Nighthawks Sign Pair of Ex-Vols
February 21, 2012 - Professional Indoor Football League (PIFL)
Knoxville NightHawks News Release
KNOXVILLE, TN- The Nighthawks have added two popular ex-Volunteers to the 2012 roster.
Linebacker/defensive end LaMarcus Thompson and defensive Back Derrick Furlow are the latest additions to the roster for the inaugural professional indoor football league season. Both players enjoy living in Knoxville and have chosen to stay here after leaving the University of Tennessee.
"Well I stayed in Knoxville because I love it here. It's a great place to live, it has the best of both worlds, has all the benefits of a big city and also has the relationships you can build in a small town,'' Thompson said. " I am also excited to be playing football here in Knoxville again because the fans here are great and very supportive. I'm just glad to have an opportunity to keep playing football."
Thompson played for the Vols from 2006-2010 but was redshirted during the 2006 season. He had a career high of 60 tackles in the 2010 season and played in all 13 games. Against LSU, he recorded a personal-best of nine tackles after setting the mark with 8 tackles against University of Alabama-Birmingham the week before.
Furlow saw action in all 13 games of the 2009 season on the kickoff coverage and return teams. He had single tackles in four regular season games and also in the Chick-fil-A Bowl against Virginia Tech.
"I would like to say thanks to the Nighthawks for giving me the opportunity to play for them. I think bringing a team to Knoxville is a good thing for the community," Furlow said. "I bleed orange and I am a Vol for life so once I got this chance to play in front of the big orange nation again, but wearing a different color, I could not pass it up! We plan on giving the fans some extra football to be excited about."
Coach Chris MacKeown is excited about the caliber of players that he has gotten out of Thompson and Furlow.
"Both of them are what we are looking for. High character, good football players, and overall good people are exactly the qualities we want in the players on our team," MacKeown said. "They both played at a competive Division I school that is incredibly popular in this area. LaMarcus has impeccable skills and has been to the highest level with the Atlanta Falcons. Derrick is a big defensive back that will be imperative to this game."
The Nighthawks will start training camp next week in preparation for the pre-season game on Friday, March 9 th against the Alabama Hammers at Knoxville Civic Coliseum. They will start their season off on the road in Columbus on March 17 th and have their home opener on Saturday, March 31 st at 7:00pm at the KCC.
• Discuss this story on the Professional Indoor Football League message board...
Professional Indoor Football League Stories from February 21, 2012
- Nighthawks Sign Pair of Ex-Vols - Knoxville NightHawks
- Lions Sign Local NFL Product - Columbus Lions
- Former Viper Scott Now a Hammer - Alabama Hammers
- Panthers Announce Phoebe Field - Albany Panthers
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.
