
Steamwheelers Add More AFL Talent to 2005 Team
December 29, 2004 - arenafootball2 (af2)
Quad City Steamwheelers News Release
DAVENPORT, Iowa â As an Arena Football League coach of 10 years, current Quad City Steamwheelers coach Rick Frazier has a very experienced eye for good Arena Football talent. His eye landed on four more players, who were added to the Steamwheelers roster on Wednesday.
The arenafootball2 league office assigned offensive linemen/defensive linemen Tyshaun Whitson and Jason Cedeno, fullback/linebacker Jermaine Benoit and wide receiver/defensive back Skip Stewart to the Steamwheelers on Wednesday.
"They are all (NCAA) Division I type kids," Frazier said. "It is huge (to add more players with quality Arena Football experience). We haven't gone after too many college players who didn't have any Arena Football experience. It's nice that we don't have to start from scratch."
This brings the Steamwheelers roster total to 24 with Frazier allowed to bring a league maximum 35 to the March training camp.
Whitson not only brings Arena Football experience to the Steamwheelers, he has also spent time with the Washington Redskins of the National Football League. He was a 2001 training camp cut.
A year later, he began his Arena Football career. He got his start in 2002 with the Grand Rapids Rampage and spent the season on the practice squad. The next year he played for the Steamwheelers former archrival Peoria Pirates. With the Pirates, he accounted for 17 tackles, three tackles for a loss, 2.5 sacks and forced two fumbles.
The performance earned him another shot in the AFL, this time with the Colorado Crush. He started the season on the practice squad with the Crush and saw action in one game, but did not record any stats. He then joined Frazier in Grand Rapids to close out the 2004 season and played in three games for the Rampage and recorded one tackle.
The 6-foot-6, 325-pound, Whitson was a standout offensive tackle at Baylor University in 1999 and 2000. He started every game his junior and senior year and was a part of a 1999 offensive line that saw the same five players start every single game. Prior to Baylor, Whitson attended Pasadena City College, playing both the offensive and defensive lines. He was an all-conference player at defensive tackle and also a Junior College All-American.
Benoit also has a strong Arena Football background, as he has been in the AFL for the past three seasons. His career began in 2002 when he spent the season with the Tampa Bay Storm on the practice squad. He then made a move across country to the Los Angeles Avengers for a brief stint at the end of the 2002 season.
Benoit, who stands 6-foot-2 and weighs in at 270 pounds, then joined Frazier and Whitson in Grand Rapids for the 2004 season. He played in eight games for the Rampage and accounted for 10 tackles (seven solo), a tackle for loss, a sack and three quarterback hurries.
Benoit got his start in the AFL after a solid career at the University of Central Florida.
"Tyshaun and Jermaine were with me at Grand Rapids and got some quality playing time at the Arena Football League level," Frazier said. "We are very excited about these two."
Another one of Frazier's understudies is Stewart. Only his history is a little further back than last year. Frazier saw Stewart during the 1996 and 1997 seasons with the Milwaukee Mustangs. In 1996, Stewart caught 43 passes for 557 yards and nine touchdowns, to go along with three kick returns for 36 yards. On the defensive side, the 6-foot-2, 180-pound, Stewart had 19 tackles (16 solo), an interception and five pass breakups.
The following season, Stewart upped his numbers with 50 pass receptions for 811 yards and 14 touchdowns, three missed field goal returns for 86 yards, and 27 kickoff returns for 519 yards and two touchdowns. Stewart also rushed for 31 yards on nine carries. On the flip side of the ball, he had 29.5 tackles (24 solo) as well as two tackles for a loss, six pass breakups and two fumble recoveries.
"He was a great athlete coming out of high school. I like Skip," Frazier said of the Cisco College standout. "Going against guys like (current Steamwheelers wide receiver/defensive back) Jeff Hewitt is going to be tough, but he wanted another chance to play, and I am going to give it to him. He could surprise a lot of people if he came ready to play."
Another familiar face to Frazier is Cedeno (6-foot-5, 315), who comes to the Steamwheelers fresh off a stellar season with the Laredo Law of the af2. Last season with the expansion team, Cedeno played in five games and recorded three tackles (all solo) and a tackle for a loss.
He was the first lineman assigned to the Law last season. The Trinidad native started his college career at Navarro Junior College in Corsicana, Texas, where he was a two-year starter and earned All-Southwest Junior College and All-Region honors in 2000. His senior year was spent at NCAA Division II Northeastern Oklahoma.
"We had Cedeno in camp with us last year in Grand Rapids and was on the border of making the team or not," Frazier said. "He is a kid that will challenge for a slot with the rest of our line in camp."
The Steamwheelers are gearing up for their sixth season, as a charter member of the af2 under new coach Rick Frazier, a veteran head coach in the Arena Football League. The 2005 af2 season is set to kickoff the first weekend of April, with the Steamwheelers opening their season on the road the following weekend at Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. Their first home game of the 2005 season will come on Saturday, April 16, at 7:30 p.m., when they host the Bossier-Shreveport Battle Wings. Season tickets are now on sale and can be purchased by calling the Steamwheelers office at (563) 324-4888 or toll free at 1-866-STEAMTIX (78326849).
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