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T-Speed Seeks Redemption in Second UFL Season

August 11, 2010 - United Football League (UFL 1)
Florida Tuskers News Release


ORLANDO, FL - WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 11, 2010 - There is little doubt the Florida Tuskers will once again showcase one of the UFL's most potent offenses when take the field for their season opener on Sept. 18 at the Las Vegas Locomotives.

The team has its base offense back from a season ago, where the Tuskers brought weapons that challenged defenses from all angles. It's an offense that opponents struggled to stop as the Tuskers ran off a perfect 6-0 regular season in 2009.

One of the Tuskers' many talented threats last year was former Denver Broncos running back Tatum Bell, who rejoins the team this season with one goal in mind--getting another crack at the United Football League championship.

In last year's championship game, a tipped pass in overtime led to an interception as the Tuskers lost a heartbreaker to the Locos, 20-17, that ended the squad's chance at capping off a perfect inaugural campaign.

"We faced a lot of adversity in the championship game that we didn't see a lot of during our undefeated regular season," Bell said. "So losing that game definitely hurt and I am anxious to come back this year and get another chance to win it all."

The former Oklahoma State Cowboy had 277 rushing yards and three touchdowns on 71 carries for the Tuskers last season as he shared the duties in the backfield with Michael Pittman.

Although Pittman is not returning, the Tuskers signed former Indianapolis Colts star Dominic Rhodes and added NFL veteran running backs Aveion Cason and Maurice Hicks to their roster, meaning Gruden may be leaning towards running back by committee.

"It's a going to be an interesting training camp. We have four backs with major NFL experience. It's a good problem to have and I would not have any qualms about giving any of those guys the ball 15 or 20 times a game," Gruden said. "We'll just have to wait to see how training camp unfolds."

But Bell is the one with the experience in the Tuskers' system and will most likely start training camp at the top of the depth chart.

Bell was a second-round (41st overall) draft pick of the Broncos in 2004 where he played under head coach Mike Shanahan. In his rookie season, he started 14 games rushing for 396 yards on 75 attempts scoring three touchdowns.

In 54 regular season games between the Broncos and the Detroit Lions, Bell managed to run for a total of 2,773 yards and 16 touchdowns while in the National Football League.

He said he is excited that the Tuskers made Jay Gruden their head coach this season and he sees a lot of similarities to the offense he ran in Denver under Shanahan.

"The offense is similar to what we ran in Denver as far as the run game is concerned," Bell said. "I'm very excited to be back and playing under Jay and I am glad they gave him the opportunity to be the head coach."

Due to the fact the Tuskers did not hold mini-camps for players during the off-season, the athletes were forced to come up with their own ways of preparing for the rigors of training camps that begin next week.

Bell said he stayed in shape by playing a lot of basketball during the off-season; while also lifting weights and running wind sprints.

"I like to play sports that I'm not that good at to keep my competitive edge up during the off-season and it makes me work even harder at it," said Bell. "I have to be careful to not turn my ankles or anything like that, but I love to keep competing all the time."

This past Monday, a story surfaced in the mainstream media involving Bell's former NFL team hazing newly signed first-round draft pick Tim Tebow by shaving the top of his head "Friar Tuck style". In professional sports the veteran players always find new ways to welcome rookies to the team.

Bell noted that rookie hazing was not quite as wild when he was a rookie. He said he bought a lot of dinners on road trips for the veterans, but he admits that he really not into hazing rookies now that he is a veteran.

"I definitely did my fair share of paying for dinner and things like that in my rookie year with the Broncos," he said. "But they never had me shave my head or anything too crazy. Now I just leave it up to the other guys because I'm not that into hazing the rookies"

With Tuskers season just around the corner, Bell is eager to join a talented offense that includes the return of the reigning UFL Most Valuable Player in quarterback Brooks Bollinger.

His nickname, "T-Speed" is what he has been going by since his college days when he recorded a 4.3 second run in the 40-yard dash at OSU. He left the school ranking as the sixth highest rusher in history with 3,409 yards and his 216 career points scored places him seventh on the all-time list.

Coach Gruden, the Tuskers coaching staff, players, and fans will hope to see "T-Speed" flying up and down the field this season as he looks to help his teammates gain their first championship.

"It's redemption time," he put it quite simply. "I am ready to win the whole thing."



United Football League Stories from August 11, 2010


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.

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