VooDoo add seven free agents including QB Andy Kelly
October 5, 2004 - Arena Football League (1987-2008) (AFL I)
New Orleans VooDoo News Release
The New Orleans VooDoo solidified the clubÂ’s quarterback position and addressed their offseason priorities of increasing team depth and retaining their core players at the start of the free agent signing period for the Arena Football League. The club announced the re-signing of DS Calvin Coleman and WR/DB Lamont Moore, pending league approval. The VooDoo also added five free agents to the roster as they signed QB Andy Kelly and FB/LB Leroy Thompson pending league approval and agreed to terms with FB/LB Jermaine Fazande, WR/LB Brian Poli-Dixon, and WR/LB Tamarick Vanover.
“I am very excited about the quality of players that we have been able to retain from last year’s team and the ones that we have been able to add,” said VooDoo Head Coach Mike Neu. “I have worked with Andy in Nashville and he is one of the best quarterbacks in the history of the Arena Football League. He has won a lot of games in the Southern Conference and has led his teams to two ArenaBowls.”
· Coleman (5-10, 181, Montana) returns to the VooDoo after finishing third on the team with 54.5 tackles and being tied for eighth in the Arena Football League with four interceptions and sixth with three forced fumbles.
· Moore (6-0, 195, Baylor) returns to New Orleans after establishing himself as the team’s second leading receiver in 2004, recording a career-high 61 catches for 624 yards with five touchdowns. He was also one of the VooDoo’s defensive stalwarts, leading the linebacking corps with 31.5 tackles, two tackles for a loss, two interception returns for touchdowns, four passes defensed, one forced fumble and three fumble recoveries, tied for the eighth highest league total.
· Kelly (6-3, 220, Tennessee) Kelly comes to the VooDoo from the Detroit Fury. Entering his 12th AFL season, Kelly has made a name for him as one of the league’s premier quarterbacks. Kelly currently holds the AFL career passing records for completions (2,863), attempts (4,672), passing yards (31,944) and touchdowns (621). Kelly also holds the record for most touchdowns ever by any professional quarterback in any league. With another 2,000-plus passing yard season in 2004, Kelly further surpassed the league record for career 2,000-yard passing seasons with eight. Kelly has played in two ArenaBowl championship games with the Nashville Kats in 2000 and 2001. In 2004, Kelly completed 360-of-588 passes for 4,184 yards with 73 touchdown passes and 12 interceptions.
· Thompson (6-2, 270, Delaware State) is a nine-year AFL veteran who has played with the Indiana Firebirds his entire career. Thompson has had 298 rushes for 908 yards with 54 touchdowns, 29 receptions for 273 yards and 104.5 tackles, 12 sacks, seven passes defensed and eight fumble recoveries. Thompson enjoyed his finest season in 2002, when he was named the AFL’s Built Ford Tough Man of the Year, as he had 37 rushes for 118 yards with 10 touchdowns, 21 tackles, 6.5 tackles for a loss and six sacks. In 1999, Thompson was a member of a Firebirds squad that won the ArenaBowl championship. In 2004, Thompson helped spur the AFL’s third ranked rushing offense with 53 carries for 133 yards and three touchdowns, adding 13 tackles and four fumble recoveries on defense.
· Fazande (6-2, 255, Oklahoma) comes to New Orleans after a two-year NFL career with the San Diego Chargers, where he rushed 210 times for 733 yards and four touchdowns in 20 games. Fazande prepped at John Ehret High School and was named the most valuable running back in the state his senior year when he led the Patriots to the Class 5A state finals.
· Poli-Dixon (6-5, 210, UCLA) comes to the VooDoo after spending time with the San Francisco 49ers this past off-season. He was originally signed by the San Diego Chargers as an undrafted free agent in 2002. Poli-Dixon finished his college career at UCLA with 139 receptions for 2,127 yards and 20 touchdowns.
· Vanover, (6-0, 220, Florida State) will enter his first season in the AFL, after spending six seasons in the NFL with the Kansas City Chiefs and San Diego Chargers. Vanover was a third round selection of the Chiefs in 1995 and is their record holder in kickoff returns (212), kickoff return yards (5,099) and kickoff return touchdowns (4).
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Arena Football League (1987-2008) Stories from October 5, 2004
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