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Columbus Destroyers sign three former Buckeyes as free agency begins

October 1, 2004 - Arena Football League (1987-2008) (AFL I)
Columbus Destroyers News Release


COLUMBUS, OH – The Columbus Destroyers announced today the acquisition of three players out of The Ohio State University with the Arena Football League's free agent signing period officially underway. Among the former Buckeyes who signed free agent contracts with the Destroyers are quarterback Scott McMullen, offensive specialist Bobby Olive and defensive specialist Bobby Britton.

"Scott McMullen has tremendous size for a quarterback and an extremely quick release, which should make him well-suited for the Arena Football League," commented Destroyers Head Coach Chris Spielman. "Bobby Olive has proven his ability to perform in this league and adding a player of his caliber to our team makes us extremely deep at the receiver position, and Bobby Britton is a flat-out playmaker who we feel has a chance to help us win football games."

The Buckeyes No. 2 signal caller from last season, McMullen began his career at OSU as a red-shirted freshman in 1999 before seeing his first action the following season. He would go on to appear in 20 games, making three starts from 2000-2003. McMullen finished his career having completed 87-of-141 passes for 1,103 yards and nine touchdowns. His 65.4 completion percentage as a senior was tops among all Buckeye quarterbacks. McMullen, a native of Granville, Ohio, also currently serves as a quarterbacks coach for Granville High School.

Olive, who makes his return to the playing field after spending last season as the Destroyers' wide receivers coach, is currently the organizations' all-time leader in career receptions (186), single season receptions (106 in 2000), single-season receiving yards (1,184 in 2000), is second all-time in career receiving yards (1,948) and third in career receiving touchdowns (24). Olive spent four years as an offensive specialist for the Buffalo Destroyers (1999-2002) before suffering a knee injury during the 2001 season that would lead to his retirement.

Olive was a three-year starter at OSU where he was named All-Big Ten as a senior. Following his collegiate career, Olive was an 11th round draft choice of the Kansas City Chiefs in the 1991 NFL Draft. He spent four years in the NFL, including stints with the Chiefs, Atlanta Falcons and Indianapolis Colts. Olive also won a World Bowl Championship during the 1995 season in NFL Europe as a member of the Frankfurt Galaxy. He spent one season in the Canadian Football League with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats before entering the AFL in 1999.

Britton played defensive back and was a standout on special teams at OSU from 2000-2003, appearing in 30 games during his four-year career. His best season came in 2001 where he recorded ten tackles in seven games played. He made his first-career start at UCLA in week two before being sidelined with a groin injury that would keep him out of action for most of the season. Britton finished his career at Ohio State with 21 total tackles (11 solo) and two blocked kicks.

McMullen and Britton were two of 38 players who participated in an invitational tryout for the Destroyers in August. Spielman and his staff were high on the abilities of both players and as a result each player was offered a contract by the team. Both McMullen and Britton will be entering their first year in the AFL after productive careers at Ohio State.

Teams have been contacting and negotiating with available players since September 1, but were prohibited from closing the deal until October 1. The Destroyers entered the free agent signing period with 12 players under contract. The team can bring up to 37 players to training camp, which will start during the first week of January.

Columbus Destroyers season tickets for the 2005 season are now available by calling (614) 246-HITS or by visiting www.ColumbusDestroyers.com. The Destroyers, in conjunction with Nike, will unveil a new logo along with modified uniforms for the 2005 season in November.



Arena Football League (1987-2008) Stories from October 1, 2004


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