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Tuskers Practice Report: Tuskers WR Hopes to Tower Over Competition

August 30, 2010 - United Football League (UFL 1)
Florida Tuskers News Release


ORLANDO, FL - MONDAY, AUGUST 30, 2010- A wise man once said, "It's not the size of the dog in the fight; it's the size of the fight in the dog." Whoever that wise man was obviously never met the wide receiving corps of the Florida Tuskers, where head coach Jay Gruden hopes the size of the dog will matter.

Although newly signed wide receiver Huey Whittaker (6'5, 220 lbs.) has the size to compete with the backcourt of most professional basketball teams, he hopes that size will allow him to tower over much shorter defensive backs on the gridiron.

"I pretty much try to use my size and the width of my body to shield away defenders," Whittaker said. "A lot of guys think just because I'm tall that I have no speed, so I try to use that as well and then use the strength in my hands to catch the football."

Whittaker joined the team last week after leading the Spokane Shock of the Arena Football League to an ArenaBowl championship.

The University of South Florida product came up big in the championship game, catching eight passes for 82 yards and four touchdowns in the Shock's 69-57 win over the Tampa Bay Storm. It was just a continuation of what he did in the regular season, as he caught 144 passes for 1,637 yards and 37 scores in leading Spokane to a league-best 13-3 record.

"I really wasn't even sure about going to Spokane in the first place, but all worked out, it was great to be able to bring a championship there and hopefully we will do the same thing here," he said.

After leaving USF second in career receptions with 117 and third-best 1,447 receiving yards in school history, Whittaker signed with the Pittsburgh Steelers as an undrafted free agent in 2004. His closest call to making a National Football League roster came with the New York Jets in 2009 when he survived all preliminary cuts but was waived just prior to the start of the season.

He has also spent time with the Jacksonville Jaguars and Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the NFL, the Frankfurt Galaxy in NFL-Europe, but has registered most of his career numbers with the Tampa Bay Storm, Utah Blaze, and most recently the Spokane Shock in the AFL.

In his AFL career, Whittaker has recorded 276 receptions for 3,255 yards and 70 touchdowns. Should he make the Tuskers final roster, he will be playing in his 20th football game of the season when Florida plays Las Vegas on September 18th after participating in 19 games with the Shock.

"I'm actually feeling really good right now physically, thankfully God has done some great things with my body and I'm ready to play some more," said Whittaker after Monday's training camp session. "I was also playing linebacker and special teams in the AFL so I took a little bit extra beating, but I had a week off before coming here and I feel healthy."

Gruden's offense calls for a lot of passing plays while taking advantage of his receivers' size and speed. So it is somewhat fitting that Whitaker will be playing for receivers coach Ike Hilliard, a former college star who excelled in Steve Spurrier's "Fun n Gun" aerial assault at the University of Florida.

Hilliard, who is in his first season in charge of the Tuskers wide receivers, believes that the size of Whittaker, along with teammates Chas Gessner (6'5, 218 lbs) and Nick Moore (6'4 190 lbs.) will enable the team to make big plays down the field.

"Since Huey is new we just have to get him going on the terminology of the offense," Hillard said. "His size is everything that the roster states and having him out here will be a big advantage for us. Thanks to that size, the margin of error for our quarterbacks is greater."

There is no doubt that Whittaker is excited to be a part of Gruden's offense after playing against his coach for several years in the AFL. Gruden should be just as excited to have Whittaker as just another weapon for quarterback Brooks Bollinger to target in the passing game.

"Playing for Jay has been a lot of fun so far, I just have to learn the tweaks in the routes of the offense," Whittaker said of Gruden's offense. "He wants to make plays and score touchdowns and I love that so it has been great."

"Players like Huey can create real match-up problems, especially against smaller corners," Gruden added. "A lot of times a corner will do everything right, but a bigger receiver will still make the play."

FLORIDA TUSKERS SATURDAY CAMP NOTES: Defensive lineman Jon Bradley returned to training camp on Monday...he had missed the last three practices to be with his wife, who gave birth to Jon Bradley Jr. (9-lbs.) on August 27, 2010...Jon reported mother and child were doing fine...Head coach Jay Gruden is hoping several members of his offensive and defensive line return to practice this week, so he can hold a 30-40 play scrimmage on either Thursday or Friday of this week...Gruden had to cancel last Saturday's planned scrimmage because of injuries on both lines..."For the most part they are not serious injuries but nagging ones. We need to get some live work in so we can evaluate these players prior to next week's 'cut-down' day," Gruden said. "Until we see some of these guys live, it's really tough to evaluate."...Line is not the only place where injuries have taken a toll on the Tuskers...QB Chris Greisen (back) and WR Chas Gessner (thigh) were also held out of practice on Monday...In order to battle the heat and rain, Gruden has moved the start of practice up to 8:30 a.m...daily video clips on the Tuskers, including interviews with players and coaches are available by becoming a Florida Tuskers fan on Facebook...single game tickets to the Tuskers Sept. 30 home opener with Las Vegas are now available by calling 407-545-8123.



United Football League Stories from August 30, 2010


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