(This piece combines analysis from Nation Hahn, Fran Stuchbury, and Ron Bodine. Fran’s focus was on Arena players due to his extensive experience covering Arena Football.)

Nation’s Take

Brian Johnson of Utah is one of the standouts present at Sam Boyd Stadium trying out for the United Football League on this Saturday evening. Johnson is the all-time winningest quarterback in Utah history with a career record of 26-7. He closed his career out by winning 21 out of his final 22 games including a dominating victory over the University of Alabama. He is 1st or 2nd in many of the Utah history books, leading some to claim he was better than former #1 pick Alex Smith. He passed for nearly 8,000 yards and 57 touchdowns. At one point he was considered a top tier NFL prospect but a so-called “lack of measurables” pushed him down the depth chart.

Other quarterbacks present include former NFL player Ken Dorsey, Casey Bramlet of NFL Europe fame, former UAB standout Darrell Hackney, and Casey Dick of the University of Arkansas.

The Dark Horse: CJ Bacher of Northwestern might have been considered a top NFL prospect except that he was fairly injury prone in his collegiate career. If he stays healthy he might make an impact. He threw for over 7,000 yards and proved to be an exceptional dual threat.

Andre Callender is one to watch among running backs. He rushed for over 3,000 yards at Boston College and earned All-ACC honors. Larry Croom is a local product (UNLV) who bounced around the NFL and is now seeking redemption in the UFL – he was on the roster of the Arizona Cardinals, Tennessee Titans, Detroit Lions, San Diego Chargers, and Pittsburgh Steelers. Tyrone Gross of Eastern Oregon offers a compelling story as a Division III running back who was an All-American at that level and then made the San Diego Chargers’ practice squad.

Former NFL running backs Tyson Thompson and Cecil Sapp are included in the mix. Terrance Whitehead of Oregon and Shannon Woods of Texas Tech are also trying out.

Other offensive players include WR’s Bennie Brazell of LSU, Casey Flair of UNLV, Randy Hymes of Grambling, and Donovan Morgan of Louisiana – Lafayette. Several tight end’s are there including Marcus Freeman of Notre Dame and Mike Seidman of UCLA.

The so-called “big uglys” are key when it comes to building a football team and a number of linemen are there today: Joey Hollenbeck of Washington State, Sam Lightbody of Washington State, and Ray Norell of Buffalo.

Defensive linemen were also present. Steve Fifita played at Utah where he was considered an All-American candidate. Jason Stewart of Fresno and Bryan Save - who played quite well in the Arena League – are included in the pool. Trey Brown (CB of UCLA) was considered at one point an NFL Draft prospect and is out there showing his stuff at dusk in Sam Boyd. Justin McKinney of Kansas State is an amazingly inconsistent yet talented player. He was considered one of the hardest hitting CBs in the Big 12, was voted second team All-Big 12, but he also racked up major penalties. He represents a diamond in the rough who, with the right coaching, could do quite well in the UFL.

As always keep in mind this is not representative of the UFL talent pool writ large – it does represent an interesting mix of players who are known widely and others who have toiled in obscurity but could represent a really good player in the UFL. It also represents a pool from which we will likely hear a few signings as the league begins to put together the four rosters for this fall. Seeing players hit the field for the league, even while just working out, is enough to get UFL fans’ blood pumping!

Fran’s Take

WR Timon Marshall

AFL teams – Grand Rapids Rampage 2005-07; Los Angeles Avengers 2008.

Timon Marshall’s career stats were 331 receptions for 4,192 yards and 72 touchdowns. In 2006 with Grand Rapids, Marshall was named to the AFL All-Ironman when he did play the WR/DB position before the AFL decided to go with unlimited substitution in 2007. Marshall was solid on defense with 30 tackles and three interceptions to go along with 19 touchdown passes.

Marshall might also be looked at as a punt and kick returner.  In 2007 with Grand Rapids, Marshall had 1,914 return yards with six touchdowns. Last season with Los Angeles, he had 1,885 return yards and one touchdown.

WR Travis LaTendresse

AFL teams – Las Vegas Gladiators 2007; Chicago Rush 2008.

Travis LaTendresse played college football at Utah. In the 2004 & 2005 seasons he had 82 receptions for 1,221 yards and 10 touchdowns. In 2004 Utah had a perfect 12-0 season and defeated Pittsburgh 35-7 in the Fiesta Bowl. He played with QB Alex Smith who was the number pick by the San Francisco 49ers.

In the AFL, with Las Vegas in 2007 LaTendresse had 61 receptions for 937 yards and 15 touchdowns. Last season with Chicago he had 90 receptions for 1096 yards and 20 touchdowns.

WR Donovan Morgan

AFL team – Chicago Rush 2008

Donovan Morgan also played for the af2 Tulsa Talons in 2005 when he set an af2 record for touchdown receptions with 54.

In 2008 with Chicago, Morgan had 111 receptions for 1,281 yards and 24 touchdowns. He was named AFL Rookie of the Year and was named to the AFL’s All-Rookie Team.

In 2009 Morgan has been playing with the Chicago Slaughter of the Continental Indoor Football league where in seven games he had 43 receptions for 762 yards and 22 touchdowns. He helped the team to a perfect 12-0 regular season record.

DL Bryan Save

AFL team – Philadelphia Soul 2007-08

Bryan Save also played in NFL Europe. In 2005 with the Cologne Centurions, Save had 30 tackles, 4.5 sacks, one forced fumble and one pass breakup. In 2006 he led the team in sacks with 4.5 (tied for fifth in NFL Europe) and had 35 tackles.

In 2007 with the AFL Philadelphia Soul, Save had four sacks and was named to the AFL All-Rookie team. In 2008, Save had five sacks and was on the second All-Arena team. He was a member of the team that won ArenaBowl XXII in New Orleans, when the Philadelphia Soul defeated the San Jose SaberCats 59-56.

DL Farouk Adelekan

AFL team – New York Dragons 2008

Farouk Adelekan spent one season with the af2 Tennessee Valley Vipers where he recorded 19.5 tackles, 9 tackles for a loss, 8 sacks and 5 forced fumbles.

With the New York Dragons in 2008, he had 23 tackles and four sacks. He was named to the AFL All-Rookie team.

DL Jason Stewart

AFL team – Los Angeles Avengers 2006-08

Jason Stewart played three seasons with the Los Angles Avengers. His best season was in 2007 when he had 4.5 sacks, 3 forced fumbles, and five fumble recoveries and one interception returned 24 yards for a touchdown.

WR Randy Hymes

AFL team – Cleveland Gladiators 2008

Randy Hymes played college football at Grambling State.

Hymes only appeared in one game for the Cleveland Gladiators in 2008. He had four receptions for 78 yards and three touchdowns in that game..

In 2009 Hymes has played in three games with the D.C. Armor of American Indoor Football Association. He had 12 receptions for 159 yards and three touchdowns.

DB Jeremy Unertl

AFL teams – Las Vegas Gladiators 2004-05; Columbus Destroyers 2005-06; Chicago Rush 2006-08

Jeremy Unertl played with the NFL Europe Frankfurt Galaxy in 2003. He had 29 tackles, nine passes broken up, and one forced fumble. He recorded six tackles in the Galaxy 35-16 victory over the Rhein Fire in World Bowl XI.

In five seasons in the AFL, Unertl had 226 tackles, 55 pass breakups and 21 interceptions. In 2007, he was named to the second All-Arena Team. Unertl was also a member of the 2006 Chicago Rush team, who won ArenaBowl XX with a 69-61 victory over the Orlando Predators in Las Vegas.

Ron’s Take

Today’s workouts included several former college standouts who, for one reason or another, have had limited opportunity over the years to break out in the NFL.  Among them were Ronnie Cruz, Steve Fifita, Darrell Hackney, Keith Heinrich, Josh Savage, Mike Seidmen, and Marviel Underwood.  A few player names that particularly stand out are:

Casey Bramlet (Quarterback): Bramlet was second team All-Mountain West in 2001 with the University of Wyoming where he set several records including being the only quarterback in team history to throw for 3000 yards in three different seasons.  He was drafted by the Cincinnati Bengals in 2004 and was shuffled between six different NFL teams from 2004 to 2008.  In 2007, Bramlet was allocated to the Hamburg Sea Devils of NFL Europe where he led the team to a record-setting victory in World Bowl XV and was named the game’s most valuable player.

Bennie Brazell (Wide Receiver): Brazell was a member of the 2003 LSU NCAA national championship team as well as a five-time track and field national champion and a 14-time All-American.  Brazell was also a finalist in the 2004 Olympic games for 400 meter hurdles.  He was drafted by the Cincinnati Bengals in 2006 where his career was cut short due to injury.

Ken Dorsey: (Quarterback): Dorsey was a NCAA national championship co-mvp, a two-time NCAA quarterback of the Year, and a two-time Heisman Trophy finalist, among several other accomplishments and record-setting college performances.  Dorsey was drafted by the San Francisco 49ers in 2003 where he had few opportunities but some inspired moments.  He was later traded to the Cleveland Browns and his 2008 season was cut short due to injury.

Other NFL veterans that attended the tryouts include Larry Croom, Ronnie Ghent, Cecil Sapp, Anthony Schlegel, Tyson Thompson, and Adrian Awasom. With only four rosters, the UFL will have to condense a fairly large pool of talent currently not signed to NFL teams.