Post by Free Agent Fan on Feb 8, 2007 15:46:00 GMT -5
WILL PLAY TALLAHASSEE IN INAUGURAL HOME GAME
Carolina Speed takes to turf
Cabarrus Arena is being readied for Monday's indoor football debut
JOE HABINA
Fifty yards of inch-thick artificial turf blanket the concrete floor. Padded plywood walls, 4 feet tall and anchored by steel rods, enclose the playing field.
Last week, the Cabarrus Arena and Events Center was finishing preparations for its inaugural indoor football season. The Carolina Speed will christen the playing surface Monday when it hosts the Tallahassee Titans in its home opener.
The Speed is an American Indoor Football Association expansion team. Its players are former college standouts, arena football journeymen and those with pasts unknown. All are seeking to advance up the pro football ladder.
They will be playing the high-octane, pass-happy, eight-man style of football for which arena leagues are known.
A league coaching veteran, head coach and team co-owner Michael Mink believes the Speed has assembled some quality players who will be able to compete at a high level in the team's first season. Mink and Speed co-owner John Morris are also league administrators.
300-pounders on line
Mink thinks his line is the heart and soul of the offense. At 6 feet 8 inches and 360 pounds, gargantuan guard Jake Helms leads a trio of 300-pounders.Joining Helms, who played at Lenoir-Rhyne College, on the line will be Western Carolina product Morris Sanders and Bill Houston, who played at Livingstone. Both are listed at 6-3, 325. (The indoor football offensive line plays without tackles or a tight end.)
Those three will be protecting quarterbacks Jeff Aaron, "a strong-armed, blue-collar" type who played for Mink at Montgomery last season, and Barry Marrow, another indoor football veteran.
"The offensive line likes (Aaron) because he'll take off and run and roll over a defensive back," said Mink.
The main wide receivers will be the sure-handed Brandon McDowell and East Carolina product DeMarcus Fox, who has 4.3 speed in the 40-yard dash.
Though a solid ground game is secondary in arena ball, the Speed have a tandem of backs in the bull-like Fred Staton, who played at Tusculum and West Charlotte High, and the speedy Jimmy Bell (Johnson C. Smith).
"They say indoor football is all about passing, but we're going to try to find ways to run the ball," Mink said.
Having spent time in training camp with the Pittsburgh Steelers, Staton is one of a handful of Speed players who have had brushes with the NFL.
Defense should be solid
On defense, Mink said, Carolina could have the league's best linebacking corps once a couple of injured players return. Until then, P.J. Piskorik (Buffalo) and Edward Bell (Elon) will handle those responsibilities.
Former Concord High star Jamel Jackson, who played at Catawba, is the only Cabarrus County home-grown player on the Speed. He will play defensive back along with Daryl Shaw (Wake Forest) and James Woodruff Jr. (West Virginia).
A pair of former S.C. Gamecocks, De'Adrian Coley and Charles Silas, serve as defensive ends on a three-man line. Mink said the nose tackle position will be manned by committee: pass-rush specialist Clint Pressley (Western Carolina), Derichard McCoy (Livingstone) and Nick Davis.
Another defensive lineman, Willie Shine (Howard), spent time in camp with the Washington Redskins and has been recently allocated to NFL Europe.
The Speed has found some good athletes with good character, Mink said, but its expansion status may pose a difficult challenge.
"The talent is huge in this league," said Mink.
Carolina Speed takes to turf
Cabarrus Arena is being readied for Monday's indoor football debut
JOE HABINA
Fifty yards of inch-thick artificial turf blanket the concrete floor. Padded plywood walls, 4 feet tall and anchored by steel rods, enclose the playing field.
Last week, the Cabarrus Arena and Events Center was finishing preparations for its inaugural indoor football season. The Carolina Speed will christen the playing surface Monday when it hosts the Tallahassee Titans in its home opener.
The Speed is an American Indoor Football Association expansion team. Its players are former college standouts, arena football journeymen and those with pasts unknown. All are seeking to advance up the pro football ladder.
They will be playing the high-octane, pass-happy, eight-man style of football for which arena leagues are known.
A league coaching veteran, head coach and team co-owner Michael Mink believes the Speed has assembled some quality players who will be able to compete at a high level in the team's first season. Mink and Speed co-owner John Morris are also league administrators.
300-pounders on line
Mink thinks his line is the heart and soul of the offense. At 6 feet 8 inches and 360 pounds, gargantuan guard Jake Helms leads a trio of 300-pounders.Joining Helms, who played at Lenoir-Rhyne College, on the line will be Western Carolina product Morris Sanders and Bill Houston, who played at Livingstone. Both are listed at 6-3, 325. (The indoor football offensive line plays without tackles or a tight end.)
Those three will be protecting quarterbacks Jeff Aaron, "a strong-armed, blue-collar" type who played for Mink at Montgomery last season, and Barry Marrow, another indoor football veteran.
"The offensive line likes (Aaron) because he'll take off and run and roll over a defensive back," said Mink.
The main wide receivers will be the sure-handed Brandon McDowell and East Carolina product DeMarcus Fox, who has 4.3 speed in the 40-yard dash.
Though a solid ground game is secondary in arena ball, the Speed have a tandem of backs in the bull-like Fred Staton, who played at Tusculum and West Charlotte High, and the speedy Jimmy Bell (Johnson C. Smith).
"They say indoor football is all about passing, but we're going to try to find ways to run the ball," Mink said.
Having spent time in training camp with the Pittsburgh Steelers, Staton is one of a handful of Speed players who have had brushes with the NFL.
Defense should be solid
On defense, Mink said, Carolina could have the league's best linebacking corps once a couple of injured players return. Until then, P.J. Piskorik (Buffalo) and Edward Bell (Elon) will handle those responsibilities.
Former Concord High star Jamel Jackson, who played at Catawba, is the only Cabarrus County home-grown player on the Speed. He will play defensive back along with Daryl Shaw (Wake Forest) and James Woodruff Jr. (West Virginia).
A pair of former S.C. Gamecocks, De'Adrian Coley and Charles Silas, serve as defensive ends on a three-man line. Mink said the nose tackle position will be manned by committee: pass-rush specialist Clint Pressley (Western Carolina), Derichard McCoy (Livingstone) and Nick Davis.
Another defensive lineman, Willie Shine (Howard), spent time in camp with the Washington Redskins and has been recently allocated to NFL Europe.
The Speed has found some good athletes with good character, Mink said, but its expansion status may pose a difficult challenge.
"The talent is huge in this league," said Mink.