Search for NFL Europe League national players begins with testing date for UK talent in London

October 7, 2004 - National Football League Europa (NFLE) News Release

THE search for home-grown players to compete in the 2005 NFL Europe League season begins in earnest this weekend with an athlete testing date taking place in London, England, on Sunday October 10.

Running the rule over the cream of British talent at the session taking place at the Crystal Palace National Sports Centre will be NFL Europe Manager of Game and Player Development JEFF REINEBOLD, who boasts a wealth of coaching experience on the professional and collegiate level in the US, Canada and Europe.

The hunt for national players to compete in NFL Europe this season and ultimately in the NFL in years to come – headed by NFL Europe Director of Game Development TONY ALLEN – will cover every corner of Europe in the coming weeks and months, as well as territories further afield such as Mexico and Japan.

The testing date begins at 10:00 a.m. with athlete registration before the invited players are put through a series of professional-standard conditioning skills including shuttle runs, 40-yard sprints, vertical leaps and bench presses before moving onto the football field to show their worth in game-type situations.

The list of athletes to work out at Crystal Palace includes a pair of Scottish Claymores from the 2004 campaign in running back WARREN KEEN and linebacker ADEN DURDE. Both play club football with the London O's. Also in attendance will be London O's kicker ANDY BOYLE, who was in training camp with the Berlin Thunder in 2004 before a leg injury ended his campaign before it had even begun.

Keen recorded 1 special teams stop for the Claymores in 2004, while Durde played a prominent role in his first full season on defense, notching 8 tackles, 1 pass defense and 1 special teams takedown.

Preparing to kick off an intense period of work with national player prospects around the world, Allen said: "Our whole National Player Development Programme has taken a huge leap forward following the introduction of development spots on NFL teams. That has been the missing link in the past. Now a young athlete from any sport has a true pathway to a career in American football, from the NFL Europe League to NFL camps and an NFL roster.

"We are looking forward to finding more outstanding young athletes from across Europe. Our group last season was the youngest ever and we are looking to discover more young talent that can make it to the NFL in 2005 by going through the NFL Europe League.

"With regard to this weekend's testing date in London, we have identified a higher level of talent than in the past and hopefully from that we will have a greater representation of UK football when we move on to the next stage of evaluation in Cologne."

Athletes who are successful in the UK testing sessions will advance to the National Player Combine being held in Cologne, Germany, from November 9-12. From there, the elite prospects from Europe, Japan and Mexico will advance to National Player Mini Camp, which will take place in St. Petersburg, Florida, from February 21-24, 2005.

The top 48 players from that camp will then be assigned to the rosters of the six NFL Europe League teams – eight per club – in time to begin preparations for the 2005 NFL Europe League season, which kicks off in April.

National players performed key roles for their NFL Europe League teams in 2004, completing 5 of 6 passes for 38 yards, rushing for 45 yards and catching 104 passes for 1,057 yards and 6 touchdowns. Defensively, national players racked up 201 tackles, 4 sacks, 4 forced fumbles, 2 fumble recoveries and an interception. In the kicking game, nationals combined to score 212 points.

Four players from NFL Europe's National Player Development Programme are currently on NFL practice squads in the United States – Berlin Thunder DE CHRISTIAN MOHR (Seattle Seahawks), Berlin Mexican offensive lineman ROLANDO CANTU (Arizona Cardinals), Rhein Fire offensive lineman PETER HEYER (St. Louis Rams) and Fire safety RICHARD YANCY (San Francisco 49ers).

The current NFL season has also seen Swedish kicker OLA KIMRIN spend time on the Washington Redskins practice squad, while German defensive end CONSTANTIN RITZMANN is on the 53-man roster of the Buffalo Bills.

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National Football League Europa Stories from October 7, 2004

• Search for NFL Europe League national players begins with testing date for UK talent in London - NFLE

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