Swamp Foxes Send Pair to NFL
Published on January 31, 2003 under arenafootball2 (af2)
Charleston Swamp Foxes News Release
NORTH CHARLESTON, SC â Sixty-five days before the 2003 arenafootball2 season opener, the Charleston Swamp Foxes and first-year head coach Rik Richards are busy filling out the roster. In recent days, however, the Foxes have encountered a dilemma many teams would relish.
Within the past six days, the Swamp Foxes have sent kickers Todd France and Jeff Crowell to the NFL. France signed a two-year deal with the Minnesota Vikings, the team with which he was with in early 2002, while Crowell was inked by the San Francisco Forty-Niners. France and Crowell become the seventh and eighth players, respectively, the Swamp Foxes' have sent to the NFL over the past two seasons.
The Swamp Foxes do retain the rights to both players if the NFL squads cut them.
France, a 6-3, 185-pound kicker, became the first Swamp Fox player in 2003 to be called up to the NFL. He played collegiate football at the University of Toledo where he became the all-time leading scorer in the Mid-American Conference with 320 points. France was a three-time Lou Groza Award nominee, an award given to the nation's best place kicker. He connected on 152-of-154 extra points during his four-year career and nailed a career-long 55-yard field goal versus Western Michigan. His career field goal percentage was .691 (56 of 81).
Crowell spent time in camps with the New York Giants and San Francisco Forty-Niners in the NFL, signed to play in the XFL, and most recently tried out for the San Jose SabreCats of the AFL. He earned All-American, All-state, and All-conference accolades while attending Gavilan Junior College. He nailed six-of-ten field goal attempts and booted a 92-yard punt at Portland State.
Sending multiple players to the NFL in consecutive weeks isn't new for Charleston. In 2001, wide receiver/defensive back Mike Chandler and fullback/linebacker Leroy McFadden were both signed by the NFL's Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
"When I said Todd wasn't going to be the last player we sent to the NFL this season, I didn't think it would happen again so quickly â let alone with the guy I replaced him with in Jeff Crowell," said Richards. "It is a little frustrating because I was hoping they would at least don a Swamp Foxes' jersey for a game or two. But all in all it shows that the kids we are getting in here for 2003 are the best available.
Season tickets for the Foxes' fourth season of competition, which kicks off on April 5, are on sale now. Ticket packages start at just $40 for all exciting eight home contests. For more information, please call the Swamp Foxes' front office at (843) 554-4321 or visit us online at www.goswampfoxes.com.
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