Rhodes Returns to Colts

Published on December 7, 2010 under United Football League (UFL 1)
Florida Tuskers News Release


JACKSONVILLE, FL - Tuesday, December 7, 2010 - Florida Tuskers running back DOMINIC RHODES has returned to the Indianapolis Colts backfield where he won a Super Bowl ring, following a standout 2010 season in the United Football League.

Rhodes became the sixth UFL star to join the active roster of a NFL club and the fourth to put pen to paper since the transfer fee to allow movement from the UFL to NFL was reduced.

Rhodes follows quarterback Richard Bartel (Sacramento Mountain Lions to Arizona Cardinals), running back Lorenzo Booker (Hartford Colonials to Minnesota Vikings) and defensive end Eric Moore (Florida Tuskers to New England Patriots) to active NFL rosters. The $25,000 fees for those players have been paid by either a personal player payment or a NFL team payment.

"The UFL was an awesome experience for me," said Rhodes. "It was what I needed. It was definitely a blessing. I needed to go there and get that on my back too so I can carry that when I come here (to Indianapolis).

"I guarantee you guys in the UFL are hungry and I've always been that way and it just gave me more hunger."

Rhodes rewrote the UFL record books during the 2010 season, setting new single-season marks for total touchdowns (10), rushing yards (547) and all-purpose yards (918). He was third in the UFL in yards from scrimmage (652) and second in kickoff return average (21.7). Rhodes scored at least one touchdown in each of the first seven games of the season and was in the running for the UFL Offensive Player of the Year award won by Sacramento Mountain Lions rusher Cory Ross.

Contemplating the final four regular season games that the Colts must win in order to progress to the NFL postseason, Rhodes compared the challenge to the one he faced in Orlando where the 2-3 Tuskers had to win three straight games to earn a Championship Game berth.

"I just came off a situation with the UFL where we knew we had to win four games in a row to win the championship," he explained. "It's an awesome feeling to know that you're playing for something. We've got four games left and I get to be a part of that and I'm definitely excited."

Rhodes had three 100-yard rushing games for the Tuskers this fall: 103 yards and a touchdown on 20 carries in Week 4 at Hartford, a team-record 111 yards and a touchdown on just 11 carries in Week 8 at home vs. Omaha and 102 yards and two touchdowns on 20 carries in Week 9 at home vs. Hartford. In the 2010 UFL Championship Game, which the Tuskers lost 23-20 to the Las Vegas Locos on November 27, Rhodes ran 20 times for 67 yards and caught four passes for 29 yards.

This will be Rhodes' third stint with the Colts. He played six seasons in Indianapolis from 2001 to 2006 and 2008, rushing for 2,812 yards and 25 touchdowns and catching 136 passes for 951 yards and four touchdowns. In Super Bowl XLI, he rushed for a game-high 113 yards and a touchdown as the Colts won their second championship in franchise history.

Rhodes, 31, also played a season with the Oakland Raiders in 2007. For his NFL career, he has amassed 7,257 all-purpose yards and 32 career touchdowns. Those totals include 3,114 rushing yards with 26 touchdowns. He has eight NFL games with 100 or more yards rushing.

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United Football League Stories from December 7, 2010


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