1- You know you've got a group of very determined football players when about 50 of them show up for a practice on a day when the rest of Nashville is ducking for cover due to tornado warnings and monsoon-like rains, as were the weather conditions in Nashville on Saturday, April 24.
2- There have been 2 "position moves" of prominent veteran Nashville Storm players thus far in preseason camp, and both moves are working out well thus far on the practice field. DeQuinn Watford (Bethel College/THE St Ambrose University), one of the Storm's most effective WR's in 2009 (including a spectacular TD catch in OT that defeated the heavily-favored and nationally #1 ranked Central Penn Piranha in Mechanicsburg, PA in the NAFL's National Semifinals), has now moved to the defensive side of the football at CB and has been making life miserable for Storm WRs in every practice. And Gary "Mr. Jazzy Fly" Peete, probably the most versatile athlete on the Nashville Storm roster, has been moved from Defensive End to Will Linebacker, and is performing very well there.
3- There was one brand-new player on the practice field yesterday, and he was a very important addition----- Ben Brazzell, an athletic 6'6", 280 lb offensive lineman who has played at Riverdale High School, MTSU, and for the USFL's Tennessee Pioneers/Tennessee Crush as an amateur and who has played as a professional Arena Football player for the Tennessee River Sharks, the former NIFL team out of Chattanooga. Brazzell is another versatile athlete who is also capable of playing well on the defensive line and at Tight End, but right now, he brings immediate help to a Nashville Storm offensive line whose numbers are severely down due to the fact that Stanlee Bradley (Cumberland) and Rickie McDowell are recovering from injuries and that Reggie White (Cumberland) and Chris Mosley have not yet reported to camp.
4- The Nashville Storm's leading 2009 WR, Jeremie "Bird" Whittaker, who set a Storm record in 2009 with 14 TD catches in 12 played games returned to the practice field yesterday, which means that the Storm's top 5 pass receivers from 2009 (Whittaker, Mario Merriwether, Ivan Burley, and Roger Moore) are all back, although, as mentioned previously, one of them (DeQuinn Watford) has moved to the defensive side of the ball.
5- There are more high-quality QBs in camp for the Nashville Storm in 2010 than there have been in any of the Storm's previous 8 spring practices, and all of them are performing well. On Thursday, 4 QBs were splitting reps------ incumbent starting QB Phellepe Hall (TSU), a multiple-year All-American who threw 37 TD passes in 2009, 2007-2009 backup Jason Hankins (Rainy River CC), and 2 highly talented rookies--- 2006-2008 Vanderbilt University starting QB Chris Nickson and former Gallatin High School QB (and college BASEBALL pitcher at Austin Peay) Matt Overton.
6- The next week should see more additions to the Nashville Storm team, some of whom will be college Seniors who by then will have learned if they have been invited to NFL camps. Stay tuned.
Sunday, April 25, 2010
Thursday, April 22, 2010
RIP, Dallas Diesel And Arkansas Rhinos
Within the last 24 hours, we've found out that two former rival teams that hold a prominent place in Nashville Storm history (neither of whom were in the NAFL at the time of their demise) have "suspended operations". One was the Nashville Storm's most prominent annual regular season rival during the Storm's first 8 years of existence, while the other was a team that the Nashville Storm only played one time----- but it was in a national championship game.
There is a similar lesson to be learned in the demise of both teams.
Let's start with the Arkansas Rhinos, the most prominent annual home-and-home rival of the Nashville Storm from 2002 thru 2009. From 2002 thru 2006, the Storm and Rhinos battled each other at least twice a year (and 3 times if the 2 teams met in the NAFL playoffs) on a very even basis that actually had a slight tilt toward the Rhinos, who seemingly saved their best performances for many of their games against the Storm. The Nashville Storm's first-ever football game was a close defeat against the Rhinos in 2002 in Little Rock----- the fact that the Storm had gone on the road against the already- established Rhinos and nearly won was at that time regarded at the time that the fledgling Storm had a chance to be very good. In 2004, the Nashville Storm's NAFL Final 4 team had an undefeated record going into their last game of the season against a Rhino team the Storm had previously defeated in Nashville 32-7----- the Rhinos defeated the Storm 30-28 at Little Rock's War Memorial Stadium to deny the Storm an undefeated record going into the playoffs. In 2005, the Rhinos had their best-ever team, winning the NAFL South Championship and making the NAFL Final 4---- that team defeated the Storm THREE times (the Storm's only 3 2005 defeats); the scores were 21-17 (regular season-Nashville), 43-28 (regular season- Little Rock), and 24-22 (playoffs- NAFL South Championship Game in Little Rock). In 2006 (the year of the Nashville Storm's first NAFL National Championship Game Appearance), the Storm won their first-ever victory against the Rhinos in Little Rock in a 23-20 OT thriller, but the Rhinos came to Nashville in early September and returned the favor with a 27-14 victory over the Storm at McGavock HS in Nashville. Few knew at the time, but that would be the Rhinos' last-ever victory over the Nashville Storm. In 2007-2009, the Nashville Storm recorded 6 straight victories against the Arkansas Rhinos by scores of 31-23, 38-21, 17-7, 19-12, 33-23, and 22-6.
The Arkansas Rhinos had been owned for the last 4 years by Oscar Malone, a former University Of Arkansas RB from the early/mid 1990's who is still one of the all-time leading rushers in Razorback history---- Malone had started out as a Rhino player, became the Rhino Head Coach in 2005, and had taken over ownership of the team from Buddy Olsen after the 2005 season. In the last 2 seasons, Malone had become very difficult to contact after Labor Day; indeed, in 2008, the Rhinos cancelled a trip to play the Nashville Storm in the Nashville Storm's home regular-season finale in Nashville, and the Rhinos had opted not to play in the 2008 and 2009 NAFL playoffs despite being playoff-eligible in both years. For 2010, Malone opted to leave the NAFL to join the first-year Gridiron Developmental Football League, effectively ending the Storm-Rhino series.
The report of the Rhino's demise came from their 2009 starting QB---- evidently, many Rhino players were upset with the team's move away from the NAFL (especially with that move effectively ending the Rhinos-Storm series), and the Rhino's first 2 practices had less than 10 players in attendance. RIP.
The Dallas Diesel, on the other hand, had been gone from the NAFL since the end of the 2007 season and had played the last 2 years in the World Football League. The Nashville Storm only played the Diesel one time----- in the 2006 NAFL National Championship Game at Disneyworld in Orlando, FL, a hard-fought, classic football battle that the Diesel won 24-19. After winning the 2006 NAFL National Championship, the Diesel made it again to the 2007 NAFL National Championship Game in Las Vegas against the Kane County Eagles, this time losing to the Eagles 24-3 in a game that was a 7-3 game after the first 3 quarters. This was a superb Diesel team featuring 9 former Big 12 players and another player who played at Arkansas, plus many players who played at HBCU's in Texas, Louisiana, and even Tennessee (Quantae Gregg, who made the 3rd-quarter TD run against the Storm that turned the 2006 National Championship Game around, played at Lane College in Jackson, TN). Several of their players had past NFL experience as well.
During the 2007 Championship Weekend, the Diesel had several disputes with the NAFL management, and soon after, the Diesel elected to join the then first-year World Football League. Many Diesel players elected not to return for the 2008 season, and the Diesel in 2008 fielded probably the weakest team in Diesel history (even their 2008 victories were close victories against teams the previous Diesel teams would have blown out by 40-50 points, and the Austin Gamebreakers eclipsed for the first time in their home state). In 2009, some (but not all) of the past Diesel players returned, and they made the WFL Championship game, but lost that game 43-12 to the Oklahoma Thunder. In 2010, they actually advertised themselves on adult amateur message boards as "The Best Semi-Pro Team in Texas" in advertising their tryouts.
However, the WFL had lost a large number of member teams after the 2009 season, creating what loomed as a lot more travel for the Diesel. This week, they cancelled their 2010 opener against the Tennessee Vengance in Memphis, announcing they were suspending operations. RIP.
Two teams with distinguished histories, gone this week. What happened to both teams was that the teams' players perceived that they were no longer playing seasons against the best available competition----- and if you want the best available players to play for you, these players want to play against the best available competition.
For every event, there is a lesson to be learned. Goodbye, Arkansas Rhinos and Dallas Diesel. You will be missed.
There is a similar lesson to be learned in the demise of both teams.
Let's start with the Arkansas Rhinos, the most prominent annual home-and-home rival of the Nashville Storm from 2002 thru 2009. From 2002 thru 2006, the Storm and Rhinos battled each other at least twice a year (and 3 times if the 2 teams met in the NAFL playoffs) on a very even basis that actually had a slight tilt toward the Rhinos, who seemingly saved their best performances for many of their games against the Storm. The Nashville Storm's first-ever football game was a close defeat against the Rhinos in 2002 in Little Rock----- the fact that the Storm had gone on the road against the already- established Rhinos and nearly won was at that time regarded at the time that the fledgling Storm had a chance to be very good. In 2004, the Nashville Storm's NAFL Final 4 team had an undefeated record going into their last game of the season against a Rhino team the Storm had previously defeated in Nashville 32-7----- the Rhinos defeated the Storm 30-28 at Little Rock's War Memorial Stadium to deny the Storm an undefeated record going into the playoffs. In 2005, the Rhinos had their best-ever team, winning the NAFL South Championship and making the NAFL Final 4---- that team defeated the Storm THREE times (the Storm's only 3 2005 defeats); the scores were 21-17 (regular season-Nashville), 43-28 (regular season- Little Rock), and 24-22 (playoffs- NAFL South Championship Game in Little Rock). In 2006 (the year of the Nashville Storm's first NAFL National Championship Game Appearance), the Storm won their first-ever victory against the Rhinos in Little Rock in a 23-20 OT thriller, but the Rhinos came to Nashville in early September and returned the favor with a 27-14 victory over the Storm at McGavock HS in Nashville. Few knew at the time, but that would be the Rhinos' last-ever victory over the Nashville Storm. In 2007-2009, the Nashville Storm recorded 6 straight victories against the Arkansas Rhinos by scores of 31-23, 38-21, 17-7, 19-12, 33-23, and 22-6.
The Arkansas Rhinos had been owned for the last 4 years by Oscar Malone, a former University Of Arkansas RB from the early/mid 1990's who is still one of the all-time leading rushers in Razorback history---- Malone had started out as a Rhino player, became the Rhino Head Coach in 2005, and had taken over ownership of the team from Buddy Olsen after the 2005 season. In the last 2 seasons, Malone had become very difficult to contact after Labor Day; indeed, in 2008, the Rhinos cancelled a trip to play the Nashville Storm in the Nashville Storm's home regular-season finale in Nashville, and the Rhinos had opted not to play in the 2008 and 2009 NAFL playoffs despite being playoff-eligible in both years. For 2010, Malone opted to leave the NAFL to join the first-year Gridiron Developmental Football League, effectively ending the Storm-Rhino series.
The report of the Rhino's demise came from their 2009 starting QB---- evidently, many Rhino players were upset with the team's move away from the NAFL (especially with that move effectively ending the Rhinos-Storm series), and the Rhino's first 2 practices had less than 10 players in attendance. RIP.
The Dallas Diesel, on the other hand, had been gone from the NAFL since the end of the 2007 season and had played the last 2 years in the World Football League. The Nashville Storm only played the Diesel one time----- in the 2006 NAFL National Championship Game at Disneyworld in Orlando, FL, a hard-fought, classic football battle that the Diesel won 24-19. After winning the 2006 NAFL National Championship, the Diesel made it again to the 2007 NAFL National Championship Game in Las Vegas against the Kane County Eagles, this time losing to the Eagles 24-3 in a game that was a 7-3 game after the first 3 quarters. This was a superb Diesel team featuring 9 former Big 12 players and another player who played at Arkansas, plus many players who played at HBCU's in Texas, Louisiana, and even Tennessee (Quantae Gregg, who made the 3rd-quarter TD run against the Storm that turned the 2006 National Championship Game around, played at Lane College in Jackson, TN). Several of their players had past NFL experience as well.
During the 2007 Championship Weekend, the Diesel had several disputes with the NAFL management, and soon after, the Diesel elected to join the then first-year World Football League. Many Diesel players elected not to return for the 2008 season, and the Diesel in 2008 fielded probably the weakest team in Diesel history (even their 2008 victories were close victories against teams the previous Diesel teams would have blown out by 40-50 points, and the Austin Gamebreakers eclipsed for the first time in their home state). In 2009, some (but not all) of the past Diesel players returned, and they made the WFL Championship game, but lost that game 43-12 to the Oklahoma Thunder. In 2010, they actually advertised themselves on adult amateur message boards as "The Best Semi-Pro Team in Texas" in advertising their tryouts.
However, the WFL had lost a large number of member teams after the 2009 season, creating what loomed as a lot more travel for the Diesel. This week, they cancelled their 2010 opener against the Tennessee Vengance in Memphis, announcing they were suspending operations. RIP.
Two teams with distinguished histories, gone this week. What happened to both teams was that the teams' players perceived that they were no longer playing seasons against the best available competition----- and if you want the best available players to play for you, these players want to play against the best available competition.
For every event, there is a lesson to be learned. Goodbye, Arkansas Rhinos and Dallas Diesel. You will be missed.
Sunday, April 18, 2010
Field Of Dreams: The Michael Santucci Story
Yesterday was a big day for the 2010 Nashville Storm football team--- we had our first full-team practice of 2010 over at the Stratford High School practice field, and then had our annual team cookout over at Una Recreation Center. And one of the visitors to the cookout was one of my all-time favorite former Nashville Storm players, a young man named Michael Santucci, who played for the 2007 Nashville Storm team.
The Nashville Storm have built an 8-year W-L record of 98-17 with 4 NAFL South Championships and 2 appearances in the NAFL National Championship Games. A key part of that record is that we've won 23 consecutive road games, with our last loss in a road game coming in early June of 2006. Michael Santucci was the hero of one of those 23 games, making a play that turned around a game that was seemingly headed to a Storm defeat.
The Nashville Storm built our record with a great coaching staff, but that record was also built on the abilities of a lot of highly talented football players---- on an annual basis, between 50-70% of the Nashville Storm roster are former college football players, and many of the Nashville Storm players that DIDN'T play college football were outstanding high school players who didn't play college football due to academic problems. In spite of this, the Nashville Storm are a true Nashville community team with an "open door" philososphy--- our coaching staff has a saying I'm very fond of, and the saying is "If you can really PLAY, we don't care where you've been". We hold between 2 and 4 open tryouts every spring that are open to all comers, irregardless of a player-applicant's past football resume'. 3 years ago, this "open door" philosophy attracted the attention of Michael Santucci, who came through our open tryouts.
Michael Santucci wasn't a former college football player.
Michael Santucci wasn't a former high school football player.
In fact, Michael Santucci wasn't even a former MIDDLE-SCHOOL or YOUTH football player. Michael Santucci had never played football before.
Michael was a pretty decent athlete, but in terms of football skills, the most descriptive adjective was the word "raw", which, in light of Michael's lack of previous football playing experience, probably shouldn't have been a surprise. However, Michael was a hard-working player on the practice field, and earned a spot on the Nashville Storm's kickoff coverage team.
Which brings us to a certain 2007 mid-season game in Indianapolis against a very good football team called the Hoosier Hurricanes. In 2005, the Hurricanes, in their first season, had gone undefeated in the old OVFL and won the Minor League Football News' AA National Championship Game. In 2006, the Hurricanes went AAA and joined the NAFL--- in '06, they finished their regular NAFL season with a 9-1 regular season record and the #1 playoff seed in the NAFL North. In July of 2007, the Nashville Storm headed to Indianapolis to play the Hurricanes for the first time.
The Hurricanes boat-raced the Storm for nearly 40 minutes of football, leading 20-0 at halftime and 27-7 midway through the 3rd quarter. Then, the Storm scored a touchdown late in the 3rd quarter to cut the Hurricane lead to 27-14---- but then faced a kickoff to a Hurricane team that wasn't having much trouble scoring in this game.
Enter Michael Santucci. On the ensuing kickoff, Michael met the Hurricane returner, stripped the football from him and then fell on it, recovering the football for the Storm deep in Hurricane territory. A few plays later, the Storm scored another touchdown, cutting the Hurricane lead to 27-21. The Storm ended up winning the game 37-34. Without Michael's big play, the Storm would have left Indianapolis with a defeat.
It would have been nice to say that this was the first of many game-changing plays for Michael Santucci as a Nashville Storm player, but it wouldn't be true. In the Storm's very next game, Michael tore his ACL on the opening kickoff, ending his career as a Nashville Storm player.
Fast forward to April 17, 2010. Michael showed up to our team cookout about 10-15 pounds heavier than in his days with the Nashville Storm, but not from inactivity----- from work in the weight room. Michael's decided to finish his college education at Cumberland University in Lebanon, and he is now in school there.
And--------- Michael's on the Cumberland University football team. Just finished his first spring practice there. Michael's a college football player.
It's never too late to do something you love. Just ask Michael Santucci.
The Nashville Storm have built an 8-year W-L record of 98-17 with 4 NAFL South Championships and 2 appearances in the NAFL National Championship Games. A key part of that record is that we've won 23 consecutive road games, with our last loss in a road game coming in early June of 2006. Michael Santucci was the hero of one of those 23 games, making a play that turned around a game that was seemingly headed to a Storm defeat.
The Nashville Storm built our record with a great coaching staff, but that record was also built on the abilities of a lot of highly talented football players---- on an annual basis, between 50-70% of the Nashville Storm roster are former college football players, and many of the Nashville Storm players that DIDN'T play college football were outstanding high school players who didn't play college football due to academic problems. In spite of this, the Nashville Storm are a true Nashville community team with an "open door" philososphy--- our coaching staff has a saying I'm very fond of, and the saying is "If you can really PLAY, we don't care where you've been". We hold between 2 and 4 open tryouts every spring that are open to all comers, irregardless of a player-applicant's past football resume'. 3 years ago, this "open door" philosophy attracted the attention of Michael Santucci, who came through our open tryouts.
Michael Santucci wasn't a former college football player.
Michael Santucci wasn't a former high school football player.
In fact, Michael Santucci wasn't even a former MIDDLE-SCHOOL or YOUTH football player. Michael Santucci had never played football before.
Michael was a pretty decent athlete, but in terms of football skills, the most descriptive adjective was the word "raw", which, in light of Michael's lack of previous football playing experience, probably shouldn't have been a surprise. However, Michael was a hard-working player on the practice field, and earned a spot on the Nashville Storm's kickoff coverage team.
Which brings us to a certain 2007 mid-season game in Indianapolis against a very good football team called the Hoosier Hurricanes. In 2005, the Hurricanes, in their first season, had gone undefeated in the old OVFL and won the Minor League Football News' AA National Championship Game. In 2006, the Hurricanes went AAA and joined the NAFL--- in '06, they finished their regular NAFL season with a 9-1 regular season record and the #1 playoff seed in the NAFL North. In July of 2007, the Nashville Storm headed to Indianapolis to play the Hurricanes for the first time.
The Hurricanes boat-raced the Storm for nearly 40 minutes of football, leading 20-0 at halftime and 27-7 midway through the 3rd quarter. Then, the Storm scored a touchdown late in the 3rd quarter to cut the Hurricane lead to 27-14---- but then faced a kickoff to a Hurricane team that wasn't having much trouble scoring in this game.
Enter Michael Santucci. On the ensuing kickoff, Michael met the Hurricane returner, stripped the football from him and then fell on it, recovering the football for the Storm deep in Hurricane territory. A few plays later, the Storm scored another touchdown, cutting the Hurricane lead to 27-21. The Storm ended up winning the game 37-34. Without Michael's big play, the Storm would have left Indianapolis with a defeat.
It would have been nice to say that this was the first of many game-changing plays for Michael Santucci as a Nashville Storm player, but it wouldn't be true. In the Storm's very next game, Michael tore his ACL on the opening kickoff, ending his career as a Nashville Storm player.
Fast forward to April 17, 2010. Michael showed up to our team cookout about 10-15 pounds heavier than in his days with the Nashville Storm, but not from inactivity----- from work in the weight room. Michael's decided to finish his college education at Cumberland University in Lebanon, and he is now in school there.
And--------- Michael's on the Cumberland University football team. Just finished his first spring practice there. Michael's a college football player.
It's never too late to do something you love. Just ask Michael Santucci.
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