Tweaking and tuning: Thunder 40-man roster ready for training camp
January 13, 2007 - World Indoor Football League 2 (WIFL 2)
Daytona Beach Thunder News Release
DELAND, Fla. - Continuing to tweak and fill the gaps, the Daytona Beach Thunder finalized its pre-season training camp roster following its final tryout Saturday, January 13 at Sperling Sports Complex.
With 15 cuts and seven additions following a Saturday morning session, Head Coach Leon Bright and his staff now have a league-mandated roster of 40 entering the beginning of training camp January 21. From there, the Thunder needs to trim that number to 20 for the World Indoor Football League's inaugural game February 11 in the Ocean Center against the Augusta Spartans.
"We had a lot of guys that proved themselves to me." Bright said. "We are starting to form and see a nucleus of this team and we hope to build from there, but we still have some holes to fill."
Already strong at quarterback with indoor football veteran Bo Bartik and former Bethune-Cookman star Lawrence McCloud, the Thunder added depth to that position with not one, but two additions - Tavares Kendrick, who played at FIU, and Neal Sharma, who started the first game for the defunct Daytona Beach Hawgs in 2005. The former CW Post star, whose Saturday workout was limited due to his 102-degree fever recovered from his shaky professional start, played with the Intense Football League's Laredo Lobos.
"Taveres stole the show," Bright said. "Neal could make a contribution, also."
On defense, the Thunder address the replacement of Nick Allison, now in the Orlando Predators' training camp, with a strong showing by Clinton Jenkins (Savannah State) at defensive back.
Seven players from the morning session -- QB Paul Rivers, DE Erik Gibson, OL Eric Duncan, LB Prince Howell, QB Cody Appling, WR Joey Kapusta, and LB Roosevelt Atkins - were invited to training camp.
World Indoor Football League 2 Stories from January 13, 2007
- Tweaking and tuning: Thunder 40-man roster ready for training camp - Daytona Beach Thunder
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