Xplorers Explode Into Training Camp
March 18, 2003 - arenafootball2 (af2)
Memphis Xplorers News Release
SOUTHAVEN, Miss.âXplorers training camp started today with the arrival of 30 arenafootball2 prospects from Louisiana to Montreal and former players from close to home colleges like Itawamba Community College to William and Mary College in Virginia.
Xplorers assistant coach and former University of Memphis football star Steve Matthews addressed the players before taking them out to the practice field.
"I'm not here to be your friend," Matthews said. "I'm here to coach you. In a year or two I want to see all of you in the NFL. All I ask is that you show up on time, be accountable and be a pro, and we're going to win this year."
Many of the players trying out for spots on the Xplorers team this year have attended NFL training camps. Some of the players already assigned to the Xplorers include Cleo Lemon, who played quarterback at Arkansas State and also played for the Baltimore Ravens; defensive specialist Kevin Cobb, who played for the University of Memphis and for the AFL Oklahoma Wranglers and Arizona Rattlers, the XFL Memphis Maniax and an Espy Award Winner (Player of the Year).
Other players include Jeremy Scruggs, who served as a fullback/linebacker for the University of Memphis and was an All-Arena2 player two years ago on the Xplorers team; and Aaron Williams, who was an All Big Ten player during his time at the University of Indiana and a two-year starter in the NFL.
The team most recently acquired former Mississippi State University player Kevin Prentiss and WR/LB Kenny Coutain. Both players have spent significant amounts of time in NFL camps.
Prentiss earned Second Team All-SEC honors as a return specialist and played in the Cotton bowl against Texas in 1999, played in the AFL last year with the Carolina Cobras and in the XFL with Memphis in 2001, as well as spent time on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers practice squad in 1997-1998 and attended the New York Giants' and Indianapolis Colts' training camps.
Coutain, a one-year starter and two-year letter winner for the Memphis Tigers, spent two seasons with the Green Bay Packers and participated in NFL Europe with the Berlin Thunder.
The Xplorers will get into their pads and onto the field tomorrow at 8 p.m. For the first time, the field will be laid out in the southeast corner of the DeSoto Civic Center parking lot.
"It'll be just like the drive-in movies," Xplorers General Manager Greg Griffith said. "You can drive your car right up to the edge of the field and watch the training camp take place."
The Xplorers' home opener against the Bakersfield Blitz will be April 12 at 7 p.m. at the DeSoto Civic Center, just 15 minutes south of downtown Memphis. For tickets call (662)-280-3737 or go online to www.xplorersaf2.com and use the Ticketmaster link.
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