Sports stats



AAF San Diego Fleet

SD Fleet Daily Update

January 25, 2019 - Alliance of American Football (AAF)
San Diego Fleet News Release


TODAY'S HEADLINES

The Fleet had a morning practice at 9:20 a.m. CT at Heroes Stadium in San Antonio, Texas.

The team practiced in full pads today.

The Fleet had 73 of 75 players on the roster participate in practice today - with the exceptions being WR Nelson Spruce (calf) and LB Travis Feeney (biceps). OG Joe Gore (knee) returned to full practice and newcomer OT Daniel Brunskill made his Fleet debut.

RB/FB Terrell Watson (Azusa Pacific) was mic'd up for practice by a film crew from The Alliance for an in-depth Training Camp feature.

Defensive Backs Coach Eric Allen was mic'd up by the Fleet video crew for a feature that will be produced soon.

Yesterday, Topps announced its affiliation with the Alliance of American Football with both packaged trading cards and on-demand cards.

HIGHLIGHTS

WR LaQuvionte Gonzalez (Southeastern) continued his very strong play this past week. Early on in 11-on-11 drills, he blew past the defense on a fly rout for a 50-yard touchdown connection with QB Alex Ross (Coastal Carolina).

RB/FB Terrell Watson (Azusa Pacific) may be the biggest back in Fleet Training Camp, but he continues to show terrific speed. At one point during seven-on-seven drills, he exploded through the center of the line on a draw for a lengthy gain.

LB Frank Ginda (San Jose State) provided one of the bigger hit for the day, dropping a running back behind the line of scrimmage on a screen pass.

FS Tyler Thornton (Azusa Pacific) came away with another interception in 11-on-11 drills - his second of the week.

CB Curtis Mikell (Southern Miss) is another Fleet defensive back who is coming on strong. He had an impressive pass break up by slapping a ball that was just about into the hands of the intended receiver during 11-on-11 drills.

In the first part of 11-on-11 drills, the offense ran plays from the RPO, in part to get the defense accustomed to facing teams utilizing RPO as part of the offense.

BOATS QUOTES

DE Meffy Koloamatangi (Hawaii) on how he is feeling after returning earlier in the week from a knee injury: "I'm back and better. I can't wait to start off the season. I want to thank the trainers over here for getting me right. It's been two weeks since I've been out. It's my first week back and I feel better. I'm not 100-pecent, but I'm almost there. Just flying around again with this good group of guys over here is the best thing I've seen so far."

DE Meffy Koloamatangi (Hawaii) on Fleet Defensive Line Coach Vince Amey: "Working with Coach Amey is great. I'm learning things that I was never taught in college. Just getting here and having the opportunity to be with him; learning a little more and more as days go on in camp."

DE Meffy Koloamatangi (Hawaii) on the competition between the offense and defense in training camp: "Oh, it's great; great competition. We have a great group of guys who played in the NFL, played in (NFL) games. It gives me good looks; it also give them good looks. I never had the opportunity to go against NFL guys until now. So now is my chance to take advantage of what I've got."

DE Meffy Koloamatangi (Hawaii) on if he was able to learn from watching from the sidelines during the knee injury: "Of course. You've got to take mental reps. Also, I didn't want to fall back on learning all the plays, so I just wanted to keep progressing; not losing what I had."

Defensive Backs Coach Eric Allen on The Alliance: "I spent 14 years in the National Football League - I was drafted in 1988 - a we spent almost a month and a half in training camp. This (AAF) training camp has really been similar to what we did early on - like in the 70s and 80s, when the older guys were playing. You spent a tremendous amount of time just working on your craft, and those were the things that happen in the game - what becomes muscle memory. So when I'm coaching my corners, it's really going back to when those coaches were coaching me - like Buddy Ryan -- in camps... That's the advantage of having this league have training camp this way... If you're the kind of guy that needs the reps and needs that foundation, this is the perfect place. This is how it used to be. You hear Coach Martz talking about bringing football back to where it used to be - and Coach (Larry) Marmie, where it used to be - and this is it. This is the essence of football."

Offensive Coordinator Mike DeBord on decision to come out of his December retirement: "First of all, it was Mike Martz. But also, too, it was the addiction I have for the game of football. I wasn't ready to give that up. I was ready to give up recruiting in the college game; but I wasn't ready to give up the football part of it. So when Mike called, it was a great combination for me of football and Mike Martz - so I wanted to do it."

Offensive Coordinator Mike DeBord on coming back to coach Mike Martz: "He always treated me unbelievably. I had great respect for him for what he did with the Rams. When we went to Chicago - that's been about eight or nine years ago -- he just took me in and started teaching me a lot about his offense. I'll never forget that. So when he called and said, 'Hey, can you come?' There was no thinking about it. My wife and I were excited to come."

Offensive Coordinator Mike DeBord on the value of having a league like The Alliance: "I just think that it gives players that opportunity to go on to the NFL and continue their development process. It is a process. There are guys that haven't developed as quickly as maybe some other guys that are in the NFL; so it gives them that opportunity to do that and time to do that."

Offensive Coordinator Mike DeBord on the Fleet coaching staff: "I think it's a great mix. Mike has taken a group that has some older guys with a lot of experience and he's got some young guys that are just starting out in coaching a little bit that are unbelievable coaches. I think it all starts with great people; and they're great coaches. This is a great coaching staff."

DROPPING THE ANCHOR LINE (OF THE DAY)

RB Terrell Watson (Azusa Pacific) on his selection to being mic'd up at practice: "I don't really say much, but I'll do my best to talk more!"

WELCOME ABOARD

Offensive Coordinator Mike DeBord, 62, was officially announced by the Fleet yesterday to replace Jon Kitna, who was hired by the Dallas Cowboys. The 37-year coaching veteran was lured out of his recent December retirement after serving as the associate head coach, offensive coordinator and tight ends coach at Indiana University for the past two seasons (2017-18). He previously worked with current Fleet Head Coach Mike Martz for two seasons with the Chicago Bears (2010-11). DeBord may best be known for his time at University of Michigan. The Muncie, Ind., native was the offensive coordinator for the 1997 National Champion Wolverines -- who compiled a perfect 12-0 record, won the Big Ten Conference championship and defeated Washington State in the 1998 Rose Bowl.

Following the season, DeBord was named Sporting News National Assistant Coach of the Year. His tenure at Michigan started as offensive line coach from 1993-96 being promoted to offensive coordinator from 1997-99. He later returned as special teams and recruiting coordinator from 2004-05 and returned to offensive coordinator and tight ends coach from 2006-07. DeBord's only head coaching experience came during a four-year run at Central Michigan University (2000-03). He launched his career in 1982 as offensive line coach at Franklin College (IN) and has also made collegiate stops at Fort Hays State University (KS), Eastern Illinois University, Ball State University (IN), Colorado State University, Northwestern University (IL) and University of Tennessee. In all, he coached 53 players who advanced to play in the NFL. DeBord added five years of NFL experience to his extensive resume starting as assistant offensive line coach for the Seattle Seahawks in 2008. He was later promoted to tight ends coach in 2009 before spending three seasons as tight ends coach for the Bears (2010-12).

DEFENSIVE SPOTLIGHT - CURTIS MIKELL, CORNERBACK

CB Curtis Mikell (Southern Miss), pronounced like MICHAEL, has been working with the Fleet at both cornerback and punt returner. He also displayed versatility during his four-year career at Southern Miss (2014-17) when he also served as a wide receiver for the first two seasons. He finished his career with 120 tackles and three interceptions while also logging eight receptions for 71 yards. As a junior, he had a pair of interceptions in a win at UTEP -- the second of which tied a school-record with 100 yards on the touchdown return. As a sophomore, he recorded eight tackles and caught a fourth-down pass for a 22-yard conversion from the punter in the Heart of Dallas Bowl vs. Washington on Dec. 26, 2015. After going undrafted in 2018, he signed as a free agent with the Los Angeles Rams in May.

COUNTDOWNS

The Fleet will enter its day off Thursday with:

1 days before its dress rehearsal game against the Orlando Apollos at the Alamodome on Jan. 27.

5 days until returning to San Diego on Jan. 31.

14 days before the inaugural season kicks-off in San Antonio against the Commanders at the Alamodome on Feb. 9.

22 days before its home opener at SDCCU Stadium against the Atlanta Legends on Feb. 17.

• Discuss this story on the Alliance of American Football message board...

Alliance of American Football Stories from January 25, 2019


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.

Other Recent San Diego Fleet Stories



Sports Statistics from the Stats Crew
OurSports Central