Kats Select Nine Players In Expansion Draft

Published on September 29, 2004 under Arena Football League (1987-2008) (AFL I)
Nashville Kats News Release


NASHVILLE (Sept. 29, 2004) – The Nashville Kats took another big step toward building their inaugural roster on Wednesday, adding nine players in the 2005 Arena Football League Expansion Draft.

After trading its first three picks to Chicago for veteran OL/DL James Baron and its sixth and ninth picks to Las Vegas for future considerations earlier in the week, Nashville unloaded its first selection (and fourth overall) to the Gladiators in return for the two picks it had previously given them. By the time the Kats chose their first player it was the fifth overall pick, and with that choice, Nashville selected FB/LB Lavelle Brown (5'11, 245) from the Chicago Rush. Brown, who played collegiately at Northwestern, is the older brother of Tennessee Titans tailback Chris Brown.

From there, the Kats selected WR/LB Cosmo DeMatteo from New York, DS Tony Scott from Colorado, OL/DL Jonathan Ingram from New Orleans, OL/DL R-Kal Truluck from Dallas, DS Reggie Stephens from Los Angeles, WR/DB Darcey Levy from Colorado, QB John Fitzgerald from New Orleans and DS Art Smith from San Jose.

DeMatteo, played college ball at Chattanooga and hails from Winchester, Tenn., while Scott was an effective defensive back for Colorado last year and previously played for the Seattle Seahawks. Ingram and Truluck will be placed on the Kats' exempt roster due to being on rosters of the Kansas City Chiefs and Green Bay Packers, respectively. Stephens, Levy and Smith were all recently released by NFL clubs and have not previously played arena football, while Fitzgerald is a veteran AFL quarterback who helped lead New Orleans to a playoff spot as an expansion team last season.

"We feel like we accomplished everything we wanted to get done in this draft," said Pat Sperduto, Kats head coach. "Our goal was to get a few key guys that we really wanted, and we were able to do that. We also were able to bring in some guys with NFL experience that we feel might be impact players in this league."

In addition to trading the first four picks in the draft, Nashville also dealt the 13th pick to Arizona, the 15th choice to Las Vegas and the 16th and 17th selections to Grand Rapids, all in exchange for future considerations. The Kats passed on the final three selections in the draft.

PICK
TEAM POSITION PLAYER PREVIOUS TEAM HGT WGT COLLEGE
1 Chicago WR/DB Charles Pauley San Jose 5-10 165 San Jose State
2 Chicago WR/DB Russell Shaw Los Angeles 5-10 180 Michigan
3 Chicago QB Todd Hammel Philadelphia 6-2 190 Stephen F. Austin
4 Las Vegas FB/LB Tupo Tuupo San Jose 6-3 265 Washington State
5 Nashville FB/LB Lavelle Brown Chicago 5-11 245 Northwestern
6 Nashville WR/LB Cosmo DeMatteo New York 6-1 205 Tennessee-Chattanooga
7 Nashville WR/DB Tony Scott Colorado 5-10 190 North Carolina State
8 Nashville OL/DL Jonathan Ingram New Orleans 6-2 300 San Diego State
9 Nashville OL/DL R-Kal Truluck Dallas 6-4 270 Cortland State
10 Nashville DS Reggie Stephens Los Angeles 5-10 200 Rutgers
11 Nashville WR/DB Darcey Levy Colorado 6-2 198 Pittsburgh
12 Nashville QB John Fitzgerald New Orleans 6-3 215 Tulsa
13 Arizona WR/LB Phil McGeoghan Dallas 6-3 215 Maine
14 Nashville DS Art Smith San Jose 6-0 200 Northeastern
15 Las Vegas OL/DL Rob Gatrell San Jose 6-5 290 Fresno State
16 Grand Rapids WR/DB Terrell Adams Philadelphia 5-7 169 Mississippi Valley State
17 Grand Rapids DS Trayvon Walker San Jose 6-2 180 Illinois

Lavelle Brown (FB/LB – Chicago)
6'0, 245
Northwestern
AFL Experience: 2
Born: July 5, 1977
AFL: Holds Chicago Rush records for most yards rushing in a game (40) and longest rush from scrimmage (20). Played in three games for Chicago in 2004, gaining 16 yards on five carries. He also intercepted the first pass of his career last season. In 2003, averaged 6.6 yards per run and scored four TD's.
COLLEGE: Played in 33 games during his four-year career at Northwestern University (1995-1998), rushing 13 times for 88 yards and 3 touchdowns while catching 11 passes for 61 yards... Played for the Wildcats in the 1996 Rose Bowl and the 1997 Citrus Bowl.

Cosmo DeMatteo (WR/LB – New York)
6'1, 205
Tennessee-Chattanooga
AFL Experience: 1
Born:
AFL: Caught 27 passes for 362 yards and six TD's as a rookie for the New York Dragons in 2004. Finished fourth on the team in tackles with 36. He also had four stops for loss, a fumble recovery and a forced fumble.
OTHER PRO EXPERIENCE: Played in NFL Europe with the Barcelona Dragons
COLLEGE: Played collegiately at UT Chattanooga.

Tony Scott (DS – Colorado)
5'10, 190
North Carolina St.
AFL Experience: 1
Born: Oct. 3, 1976
AFL: Played in six games, starting one, for the Colorado Crush in 2004... Registered 12 total tackles, including one for loss, and four pass breakups.
OTHER PRO EXPERIENCE: Played the 2002 season with the Seattle Seahawks, seeing action in one game... In training camp with the Seahawks in 2003.
COLLEGE: An All-ACC selection at North Carolina State.

Jonathan Ingram (OL/DL – New Orleans)
6'3, 300
San Diego State
AFL Experience: R
Born: Sept. 20, 1980
AFL: Spent the 2004 season on the exempt list of the New Orleans Voodoo, after being allocated to NFL Europe by the Kansas City Chiefs.
OTHER PRO EXPERIENCE: Currently playing with the Kansas City Chiefs after spending the summer in NFL Europe with the Frankfurt Galaxy.
COLLEGE: Three-year starter at center at San Diego State, earning honorable mention All-Mountain West honors as a senior in 2002.

R-Kal Truluck (OL/DL – Dallas)
6'4, 270
Cortland St.
AFL Experience: 2
Born: Sept. 30, 1974
AFL: Spent the 2003 and 2004 seasons on the exempt list of the Detroit Fury and the Dallas Desperados, respectively, while playing in the NFL. He played two seasons for the Fury, earning AFL Rookie of the Year honors in 2001, after finishing second in the league with 8.5 sacks while posting 18 tackles, nine quarterback pressures and four forced fumbles in 12 games. In 2002, he registered a league-high nine sacks among his 33 tackles - including 10 for losses. He also posted eight pressures and two forced fumbles.
OTHER PRO EXPERIENCE: Currently on the roster of the Green Bay Packers after having played the 2002 and 2003 NFL seasons with the Kansas City Chiefs. He has 18 total tackles and 5.5 sacks during his NFL career. He also played in the Canadian Football League with the Saskatchewan Roughriders.
COLLEGE: Totaled 238 tackles and 18 sacks while pitching in seven passes breakups, two forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries in his career at Cortland State.

Reggie Stephens (DS – Los Angeles)
5'10, 200
Rutgers
AFL Experience: R
AFL: On exempt list of Los Angeles while on the roster of the Denver Broncos.
OTHER PRO EXPERIENCE: Three-year NFL veteran, having spent the majority of his career with the New York Giants. He has three career interceptions and five broken up passes. He played on the Giants' 2000 NFC championship squad, and was recently released by Denver.
COLLEGE: Played two years at Rutgers, posting 89 tackles and returning two of his four INT's for touchdowns. Chosen first team All-Big East as a senior.

Darcey Levy (WR/DB - Colorado)
6'2, 198
Pittsburgh
AFL Experience: R
AFL: On Colorado's exempt list while under contract in the NFL.
OTHER PRO EXPERIENCE: Played the 2004 season in the CFL with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers. He has spent time in training camps with the Cincinnati Bengals, Pittsburgh Steelers and Denver Broncos, and also played in NFL Europe with Amsterdam
COLLEGE: Played wide receiver at the University of Pittsburgh in 2000 and 2001, after starting his career as a tailback at Notre Dame.

John Fitzgerald (QB – New Orleans)
6'4, 230
Tulsa
AFL Experience: 4
Born: April 14, 1975
AFL: Has played four years in the AFL with four different teams. Most recently played with New Orleans, throwing for 3,425 yards, 61 TD's and 15 INT's. He was a backup in Dallas in 2003, but played in Carolina in 2002 and Houston in 2001. For his career, he has completed 59.1 percent of his passes, while throwing for 6,819 yards, 110 touchdowns and 33 INT's.
COLLEGE: Started 27 out of 36 games he played in at Tulsa, finishing with 5,822 yards passing. He ranks second on the school's all-time passers list.

Art Smith (DS – San Jose)
6'0, 200
Northeastern
AFL Experience: R
Born: Oct. 18, 1981
AFL: On San Jose's exempt list while on roster of NFL's Oakland Raiders.
OTHER PRO EXPERIENCE: Recently released by the Oakland Raiders.
COLLEGE: Played cornerback at Northeastern University.

Share: Facebook | Twitter/X | LinkedIn | Reddit | Email



Arena Football League (1987-2008) Stories from September 29, 2004


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.

OurSports Central