Yard Dawgz Try to Find the Next Al Hunt
October 7, 2008 - arenafootball2 (af2)
Oklahoma City Yard Dawgz News Release
The best team on paper doesn't always win the game. Just almost always.
That's why Sparky McEwen spent Monday at the Indoor Soccer Arena, running a tryout for about 30 athletes, hoping to find the right guys for a roster that won't be finalized for almost six months.
"This is a big time to evaluate talent and build our roster," McEwen said. "This is the work that goes in before the season starts. This is the time that people don't realize what's going on behind the scenes. But, this is where you're grinding.
"(We're) trying to find the next Al Hunt, the next Keaton Graham. These are very important times and keys to the success of our program. We don't start in March. Our season actually started for us a couple of weeks after we got that big victory against Amarillo."
Keaton Graham, in fact, began his career as a Yard Dawg at a similar tryout last season, and offered a personal perspective on the process.
"You've got to work hard and show off your best stuff," he said. "Everyone's nervous. I was nervous last year, but I was glad to get a call a couple of days later. Now I'm here."
Monday, he found himself on the other side of the process, helping the coaching staff run drills and coaching participants on technique.
"When I was here last year, there weren't too many guys that were getting looked at, but there were quite a few that they liked today," Graham said.
Jonathan O'Dell, a defensive line hopeful, agreed that most, if not all of the tryout participants showed skills and abilities that are approaching the professional level the Dawgz need.
"I tell you what, these are some pretty serious workouts," O'Dell said. "This is a lot of technique. That's what I like about this tryout. You can't just go out there and powerhouse your way around. In today's game, there are some big dudes out there, but technique will always win. I guarantee it."
The tryout consisted of a mini-combine which measured 40-yard dash times, max bench press, vertical leap and agility drills. The players then took part in position-specific drills.
"In the one-on-ones, they got us down really good with the coverages and everything," Colby Gibson, a former college baseball standout at Eastern Oklahoma State College and prep football player at McAlester said. "It was good to be in here with these guys. I didn't really expect all of this."
"I thought we were just going to get out here and run a little bit, but it was really well organized. There were some good players out here."
General Manager Christie Cook echoed Gibson's sentiment.
"The overall athletic ability that we had at this tryout was a lot stronger than what we've had in the past," Cook said. "There seemed to be a lot of speed and some good numbers posted in testing. I also thought that there was great individual effort in the position specific testing."
Cook is heading into her sixth season in the Yard Dawgz' front office, making her very familiar with what good prospects look like at an open tryout.
"I'd say three or four (players proved to be prospects) at least," she said. "I didn't get to watch the linemen (as much), but of the skill (position) guys, I'd say three or four."
That will be necessary, as McEwen's history of promoting players to the AFL, and even the NFL, will create roster opportunities for some of the talent at ISA Monday.
"This basically marks the start of the '09 season for the Yard Dawgz," McEwen said. "These camps are so pivotal and important to the success of our season. My deal is that I have to see as much talent as possible.
"With the possibilities of our guys signing to go up to the AFL, that means were going to have to replace those guys with some talented players. This is just the first step to filling some of the empty shoes left by those players going up."
Season tickets are now available and start at only $56! For more information, visit www.okcyarddawgz.com or call 405-228-3294.
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- Yard Dawgz Try to Find the Next Al Hunt - Oklahoma City Yard Dawgz
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