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First Weekend Of United Football League Tryouts Attracts Prospective Players To Four Venues

May 10, 2010 - United Football League (UFL 1) News Release


JACKSONVILLE, FL - Monday, May 10, 2010 - Four of the five United Football League teams continued building their rosters for the 2010 season through open tryouts for free agents hoping to earn a professional football contract.

The UFL will hold open tryouts through May and June in 12 venues across the country and all five teams continue the talent search this weekend in their respective home cities. Tryouts began in Los Angeles, CA, Miami, FL, Petersburg, VA, and San Diego, CA, and now move on to Connecticut, Las Vegas, Omaha, Orlando and Sacramento this weekend.

The defending champion Las Vegas Locos, who held their first open tryouts in Arizona last month, took their talent search to Los Angeles where more than 200 hopefuls were tested at Cerritos College in Norwalk.

"There is a wealth of talented unsigned players out there and we saw several who will be given an opportunity to make our final roster," said Locos head coach Jim Fassel, whose coaching staff will return home to unearth local players at Sam Boyd Stadium in Las Vegas on Saturday, May 15.

Each tryout camp lasts approximately four hours. Athletes are timed in the 40-yard dash and participate in a series of individual and team drills. The tryouts are open for all positions, including kickers and punters and players can pre-register online at www.ufl-football.com.

The Florida Tuskers, who posted a perfect 6-0 regular season record in 2009, took the search south from their home city of Orlando to Miami, where head coach Jay Gruden welcomed 120 players to Nova Southeastern University. Tuskers tryouts continue at the team's Florida Citrus Bowl home field on Saturday, May 15.

"I was pleased with the quality of athlete that participated, particularly in the speed department," said Gruden. "There is a huge number of great athletes in South Florida and we wanted to give those players a chance to be seen."

In terms of revealing which players might make his roster, Gruden explained: "It is a long process. We have two more tryout camps left and we have our normal recruiting process. Over the next three months, we are going to find the best 75 players we can to bring to training camp. I'll meet with our coaches this week and talk about who we saw here and who we might want to bring back."

The Hartford Colonials attracted more than 200 players to Petersburg High School near Richmond, Virginia, including former University of North Carolina wide receiver Mike Mason and quarterbacks Anthony Morelli (Penn State) and Cullen Harper (Clemson).

Colonials head coach Chris Palmer said: "I was impressed by the players that we had here. We had an excellent turnout. I believe our decision to come to Richmond was validated as we saw some excellent speed from these guys. I think we will end up offering contracts to six or eight of the athletes here, which in my mind makes the day an overwhelming success."

The Colonials return to the team's home state of Connecticut where prospective players can try out at Berlin High School (registration and measurements) and Sage Park on Saturday, May 15.

The Sacramento Mountain Lions ventured to Southern California to test players at Montgomery High School in San Diego and will hold their second tryouts at Natomas High School in Sacramento on Saturday, May 15.

"The determination of athletes to make our football team was infectious and I was delighted with the ability and attitude of those who tried out," said Mountain Lions head coach Dennis Green. "There are enough quality players out there who were stars in college or high school and have what it takes to play professional football."

Omaha Nighthawks head coach Jeff Jagodzinski will hold his team's first tryouts at Omaha Central High School on Saturday, May 15.

"We know that there are a lot of good football players out there that need an opportunity to show what they can do, which they will have this month," said Jagodzinski. "Immediately after we announced that there would be a UFL team playing at Rosenblatt Stadium this season and then at TD Ameritrade Park in 2011, we received calls from players and agents eager for an opportunity to play in Omaha. We will open that opportunity up to them and see how they perform at the tryouts. I'm excited to get started here."

United Football League Tryouts dates and locations for Saturday, May 15:

Date & Time Team City, State Address

Saturday, May 15 7am-1pm Florida Orlando, NE Florida Citrus Bowl 1610 W. Church Street, Orlando, FL

Saturday, May 15 10.30am-3.30pm Hartford

Berlin, CT

Berlin High School / Sage Park 139 Patterson Way, Berlin, CT 06037

Saturday, May 15 9am-3pm Las Vegas

Las Vegas, NV

Sam Boyd Stadium 7000 East Russell Road, Las Vegas, NV 89122

Saturday, May 15 7.30am-1pm Omaha Central High School Central High School 124 N. 20th Street, Omaha, NE, 69102

Saturday, May 15 7.30am-1.45pm Sacramento

Sacramento, CA

Natomas High School 3301 Fong Ranch Rd, Sacramento, CA 95834 Contact: Joe Wagoner 916-216-5143

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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.


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