Knights first assigned players of 2006
November 9, 2005 - arenafootball2 (af2)
Macon Knights News Release
MACON, Ga. - The arenafootball2 League Office announced that the Knights have been assigned 13 players for the 2006 season and are looking for more. Of the 13 players assigned to the Knights 10 of them have played for the Knights in past years, with three new comers.
The returning players that have been assigned to the Knights are, OL/DL Kentrell Blatcher, OL/DL Darin Damron, QB Lionel Hayes, OS James Hickenbotham, QB Cecil Lester, FB/LB Derrick Lloyd, OL/DL Lenny Lucas, K Sharif Najib-Zahir, OL/DL Ed Wangler, and OL/DL Courtney Young. The three new comers are also new to arenafootball2 with John Harris WR/DB being the only one with league experience with one year. The other two are OL/DL Kenneth Turner, and OS Taqua Thrasher. The Knights have a good core of players and are looking to expand their roster with more talented players.
The Knights will continue to assemble their 2006 roster on November 19th as Knights Head Coach Derek Stingley and former head coach, Kevin Porter, hold an open tryout in conjunction with the Kansas City Arena Football team, of which Porter is the head coach.
Name Pos Ht. Wt. School
Kentrell Blatcher OL/DL 6'2 310 Southern - Blatcher will be entering his fourth year in af2 and second year with the Knights. In 2005 Blatcher played in six games and recorded two tackles and one blocked kick.
Darin Damron OL/DL 6'4 295 North Alabama - Damron will be entering his sixth season in af2 and his second with the Macon Knights. In 2005, Damron played in 15 or the teams 16 games and recorded 17 total tackles, 4.5 of them were for a loss. Damron also had two pass breakups and two quarterback hurries.
Lionel Hayes QB 6'3 245 Grambling St. - Hayes returns to the Knights for his second season in af2 and with the Knights. He also returns as the nights single season leader in passing yards with 3,958 yards. Hayes was able to avoid injury and play in all 16 games for the Knights. Hayes completed just over 60 percent of his passes and threw for 70 touchdowns. He also ran the ball 33 times and scored eight touchdowns on the ground.
James Hickenbotham OS 5'9 180 Arkansas St. - Hickenbotham started his af2 career last season with the Knights coming in for the last four games of the season. In Hickenbotham's first game with the Knights he made an immediate impact with a 40 yard touchdown catch. He finished that night with three total catches and 59 yards and one touchdown. Hickenbotham finished the season with 12 receptions for 222 yards and three touchdowns.
Cecil Lester QB 6'0 200 Fort Valley St. - Lester returns to the Knights for his second season in af2 and with the Knights. In 2004, Lester played in six games for the Knights and had 764 yards passing and 10 touchdowns. Lester also gained 100 yards rushing and scored four touchdowns on the ground.
Derrick Lloyd FB/LB 6'0 240 James Madison - Lloyd returns to the Knights for his second season in af2 and with the Knights. In 2005, Lloyd played in 14 games and on offense had 31 rushes for 75 yards and seven touchdowns. On defense Lloyd had a total of 20 tackles three for loss and two pass breakups.
Lenny Lucas OL/DL 6'3 260 Troy St. - Lucas returns to the af2 or his fourth year and second year with the Knights. In 2005, Lucas played in 11 games and had five rushes for 14 yards, Lucas also caught three passes for 22 yards. On defense Lucas recorded 12.5 tackles 4 for loss and one fumble recovery. Lucas was also named Ironman of the Game one time against the Arkansas Twisters.
Sharif Najib-Zahir K 5'8 160 Tuskegee - Najib-Zahir enters his second season in the af2 and his second season with the Knights. Najib-Zahir played in the Knights playoff game against the Louisville Fire after being acquired as an Emergency Kicker the day of the game.
Ed Wangler OL/DL 6'4 250 Oregon - Wangler returns to the Knights for his second season and his second season in af2. Wangler recorded 12.5 tackles on the season and had four sacks for a total loss of 12 yards. Wangler also put pressure on af2 quarterbacks last year causing 10 quarterback hurries.
Courtney Young OL/DL 6'3 310 Indiana - Young returns to the Knights for his second season with the team and his third in af2. Young played in one game with the Knights before being injured. Young was also active for the Knights playoff game against the Louisville Fire. In his one game with the Knights Young recorded one tackle.
Taqua Thrasher OS 6'2 190 Fort Valley St. - Thrasher comes to the Knights as a Rookie in af2. He played college football at Fort Valley State University.
Kenneth Turner OL/DL 6'3 300 Fort Valley St. - Turner joins the Knights as a Rookie in af2. Turner was found in the teams first open tryout this off-season and is looking to make an immediate impact for the Knights organization.
John Harris WR/DB 6'1 185 NW Mississippi - Harris joins the Knights in his second season in the af2 and his first with the Knights. Harris was in training camp with the Bossier-Shreveport Battlewings last season.
Don't miss the action of eight great home games as the Knights kickoff the 2006 season on Saturday, April 8th against the Albany Conquest. Season ticket packages are on sale now starting at just $56. For more information call the Macon Knights ticket office at (478) 314-3000 or visit www.MaconKnights.com.
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