af2 Green Bay Blizzard

Blizzard Starting To Take Shape

Published on December 14, 2005 under arenafootball2 (af2)
Green Bay Blizzard News Release


The 2006 af2 season won't begin until March of next year, but the Green Bay Blizzard roster is starting to take shape.

In the past two weeks, the Blizzard has been assigned 8 players by the af2 league office, including a quartet of players from last season's playoff team.

DS David Crocker (5-11, 205 Stephen F. Austin) returns to the Blizzard for his second year. Crocker, whose strong 2005 campaign was cut short by injury, was named ADT Defensive Player of the Week for his Week 13 performance against the Birmingham Steeldogs. In the 69-41 win, Crocker posted 2 INTs, a fumble forced, a fumble recovered, a pass defensed and 6 tackles. A knee injury forced him to miss the final 3 games of the regular season and the playoff game against the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Pioneers, but he is back to 100% and ready to go for 2006.

A familiar name to football fans in Green Bay is DS Marcus Thurman (5-10, 190 Central Missouri State), who spent much of the 2005 season with the Blizzard. His brother, WR Andrae Thurman, is currently catching passes from Brett Favre and returning kicks for the Green Bay Packers. Marcus returns to the Blizzard with his eyes on getting a full season of Arena Football experience under his belt.

New for the 2006 season, the af2 has instituted rules that allow teams to employ an offensive and defensive lineman as specialists. This suits DS Asa Francis (6-2, 240 New Mexico Military) just fine, as he was the progenitor of the lineman as DS. As a pass rush specialist for the Quad City Steamwheelers in 2004, Francis was the first af2 lineman to be granted the specialist position. In his second year with the Blizzard, Francis will be in perfect position to make the most of the new rules.

Also returning to the Blizzard is WR/DB Dontrell Jackson (5-10, 190 Ohio). Jackson, whose nickname is "Quick," enjoyed a very productive season in 2004 and looks forward to playing for new Assistant Head Coach/Offensive Coordinator Mark Stoute.

The Blizzard has also been assigned four newcomers: WR/DB Sedrick Ashley (5-9, 188 Southern Oregon), OL/DL Clint Bakken (6-2, 315 UW Stevens Point), OL/DL Matt McGhghy (6-3, 310 Northern Illinois), and WR/LB J.R. Taylor (6-1, 235 Eastern Illinois)

Taylor is no stranger to Green Bay, as he spent Training Camp with the Packers in 2003. Originally signed as an undrafted free agent, Taylor led Eastern Illinois in his last season with a career-high 1,522 yards rushing, scoring 18 touchdowns and closing out his collegiate career with 3,705 yards, a 5.8-yard average. He will make the switch to WR/LB as he begins his Arena Football career.

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