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Tuskers Shake up Roster, Waive RB Tatum Bell

August 24, 2010 - United Football League (UFL 1)
Florida Tuskers News Release


ORLANDO, FL - TUESDAY, AUGUST 24, 2010-Prior to the opening of training camp last week, Orlando Tuskers head coach Jay Gruden felt that the battle for roster spots at running back would be intense, as four players with extensive NFL experience would battle for both the starting role and a roster spot.

On Tuesday, former Denver Bronco star Tatum Bell was the odd man out as the Tuskers released him from their 2010 camp roster. Bell, who rushed for more than 2,700 yards in five NFL seasons, led Florida in rushing last year with 279 yards and three scores.

"Tatum Bell had an outstanding year for us last season," Gruden said. "But the other three backs are just having great training camps. In fact, I am ecstatic about what we have at running back right now. It's not something that Tatum wasn't doing right, the other three guys were just out-performing him."

The move left the Tuskers with three running backs in camp, including former Super Bowl hero Dominic Rhodes (113 yards in Super Bowl XLI), eight-year NFL veteran Aveion Cason (Lions, Cowboys, Rams) and Maurice Hicks, who tallied 869 rushing yards and seven touchdowns with the San Francisco 49ers from 2004-07.

In other camp moves on Tuesday, the Tuskers also released tight end Mitch Ryan (University of San Diego) and rookie safety Marvin Taylor (UConn).

The Tuskers signed four new players on Tuesday, including Herman Hall (OL), James Develin (FB), Gabe Nyenhuis (DL) and Galen Stone (TE).

Hall played two seasons at Blinn Junior College, helping that team to a 12-0 record and national title as a sophomore. He then transferred to the University of Arizona, where he started two seasons under Mike Stoops. Develin played college football at Brown University (2006-09) as a defensive lineman and appeared on the 2010 roster of the Oklahoma City Yard Dawgz of the Arena Football League.

Nyenhuis was undrafted free agent out of Colorado in 2004. He spent time with Jacksonville, Seattle and Indianapolis in the NFL and played two seasons in the Arena Football League in Philadelphia, where he was a starter on the 2008 ArenaBowl Championship team under then-head coach Bret Munsey, who is now the a defensive backs coach and player personnel director for the Tuskers. A 2009 Division II All-America selection, Stone led Saginaw Valley State University in receiving last season with 49 catches for 635 yards and six touchdowns.

FLORIDA TUSKERS TUESDAY CAMP NOTES: An approaching thunderstorm cut Tuesday's training camp short by about 20 minutes as players, coaches and staff scrambled from Thunder Field to avoid the lightning...With no pre-season games or inter-squad scrimmages scheduled, Head Coach Jay Gruden emphasized the importance of the upcoming practices on Friday and Saturday... "Practices, particularly when we go live, are really the only means of evaluating the players," Gruden told the team. "That's why it's incredibly important that you work hard on every play and don't take plays off. Our live periods on Friday and Saturday are going to be crucial in terms of who makes this team."...WR Chas Gessner sat out the second half of Tuesday's practice with a thigh injury...Gessner termed it a slight "pull" and felt he would be back in practice in a "day or two"...The Tuskers will host a free "Kickoff Event" for all Central Florida football fans on Saturday...the event will be held from 9 a.m. to 12 noon in conjunction with the team's practice at Thunder Field, adjacent to the Florida Citrus Bowl...Fans will have an opportunity to watch a live scrimmage and participate in a meet and greet with players, coaches and dance team members...Four radio stations from Clear Channel will have live remotes, inflatables for the kids, and free souvenir schedule posters will be available...In addition, the Big Red Bus from the Central Florida Blood Bank will be there and free Tuskers tickets to the home opener will be given out to those who register to donate.



United Football League Stories from August 24, 2010


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