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Heisman Trophy Winner
REBECCA S. GRATZ/THE WORLD-HERALD
Published Thursday April 15, 2010
UFL: G.M. Mueller says roster with local ties 'important'
By Lee Barfknecht
WORLD-HERALD STAFF WRITER
Former Nebraska quarterback Joe Ganz said Thursday he would be "all ears'' if the United Football League's Omaha franchise wants to talk about a roster spot.
"My agent said something awhile back about Omaha maybe getting a franchise,'' Ganz said Thursday by phone from Lincoln. "I'd be willing to listen to them, for sure.''
Rick Mueller, the Omaha general manager, mentioned Ganz specifically when asked about acquiring players with Husker connections. Mueller and Ganz's agent are acquainted.
But it's not like Ganz, who last played at NU in 2008, is desperate for work.
He is a full-time employee of the Nebraska athletic department as a football coaching intern working with the quarterbacks and offensive coordinator Shawn Watson.fr
"As of now, I'm coaching,'' Ganz said. "But I would be willing to sit down and talk.''
Ganz had a tryout last season with the Florida Tuskers, the UFL franchise in Orlando. He said the Tuskers already had a quarterback in former NFL player Brooks Bollinger, who was voted the UFL's most valuable player.
Mueller said it's only good business for the Omaha team to try to have local connections.
"Getting some Nebraska guys, we want that to be important,'' he said. "But having the best players trumps everything.''
The Omaha franchise on Thursday announced it had plucked 20 players from the UFL's four other rosters, although it didn't release the full list to The World-Herald.
Former Kansas State running back Frank Murphy is on the list. Ex-Wisconsin tackle Wendell Bryant was the two-time Big Ten defensive lineman of the year. Running back Shaud Williams began his career at Texas Tech, then transferred to Alabama and had a 1,300-yard season.
Also on the list is 34-year-old Ryan Neufeld, a tight end and long snapper who played collegiately at UCLA and seven seasons in the NFL.
Of the 20 players selected, Mueller said, eight were full-time UFL starters last season.
The average age of UFL players is 27, similar to the NFL.
"There aren't a lot of rookies,'' Mueller said. "A lot of these guys have been in the NFL.''
UFL Commissioner Michael Huyghue characterized the league as a bridge from the college to the pro game, or as another chance for a former NFL player who was injured or got caught in a numbers crunch.
"We're giving a large pool of talented players an opportunity to extend their careers,'' he said.
Head coach Jeff Jagodzinski said the hunger of UFL players is strong because many are getting a second chance — or a last chance — to reach the NFL.
"When you get pushed against a wall, it reveals what you'll do to feed your family,'' Jagodzinski said. "A lot of these guys were on pro rosters and got cut for whatever reason.
"Maybe they hurt a knee and it didn't come back right away. So there are guys out there.''
With that in mind, Omaha will hold an open local tryout in early May.
"There may be a guy in Omaha that nobody knows about, and he could come out and just shine,'' Jagodzinski said. "You never know until you give them a try.''
The hunger to land a UFL roster spot also is driven by a relatively attractive pay scale.
Last season, Huyghue said, the minimum was $5,000 a week, with some quarterbacks making as much as $12,000. That pay is higher than for players on NFL practice squads.
The goal is to increase the minimum to $6,000, Huyghue said. Besides a salary, the team pays for its players' housing, food and transportation.
The UFL allows teams to bring 70 players to training camp in August. By the first weekend of play — Sept. 17 and 18 — rosters must be cut to 52.
