Twisters Busy Signing Players for 2008
Published on October 26, 2007 under arenafootball2 (af2)
Arkansas Diamonds News Release
(North Little Rock, AR) - Arkansas Twisters Head Coach Chris Siegfried and General Manager Dick McDonald have been very busy putting together their roster for the 2008 season.
The Twisters have re-signed or been assigned six players for next season. Among these players are last season's starting quarterback, three former collegiate All-Americans, a 2-time af2 champion and the team's most versatile player from last year.
The following is a list of the players on the current roster with a short bio on each.
Brian Villanueva QB - 6' 4", 224 lbs., Fort Valley State
Villanueva completed his second year with the Twisters in record setting fashion. He became the first Twisters' quarterback since Ricky Hebert in 2002 to finish the season with a passer rating of over 100.0. Villanueva finished the '07 season with a rating of 100.64. He completed 210 of 359 pass attempts for 2632 yards, 56 touchdowns and 17 interceptions in his first season as starting quarterback. Villanueva had his best game against Bossier-Shreveport where he threw for 386 yards and nine touchdowns, both career highs, on a broken foot he suffered on the first drive of the game. He missed five games over the course of six weeks due to the foot injury and led the Twisters to the playoffs for the second straight year.
Brian Devine OL - 6' 4", 295 lbs., University of Louisville
Devin won championships in each of his two seasons in the af2 with Florida in '04 and Spokane in '06.
The offensive lineman played for current Twisters coach Chris Siegfried while both were with Spokane. The team finished the year 14-2 and defeated Arkansas in the National Conference Championship game that year in route to winning the title.
Devine played college football for the University of Louisville and graduated from Piper High School in Sunrise, Florida.
Antwan Marsh WR - 6' 3", 210 lbs., Pikeville College
Marsh was signed with the Indianapolis Colts during the summer of 2006, but didn't make the final cut.
The former Anson High School product was a three time NAIA All-American at Pikeville College where he starred as a defensive back. He was also two time defensive player of the year and three-time All-Conference selection during his time at Pikeville.
Twisters Head Coach Chris Siegfried says he will use Marsh as a wide receiver with Arkansas.
Jimi Holden DE/LB/FB - 6' 1", 245 lbs., Harding University
Holden has been with the Twisters since 2004, providing versatility by being able to play many different positions. He was limited last season by injuries, but made many plays on special teams.
Hunter Pingston DB - Bethel College
Pingston played for Evansville of the UIFL this past season and set a league record with a 48 yard fumble return for a touchdown, the longest in league history. He finished the season with 30.0 total tackles, sixth best on the team despite playing only seven games. Pingston also had five interceptions. He was defensive player of the week in week 14 after recording two interceptions, a 48 yard fumble return for a touchdown and 3.0 tackles.
The four year starter at Bethel College in Tennessee was a 2-Time NAIA All-American, 2-Time Mid-South Conference Defensive Player of the Year, and VSN NAIA Senior All-Star Game Defensive Player of the Game. Pingston also received All-Academic honors and earned his degree in Biology with hopes of becoming a dentist.
The Florida native played high school football at Rockledge where he won two state championships and was a two time All-State quarterback. He also earned All-Central Florida first team and Space Coast Offensive Player of the Year honors.
Antonio Thomas DB - 6' 2", 192 lbs., Western Kentucky
Thomas spent part of 2007 season in the CFL with Hamilton and Toronto. He played his college football with Division I-AA Western Kentucky where he was twice a third team All-American as a safety and cornerback. He finished his Hilltoppers career with 245 total tackles, 150 solo, eight tackles for loss, 17 pass breakups and 12 interceptions. He also forced three fumbles and recovered three fumbles. As a senior, Thomas finished with 84 tackles with 4.5 tackles for loss with two forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries. He was named the Sports Network and GFC Defensive player of the Week twice. He earned first team All-Gateway Conference and All-Northwest Region by Hansen's Football Gazette to go along with his All-American selection.
The Louisville, Kentucky native finished his junior season with 75 tackles and led the Gateway Conference with seven interceptions. He earned first team All-Gateway Conference along with being an All-American.
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