Steamwheelers Add Three from Open Tryouts
January 31, 2007 - arenafootball2 (af2)
Quad City Steamwheelers News Release
(Davenport, IA) - The Quad City Steamwheelers announced today that the arenafootball2 league has assigned FB/LB Nicholas Grinvalds and WR Aaron Washington to the team.
These two players, along with another recent assignee, FB/LB Nikolas Kerr, attended the Steamwheelers Open Tryout on December 3, 2006 and impressed the team's coaching staff enough to be offered contracts. Approximately 40 players tried out for the team during the tryout.
Grinvalds (6-foot-1, 250 pounds) attended Harper College through 2003 where he was part of the Junior College National Championship team. After college the Deere Park, Ill., native played semi-professional football in 2006 with the McHenry County (Ill.) Pirates. Grinvalds played in seven games before an injury sidelined him for the remainder of the season. In the seven games Grinvalds tallied 74 tackles, 10 tackles for a loss, four sacks and one interception.
Washington (6-foot-2, 206 pounds) played locally for Saint Ambrose University where he tallied 24 catches for 395 yards and three touchdowns during his four seasons with the Fighting Bees.
"All three of these players looked good during the tryout," said head coach Sean Ponder. "Kerr looked like a good, solid pass protector who really impressed coach Ed Flanagan. Grinvalds showed an ability to get to the quarterback with his strength and quickness, while Washington is a tall receiver that ran good routes and showed a great ability to catch balls."
The additions continue a tradition of the Steamwheelers finding local talent through open tryouts. In the past two seasons, OL/DL Maurice Harris and WR/LB Alfonso Pugh made the squad after attending open tryouts. Last season Harris, a Davenport native, was added to the team during the season after attending a tryout earlier in the year. Pugh, a WR/LB from Galesburg, made the squad in 2005 after attending a tryout as well.
The Steamwheelers currently have 11 players on the roster for the 2007 season. These three join OL/DL Shonn Bell, DS Joe Hinton, DS Ronnie McDougle, OL/DL Matt O'Shea, QB Matt Pike, QB J.J. Raterink, OL/DL Jermaine Smith and WR/DB Jarnae Somerville on the current roster.
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