The United Football League opened camp in Orlando, Florida and Casa Grande, Arizona today. The first official practice today was the New York Sentinels at 8:30 AM at the Citrus Bowl. This followed team meetings yesterday as the league and the coaching staffs work overtime to get the players ready to play come October 8.

UFLAccess.com News Director Nation Hahn had the chance to speak with UFL GM Rick Mueller regarding the new league and the first day of camp.

Nation Hahn: How did practice go today?

Rick Mueller: Well, I’m in Orlando. I watched the New York and Florida practices today. I thought it went well. For it being the first day it was very well organized. The Coaches did a good job.

NH: What was the process for pulling together the prospect pool and then the rosters?

RM: It was a pretty good effort and a group effort. It began back in April with a pool of 1,200 players that were on the street – college guys and free agents. We narrowed it down and put 20 guys per team on a list, held workouts, then the draft in June. That brought us to 44 – we then started signing and it just went from there. The evaluations came from the league and the staff. We signed a lot of quality players prior to the NFL cut. We had a great number that we were happy with prior to September 1 – so we were able to fill out the roster in the last week or so with the last 10 or 12 guys rather than scrambling to fill the team out.

NH: That brings me to my next question – their were far fewer NFL Cuts on the roster than expected. Why was that?

RM: The talent actually was really solid in advance. We were hoping to have 40-45 prior to September 1 – or at least that was my hope in recent months. Their are good football players out there and we wanted to select the best out of NFL camps so that the process would be quick and easy post-September 5th so narrowing down the open slots did help. We are just about at capacity on day one which was good.

NH: Is their any concern that camp is too short?

RM: Not really. Most of the kids came in in shape. We knew that camp would be short going in so that once we started signing those guys needed to come in shape – and we impressed that on them. I feel good after seeing the folks practicing today. We had some guys cramping and such but nothing out of the ordinary. We always knew we’d have a short camp and it is something we’re going to deal with.

NH: QB play is considered one of the key factors in the success or failure of a team – or a new league. How do you feel about the UFL QB’s?

RM: I feel good about the QB’s. We have some guys that I really like. I always liked Nall, Losman, and they have been working hard in the offseason. Quinn deserves an opportunity and we feel good about all three. Mike McMahon, Shane Boyd, and that group – they are going to compete for the Redwoods.

NH: Line play takes time to come together. Do you think the QB’s will receive adequate protection?

RM: Good observation, the Offensive Line has been the most difficult to pull together. We knew that going in and we feel good about the ones that we have today. We will continue to evaluate the O-Line. I am not concerned about them coming together quickly. The Coaches are teaching and we have a ton of meeting time. And their really wasn’t a lot of mistakes out there.

NH: The XFL struggled, in part, due to sloppy early play and low scoring games? How do you work to make sure that the product is strong early and that the defense doesn’t run roughshod over the offense?

RM: Absolutely true. We’re doing our best to make sure the quality is high. If the football isn’t good no one will watch it. Football sells itself, you know, but only to an extent – fans in our markets do want to see good football.

We’re doing everything we can to make sure that our coaches and our players are on the same page. We tried to learn from the mistakes of past leagues.

NH: How do you think the UFL talent level compares to efforts such as the XFL?

RM: I think that’s difficult to say  before you take the field. We put in a good effort – I’m delighted with who we have. Our talent level is good. I didn’t look at old XFL film much in preparation for the UFL but we wanted to make sure that our coaches and players were of high quality and we succeeded.

NH: Will the teams have continuity for year two?

RM: If a player plays in year one in the UFL then their rights are with their UFL team in year two unless they move on to the NFL. And we want some to move on to the NFL but for those who remain in year two – well, teams to retain continuity.

The more success we have the more longer term the contracts will be as well.

NH: Once the salary structure changed did you lose any talent?

RM: We didn’t really lose many folks at all. A lot of guys picked us over other options that they had. Very, very few said absolutely not – some chose to wait and that is their decision. I was really impressed with the reception honestly.

NH: Any particular message you’d like to impart to fans of the UFL?

RM: I will tell you this – I’ve been with the coaches and players for a lot of time now. This isn’t a second rate league from intensity or excitement. Everyone is on the same page. Some people have asked why compete with the NFL? We’re not an outright competitor, we’re complementing, and I feel like we will be a good complement. We’re here to play and stay.

You can follow Rick Mueller on Twitter via http://twitter.com/UFL_GMMueller.