Camp Notes - Day 3

Published on March 17, 2010 under Arena Football League (AFL)
Tampa Bay Storm News Release


TAMPA BAY - The Tampa Bay Storm opened Wednesday morning's practice to chilly and wet conditions at Skyway Park in Tampa, FL. Even with the unpleasant climate, Tim Marcum's Storm didn't skip a beat.

Rookie Reggie Gray continues to prove his talent as a young wide receiver while hauling in four consecutive passes during the morning's one-on-one period. Running sharp routes against defenders, Gray impressively broke off routes to find openings on the field. During the afternoon session, Gray awed teammates and coaches yet again with a shoestring grab in the corner of the end zone from quarterback B.J. Hall.

"Reggie has had a good camp so far," Marcum said. "But we are in a situation right now where we need to get into our playbooks. We busted way too many routes. That's the one thing that is concerning me. It is the third day; we should not be busting as many routes as we are."

During the team's inside period, the fullback position was still a topic of discussion. Rookie Dusty Bear, who is competing for the spot with rookie Chad Cook and rookie Cole Mason, received the first of the carries. Both Cook and Mason followed respectively, receiving the same number of reps as Bear. The competition heated up as all three broke several long runs. Then, Director of Player Personnel Dave Ewart, experimented with linebacker Eric Ortiz at the position. Ortiz, who is having an impressive camp at linebacker, looked explosive at the position and was later receiving reps at fullback with the first team.

"[Ortiz] is a kid with effort. He runs around, does all of the right things, makes plays and is fast. We are looking at some of our personnel. He might get a chance to run the ball in the heavy [formation]. When we were scouting him, from film we saw that he was a good special teams player. We are going to give him a shot to make the team at several positions."

During the team period, quarterback Brett Dietz consecutively drove the team downfield. Hitting wide receivers Tyrone Timmons and Hank Edwards in stride, Dietz completed seven consecutive passes in the two series.

"I thought [today] was pretty average," said Marcum, "Pretty much like an old shoe, it needs a whole lot of polish."

Training Camp is set to continue at 8:00 AM on Thursday. Practices are open to the public.

WEEKLY SCHEDULE Day Location Times Thursday, March 18 Skyway Park 8:00am-9:30am, 10:00am-11:30 am Friday, March 19 Skyway Park 8:00am-9:30am, 10:00am-11:30 am Saturday, March 20 TBD 8:00am-9:30am, 10:00am-11:30 am Sunday, March 21 TBD 8:00am-9:30am, 10:00am-11:30 am Monday, March 22 Skyway Park 8:00am-9:30am, 10:00am-11:30 am Tuesday, March 23 Skyway Park 8:00am-9:30am, 10:00am-11:30 am

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