. :)
by Boilerbuzz on Jun 19, 2009 12:17 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs
Fred Bledsoe? What an unfortunate name.
I don’t see any former Terps on there, so I can’t say I’m interested. I might root for Archuleta to fail though :\
Somebody should make a comic called "Tulowitzki the Combat Shortstop". I'd read it.
UMD 8/04 - 5/08: Go Terps!
by ES46NE10 on Jun 19, 2009 12:48 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs
Noriaki Kinoshita
I am thrilled to see this guy get a chance to play on the national level (even though nit the NFL) this guy is the Devin Hester of Japanese football(on a side note, the Japanese play football very well. Globalization should start over there, not in London. The American football fanbase is growing rapidly on the island)
Camp ifuwanna, we hold you in our heart...
by ifuwannacrownem on Jun 19, 2009 1:29 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs
damn
i’d watch some of that…is that college footage or is there actually a pro league there? i wonder if i could get some japanese station on direct tv that played those games.
on another note, i saw this while i was looking at that clip, it’s barry sanders and payton highlights. how in the hell did the lions not win more with sanders there? well, i guess the same reason the bears didn’t with payton for a while. damn, i love watching walter run over guys with 100 pounds on him…
by genetic on Jun 19, 2009 2:20 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
there's a semi pro League called the X-league.
it has twice as many teams as the NFL and the championship games are kinda like the BCS format, you know, a few bowl games and then the big game. An interesting note: Kinoshita played college football at Ritsumeikan University, which is like the pacific Vanderbilt. how much you wanna bet Jerry wants to see what he can do in the UFL?
Camp ifuwanna, we hold you in our heart...
by ifuwannacrownem on Jun 19, 2009 3:49 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
It's ifuwanna's thing.
Be nice. Flag comments that you think are offensive. Use the "reply" button. Drink plenty of water. Compliment others. "Rec" comments and posts you like. Don't call people names. If you don't like someone's comment, attack the comment and not the commentor. Learn the difference in your/you're, then/than, to/too. Exercise. Relax. Stretch often. Find good in the world.
by Dane Noble on Jun 19, 2009 2:31 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
He's been a proponant of globalization of football.
Be nice. Flag comments that you think are offensive. Use the "reply" button. Drink plenty of water. Compliment others. "Rec" comments and posts you like. Don't call people names. If you don't like someone's comment, attack the comment and not the commentor. Learn the difference in your/you're, then/than, to/too. Exercise. Relax. Stretch often. Find good in the world.
by Dane Noble on Jun 19, 2009 3:45 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
One Hungry Bear..
I see, he must have looked down at his $14K Patek Philippe watch and noticed that it was time for lunch (sure hope he plans to take that off before he puts on the rest of his uniform)
by The Kaiser on Jun 19, 2009 3:09 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs
YAWN!!!!!
Seen this fail before as the XFL. If I wanted to watch Adam Archeleta get burnt I could pull up some past season footage.
I'm teaching fools some basic rules.- MR.T
by Ditkavsworld on Jun 19, 2009 3:54 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs
Is Las Vegas going without a QB?
or are they waiting to one to fall out of the professional ranks during training camp…
by lindemrm on Jun 19, 2009 4:12 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs
I got the impression
that those players were the ones drafted. Their website mentions that the teams will continue adding players to their rosters.
Be nice. Flag comments that you think are offensive. Use the "reply" button. Drink plenty of water. Compliment others. "Rec" comments and posts you like. Don't call people names. If you don't like someone's comment, attack the comment and not the commentor. Learn the difference in your/you're, then/than, to/too. Exercise. Relax. Stretch often. Find good in the world.
by Dane Noble on Jun 19, 2009 4:14 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
I heard they were working on getting JP Losman
(Asshole Sr) "If you learn one thing here, NEVER pass out in Ohio."
by ThorCo on Jun 20, 2009 12:35 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
indeed otherwise
they would have a hard time kicking field goals beyond the 5yd line.
thumbs up for an ayanbadejo getting some work, even if it is the one who failed a whiz quiz.
by reefermadness3 on Jun 19, 2009 4:46 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs
I think the UFL could make it.
The idea behind this league, is to eventually merge with the NFL (think minor league baseball). The UFL is going to allow their players to sign with NFL teams after the end of the their season (smart move). (Sorry if the following sounds like a contradiction) I don’t think that there is a market for another Pro-Football league, but I do think their is a market for an NFL minor league and that’s the idea.
by rdent4hof on Jun 20, 2009 9:40 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs
Agreed
If their goal is to turn this into the NFL version of the MLB Minor League system or the NBA Developmental League, then it has a chance. Setting it up as a proving ground/training system for future NFL players is a great move…
If they were trying to eventually COMPETE with the NFL, it would be utter failure. The only way I could see something like that succeeding would be if the NFL went on strike for an extended period of time (god forbid). Then a competing league MIGHT have a chance.
I’d watch an NFL minor league. I always enjoyed watching Peoria Chiefs games, and I like baseball MUCH less than I like football.
by DDigital on Jun 20, 2009 3:05 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
Number 1 draft picks in the NFL and NBA have a good chance at playing the next season in the pros.
Number 1 draft picks in the MLB might not see a professional uniform for two full seasons – if they work out at all. The difference is the majors are a huge, aluminum bat of a difference from college baseball while NCAA football and basketball might as well be the minor leagues.
by Black Sox Baseball on Jun 20, 2009 8:56 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
I believe mike b had this to say a while back about minor league football
We already have it: It’s called the NCAA.
I'M A MAN! I'M 23!
by ChiFan13 on Jun 20, 2009 10:03 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
And you are welcome to listen to mike b all you want...lol
I think there are many raw talent players that never make it into the NFL, simply because teams can’t afford to be patient. Some never played football till college, others may have been seriously injured at the tail end of their college careers. These players will now be able to learn NFL style systems. The AFL and CFL doesn’t offer that.
I’m not saying this league is a lock for success. I just like their approach.
by rdent4hof on Jun 21, 2009 8:22 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
Wait....
Some never played football till college
In the modern era (1990-2009), I’ve never heard of that….
I like their approach too, but I don’t see it happening. That’s all I’m saying.
I'M A MAN! I'M 23!
by ChiFan13 on Jun 21, 2009 11:13 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
Didn't a college pick up their water boy to kick their field goals last year?
I think he was pretty successful, too. Of course, that’s not to say he never had football experience, but he certainly wasn’t good enough to make the team at first.
by Black Sox Baseball on Jun 21, 2009 12:25 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
K from Texas A&M
Wasn’t their waterboy….he won a field-goal kicking contest at one of their games.
I'M A MAN! I'M 23!
by ChiFan13 on Jun 21, 2009 2:58 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
Nevermind, I misspoke
It was Texas Tech. My fault.
I'M A MAN! I'M 23!
by ChiFan13 on Jun 22, 2009 5:24 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
What I was thinking and what I said were two different things.
I was thinking about Antonio Gates. He didn’t play college football, my bad.
by rdent4hof on Jun 21, 2009 12:28 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
Comments For This Post Are Closed
Secondary Sidebar
User Tools
Community Guidelines
FanPosts
Community blog posts and discussion.
Certain photos copyright © 2010 by Associated Press or Getty Images. Any commercial use or distribution without the express written consent of Associated Press and Getty Images is strictly prohibited.
