TAMPA - Kurt Warner, Tommy Maddox and Oronde Gadsden showed the NFL that Arena Football League players can hold their own outdoors.
Who's next? The answer will begin to emerge Thursday, when the Arena League opens its 18th season. But don't expect household names. The next group of players likely to jump to the NFL have yet to establish themselves in the Arena League.
They are rookies. Former arenafootball2 stars. Skilled players who narrowly missed making NFL cutdowns.
They are perimeter players such as receivers and defensive backs. Or defensive linemen, whose experience playing on both sides of the ball has made them better pass rushers.
But these potential NFL stars aren't likely to be the Arena League's current ones.
All-Arena players such as San Jose wide receiver/defensive back Barry Wagner, 36, and Arizona quarterback Sherdrick Bonner, 35, had their shots at the NFL. Storm wide receiver/linebacker and ArenaBowl MVP Lawrence Samuels, 33, never really had one.
At this point in their careers, they are too old or expensive in the eyes of NFL scouts. "If a guy's got four years of NFL experience, he won't even get a look," Storm coach Tim Marcum said. "They're looking for young kids."
Specifically, the NFL is looking for Arena players about a decade younger than their established counterparts, say Arena football operations people who talk regularly with NFL scouts.
Linemen E.J. Burt of Orlando and Aaron Humphrey of Austin, wide receiver Etu Molden of Chicago, defensive specialist Hamin Milligan of Arizona and wide receiver/defensive back Bobby Sippio of Dallas head the list.
Burt, 26, had 271/2 sacks (believed to be a professional football record) with Cape Fear of arenafootball2 two years ago. After signing with Orlando last season, he had seven sacks and six forced fumbles as a rookie.
Milligan, 25, established a reputation as a devastating hitter while earning National Junior College Athletic Association All-America honors at Garden City Community College in 1999. He later played at the University of Houston played with San Jose and Arizona last season.
Humphrey, 26, is a first-year Arena player with experience in the XFL and NFL Europe. He signed with the Bucs in 2000 but was waived during final cutdowns.
Sippio, 23, intercepted a school-record 10 passes and became Western Kentucky's first unanimous first-team All-American in 2000 before going on to play in arenafootball2.
Molden, 24, was the top rusher on Montana's I-AA title team in 2001. He played with Billings of the National Indoor Football League last season.
They hope to follow in the footsteps of ex-Detroit lineman R-Kal Truluck, who made the Chiefs in 2002, and receivers Mike Furrey (New York Dragons/Rams), Chris Horn (Arizona Rattlers/Chiefs) and Antonio Chatman (Chicago Rush/Packers), who joined Truluck in the NFL last season.
Other Arena players attended NFL camps, including QBs Jim Kubiak (Dallas/Colts) and Shane Stafford (Storm/Bucs), receivers Chris Jackson (Los Angeles/Dolphins) and Will Pettis (Dallas/Saints) and kickers Clay Rush (Indiana/Jets) and Remy Hamilton (Los Angeles/Seahawks).
"Given the proper opportunity, I think there are a number of players every year in the Arena League that could play in the NFL," said Dallas Desperados coach and former Cowboys assistant Joe Avezzano. "If the NFL does their homework and properly scouts the Arena League, then there's ballplayers that have legitimate chances to make their clubs."
Whether they stay in the NFL depends on which team signs them, what that team needs and how much of an opportunity it gives the players, said Orlando coach and Bucs offensive assistant Jay Gruden, younger brother of Bucs coach Jon Gruden.
Stafford, for example, was released after the Bucs final preseason game. With three quarterbacks already in camp and Jim Miller on injured reserve, Stafford was viewed as an extra arm with the Bucs, and his release came as little surprise.
Storm wide receiver/defensive back Antoine "T.T." Toliver, however, could have been a different story. Jay Gruden said he didn't understand why Toliver, a dangerous kick returner who spent part of the 2002 season on the Bucs practice squad, didn't make the active roster: "He did everything right; he just was never given that opportunity to shine on game day."
Other Arena players came close to making NFL rosters. Jackson, the Offensive Player of the Year last season, made it to the Dolphins' final cut last season. He later signed with the Packers and played one game at wide receiver.
Avezzano said he thinks Kubiak, who set Arena records for passing yards (4,762) and completion percentage (69.7) last season, should have made the Colts roster. In fact, other Arena quarterbacks, such as Los Angeles' Tony Graziani and New York's Aaron Garcia, are as good as any third and many second quarterbacks playing in the NFL, Avezzano said.
"There's 96 quarterbacks in the NFL any given year," Avezzano said. "There are not 96 good quarterbacks in the NFL. The Arena League might be one of the best training grounds that I could ever think of."
Indeed, Warner and Maddox have said the quick decisions they had to make in the pass-happy Arena League prepared them to become NFL quarterbacks.
Though positions such as quarterback translate more easily to the outdoor game than fullback/linebacker, performance is the bottom line, said Mark Dominik, who scours the NFL, Arena League, NFL Europe and Canadian Football League for talent as Bucs director of player personnel.
"I don't think there's a skill set," Dominik said. "It's really the good players rise to the top, and you'll see them and that's who you scout. You don't say, "I'm going to find a 6-4 defensive tackle who can bull rush.' It's more who's flashing on film and who's making plays."
Many Arena players are what coaches call "tweeners," meaning they are not big enough or fast enough for certain positions in the eyes of NFL coaches. As a result, their best chance of making an NFL roster is on special teams.
Chatman returns punts. Truluck and former Storm defensive back Johnnie Harris (Giants) made their mark on special teams before they established themselves as defensive players. Indiana wide receiver/linebacker Brett Bech, a former and possibly future NFL player, was Saints Special Teams MVP in 1999.
Where players land can depend on how closely NFL teams scout the Arena League. The Chiefs "do an outstanding job," Avezzano said. The Bucs might pay more attention because coach Jon Gruden is a fan of the league and his younger brother has played and coached in it.
"I think that's fair to say," Dominik said. "But Jon's going to make us look anywhere. He's always interested in finding good talent. Certainly, we pay a lot more attention to Orlando and Tampa Bay, but that doesn't stop us from watching Dallas or any other clubs around the league."
Players make the jump from the Arena League to the NFL almost every year. Whether Burt, Humphrey, Molden, Milligan or Sippio will be next remains to be seen. But in the end, the Arena League's role is not to turn its players into NFL prospects.
"We are proud of the athletes as they are - great Arena football players," Arena League spokesman Tom Goodhines said. "We are also proud if they go on to the NFL, but do we strive to put them in the NFL? No. Our goal is to make them great Arena football players."
