Draft brings more international talent to af2
Published on February 17, 2005 under arenafootball2 (af2) News Release
CHICAGO â In what looks to be the largest influx of international talent into the league in history, 39 players have registered to join af2 teams for the 2005 season. Those players helped to make up the largest pool of talent ever assembled as af2 held its Third Annual International Player Draft Thursday afternoon via conference call with every team.
"The international players in af2 made major strides in 2004, with some even moving up to the AFL," af2 President Jerry Kurz said. "That said, our teams are excited to draft more international prospects than ever into the league for the 2005 season."
As was the case in 2004, teams are allowed to expand their practice squads by two men to accommodate international prospects. A rule change for the 2005 season allows af2 teams to add one extra player to the active roster each game, if that player is of international origin.
Last year Louisville drafted wide receiver/defensive back Takuya Furutani. He went on to become af2's first-ever International Player of the Year, catching 51 passes for 724 yards and 11 touchdowns with the Fire during the 2004 season. This week he was added to the roster of the AFL's Philadelphia Soul, becoming the third international player to move from af2 to the AFL this season.
The complete list of International prospects registered to play in af2 for the 2005 season is detailed below.
About af2
Entering its sixth season in April of 2005, af2 serves as a vehicle to bring Arena Football to second-tier cities and as a developmental league with an unmatched history of sending players, coaches and officials to major professional football leagues each year. af2 operates under the same Mission Statement and Fans' Bill of Rights as the Arena Football League, which is currently in its 19th season and third on NBC. Log on to www.af2.com for more information.
2005 INTERNATIONAL PLAYER REGISTRY (Through 2/17/05)
NAME
POS
COUNTRY
HGT
WT
TEAM
Christopher
Bochen
OL/DL
Canada
6'2"
298
BAK
Devron
Brown
FB/LB
Canada
6'3"
250
BSB
Jason
Cedeno
OL/DL
Trinidad
6'5"
315
QCS
Watkin (J.R.)
Davies
QB
Canada
6'2"
220
RGV
Tommy
Denison
QB
Canada
6'1"
205
TBD
William
Dubiellak
WR/DB
Canada
6'4"
190
BSB
Marko
Glavic
QB
Canada
6'5"
227
MEM
Daniel
Gunn
WR/DB
Australia
5'9"
183
TBD
Chris
Hessel
QB
Canada
6'0"
217
ALB
Willam
Hewlett
QB
Australia
6'5"
220
QCS
Michael
Homewood
OL/DL
Canada
6'5"
300
BSB
Markus
Howell
WR/DB
Canada
5'10"
180
BSB
Taiji
Imoto
WR/DB
Japan
5'7"
187
TBD
Yuichi
Kato
FB/LB
Japan
5'9"
231
TBD
Adam
Lane
QB
Canada
SGW
Haruhiko
Maekawa
WR/DB
Japan
5'9"
165
TBD
*Matthew
McKinnon
FB/LB
Sweden
6'1"
245
WBS
Satoshi
Miura
WR/DB
Japan
5'8"
161
TBD
Katsuhiro
Motono
WR/DB
Japan
5'9"
185
TUL
*Toshihide
Nakamura
WR/DB
Japan
5'6"
156
BKF
*Rui
Nakanishi
WR/DB
Japan
5'9"
172
CEN
Bruno
N'Diaye
FB/LB
France
5'11"
220
TBD
Steve
Panella
QB
Canada
6'2"
225
AMD
Thomas
Proctor
WR/DB
UK
5'10"
220
TBD
Bartlomiej
Rochon
WR/DB
Canada
5'10"
222
TBD
*Adis
Sarac
K
Bosnia
6'2"
180
SDG
*Kehinde (Kenny)
Saro
FB/LB
UK
5'11"
237
OKC
Gonzalo
Segovia
OL/DL
Canada
6'1"
270
BSB
*Ken
Shimizu
WR/DB
Japan
5'9"
163
WBS
Shusaku
Shiroki
WR/DB
Japan
5'8"
167
TBD
Khreem
Smith
OL/DL
Jamaica
6'4"
270
MEM
Jamie
Stafford
WR/DB
Australia
6'0"
190
TBD
Takamasa
Suzuki
FB/LB
Japan
6'0"
232
SDR
*Takayuki
Terada
WR/DB
Japan
5'10"
172
GBB
Jason
Vaka
OL/DL
New Zealand
CVC
Hideyuki
Wada
WR/DB
Japan
5'9"
172
TBD
*Derek
Watson
WR/DB
Canada
6'2"
215
MAC
Landon
White
WR/DB
Canada
6'0"
201
BSB
*Takeshi
Yoshida
WR/DB
Japan
5'9"
160
MAN
*Selected in Thursday's draft
arenafootball2 Stories from February 17, 2005
- Coyotes draft star from Japan - Central Valley Coyotes
- Darvell Bivens Assigned to Dorados - Rio Grande Valley Dorados
- Draft brings more international talent to af2 - af2
- Conquest ink 10 players - Albany Firebirds
- Group headed by Walter Robb purchases controlling interest of Conquest - Albany Firebirds
- Pioneers to Hold Free-Agent Tryout Camp - Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Pioneers
- Another Pioneer to Return in 2005 - Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Pioneers
- Pioneers Assigned Quarterback for 2005 - Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Pioneers
- The Fire Wire - Louisville Fire
The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.
