Storm

This is not the football they played growing up

Aaron Garcia never played in the NFL, doesn't have a Super Bowl ring and was best known in college for losing his starting quarterback job to an up-and-comer named Drew Bledsoe.

By DAVID MURPHY
Published March 22, 2007

Aaron Garcia never played in the NFL, doesn't have a Super Bowl ring and was best known in college for losing his starting quarterback job to an up-and-comer named Drew Bledsoe. Rohan Davey was a fourth-round pick of the Patriots, owns two Super Bowl rings and was the MVP of the 2001 Sugar Bowl while playing for LSU. Yet when the 0-3 Storm squares off against 0-2 New York on Friday night, it will be grateful Davey under center and not Garcia, who is still on injured reserve with a broken leg sustained last season. "I don't want to face Garcia ever, if I had the choice," Storm coach Tim Marcum said of the Dragons star, who is fourth in Arena League history in passing touchdowns and passing yards. Though Davey brings a physicality to the position matched by few others in the league (listed at 245 pounds, he is the heaviest starter in the league), he is still learning the indoor game. He has thrown four interceptions and four touchdowns this season as a rookie. Still, if he can make a successful transition, he'll join a number of other former collegiate stars/NFL backups currently playing quarterback on the 50-yard field.

Chris Greisen

Georgia Force

Understandably overlooked in the discussion about the famed quarterback Class of 1999 (Tim Couch, Daunte Culpepper, Donovan McNabb, Cade McNown Akili Smith) is Greisen, a seventh-round pick who finished his NFL career with seven completions.

Shaun King

Las Vegas Gladiators

Needs no introduction in this space. The former Buccaneer is 15th in the league with a 100.2 quarterback rating.

Tony Graziani

Philadelphia Soul

A seventh-round pick in 1997, he played five games in relief of Chris Chandler during the Falcons' Super Bowl run in 1998. Now he leads the Arena League in completion percentage (just less than 80) and is second in quarterback rating.

Joe Germaine

Utah Blaze

The former Ohio State star owns a Super Bowl ring from his days with the Rams (career NFL stats: 9-of-16, 136 yards, one touchdown, two interceptions) but has flourished in the Arena League (through three games is first with 1,089 passing yards).

Jeff Smoker

Nashville Kats

After a stellar start to his career at Michigan State, he drew headlines when he admitted to a substance-abuse problem and was suspended for the last five games of his junior season. He returned for his senior season and became a sixth-round pick of the Rams in 2004. Now he is 28-of-46 with seven touchdowns and one interception for the Kats.

Clint Stoerner

Nashville Kats

Played in six games for the Cowboys in 2000-01, completing 30 of 55 passes for 367 yards, four touchdowns and five interceptions.

Adrian McPherson

Austin Wranglers

Like Smoker, off-the-field problems overshadowed his incredible talent in college. The former Florida State blue-chipper was the Saints' third quarterback during the 2005 season but is best known for an incident the following preseason when he was struck and injured by a golf cart driven by the Titans mascot.

[Last modified March 21, 2007, 23:26:52]