Season Preview: Bloomington Extreme
Published on March 15, 2007 under United Indoor Football Association (UIF) News Release
The Bloomington/Normal, IL area supported last year's expansion team very well. The Bloomington Extreme finished 5-10 but Head Coach Ted Schmitz says they played hard and thinks the fans appreciated it. Those fans will appreciate what Schmitz' staff and team bring to the turf this year.
The staff has 143 years of coaching experience, but it was the one year of experience in the league that gave Schmitz an idea of how to put together a UIF team. "Last year we made a mistake, we went with all speed," Schmitz said. "We think you have to be very physical. We found that out last year. So what we look for is not just speed, but (now) we're looking for athletes that are quick and very physical.
Schmitz says they know the game better. "We're going to be more run-oriented than we were a year ago." Signing Rocky Harvey should bolster the run game. Harvey was an Honorable Mention All-Big Ten running back for the University of Illinois and played for Fort Wayne the past two UIF seasons. In the meantime, the Extreme return 23 players including quarterback Dusty Burk and kicker Peter Christafilakos.
From early training camp accounts, the talent is showing. Joel Fellers wrote on pantagraph.com, "Rocky Harvey showed his speed, Dusty Burk hit receivers coming out of a number of formations and there was plenty of hard hitting going on as the Bloomington Extreme took the Hancock Stadium turf for the first full-contact practice of training camp Saturday in Normal."
In the same story, Extreme General Manager, Jerry McBurney, says, "(The team is) lightyears ahead of where we were at this time last year. I think the important thing is we have more depth this year. We got hurt with three injuries in one quarter with our receiving corps, and we made sure that we have the depth to take care of that this year if it happens again."
Schmitz knows he still has to throw the ball, but expect a more balanced offensive attack. "We're not going to be just a run-and-gun team and use our back as a blocker; we're going to use him as an offensive weapon," he said.
For offensive line improvements, the Extreme added another former Fort Wayne player, Jamarkus Gorman, 6'5, 340 lbs. They also tabbed three rookies-former Illinois State player Janiah Downing, 6-3, 310 lbs, Jim Davis, 6-2, 275 lbs from Knox College and former professional basketball players Adam Grubbs, 6-5, 325 lbs.
Along with coaching experience, a bolstered running game, 23 returnees and greater depth at most positions, the Extreme get the benefit of an extra week of preparation. Week One is a BYE for Bloomington. They open the season at home against the Rock River Raptors. Kickoff at U.S. Cellular Coliseum is 7:35 p.m., Friday, March 30. Additionally, Illinois State University has been on spring break this first week of training camp, making it easy to schedule practices at the Normal facility.
Audio Preview: http://unitedindoorfootball.com.ismmedia.com/ISM2/MultimediaManager/1928.mp3
Tomorrow's preview: the Ohio Valley Greyhounds.
United Indoor Football Association Stories from March 15, 2007
- Season Preview: Bloomington Extreme - UIF
- Fan Fest 2007 March 22 - Bloomington Extreme
- UIF Director of Officials Appears on Sioux Falls Radio Show - UIF
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