McGriff, Burt, Davis Named to All-Rookie Team
Published on May 19, 2003 under Arena Football League (AFL)
Orlando Predators News Release
ORLANDO, Fla. (May 19, 2003) -- The Orlando Predators and Dallas Desperados dominated to the 2003 Arena Football League "All-Rookie" team with three selections each.
Heading the way for the Predators was former Florida Gator star Travis McGriff, who finished the regular season 81 receptions for 1,216 yards and 25 touchdowns. McGriff, who added 1,031 yards in kick returns, became just the third player in Predators history to record 2,000 all-purpose yards in a single season with 2,247 all-purpose yards. McGriff, who played three seasons in the NFL for the Denver Broncos, finished second on the team with 158 points.
Joining McGriff on the All-Rookie team were teammates Burt and Davis. Burt, an undersized lineman, was overlooked by every Arena Football League team last year despite setting a pro football record with 27.5 quarterback sacks for Cape Fear of the "arenafootball2" league.
Predators Head Coach Fran Papasedero signed Burt three days into training camp after releasing two prized recruits. "The book on him was that he was too small to play at the next level and was horrible as an offensive lineman. I can't be smug about signing him, because like every other coach in this league, I didn't think he could play at this level and didn't give him a thought during the off-season. I remember joking with him after we signed him that I only need him to get a quarter of the 27 sacks he did in af2 and I would be happy. We ended up getting more than that out of him."
What the Predators did get out of him was 9.5 quarterback sacks, which broke Jerry Odom's 12-year-old record for the most sacks in a single season by an Orlando player. His quarterback sack total of 9.5 ranked second in the Arena Football League behind Tom Bragg's 10.5. He also forced a league-high eight fumbles. Burt also had 30 tackles, the most of any Predators lineman.
Davis, like McGriff, was a rookie in AFL terms only. The Predators originally signed him in 1999, but he opted for NFL Europe instead. He parlayed that experience into a three-year NFL career with the New York Giants. After being waived following the 2002 season, Davis resigned with the Predators. He started at wide receiver and backed up Cory Fleming at "jack" linebacker. Davis finished the season with 63 receptions for 759 yards and 13 touchdowns. Defensively, he had 22.5 tackles with an interception and a fumble recovery.
"We wanted Thabiti since 1998, but the NFL kept calling. He was waived last year for salary cap reasons and that allowed us to finally sign him," Papasedero said. "He played as crucial role in the success of our football team this year."
The league will officially name its "Rookie of the Year" on Wednesday. McGriff is considered a strong favorite to take that award. Orlando's three players named to the 10-member all-rookie team tied Dallas for the most of any Arena Football League team. Georgia, Tampa Bay, Los Angeles and Chicago had one player each named to the team. McGriff and Burt were unanimous selections.
Arena Football League Stories from May 19, 2003
- Lucas named to AFL All-Rookie team - Tampa Bay Storm
- Bryan Henderson Named to All-Rookie Team - Arizona Rattlers
- McGriff, Burt, Davis Named to All-Rookie Team - Orlando Predators
- Rattlers Dump Crush, 59-48 - Arizona Rattlers
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