Knights Return Home to Regroup
Keith Murphy
Thursday June 5, 2003
The Knights will try another new face at quarterback as Jermaine Alfred, who the Knights acquired last week, will be under center. Alfred is a 6’ 2” 235 pounder who played his collegiate ball for Baylor. Alfred has a great deal of experience in arena football having played for the af2’s Augusta Stallions and Tennessee Valley Vipers. He has also served as a backup for the Orlando Predators and the Dallas Desperados.
“He’s got a good grasp of the arena game,” says Knights’ Offensive Coordinator Tres Sullivan. “The biggest thing will be just getting him some reps. Although he did spend 16 weeks in Dallas he didn’t get into any games. He’s got a good mental grasp of what’s going on it’s just a matter of him getting out there and seeing things and going from there. I think he will be a good addition for us.”
Sullivan admits that this is a familiar script for the Knights as, last season, John Rayborn came to Macon from the Indiana Firebirds to lead the Knights to the playoffs. Will Alfred be the next Rayborn? “I think he’s got the same kind of qualities. He’s got a good arm, a good release, and a good mental aspect of the game. Now it’s just a matter of him going out there and putting up those [Rayborn’s] kind of numbers. I think there’s a good chance he’s going to have the same kind of impact.”
The Knights will be happy to be back in Macon after a three-week road trip which saw the Knights drop two of three games. Sullivan says that if this week’s practice is any indication the squad will be ready for the ‘Wings. “I think the biggest thing for us is to get them to understand that we’ve got eight games left. We’ve still got half of our season and the biggest thing we have to do is see how we handle those losses. We’ve got to get some confidence back in everybody and get them to understand that we’re still a pretty good football team.”
The Battle Wings come into Saturday’s match up in a bit of disarray. Garrett Hagin, became the ‘Wings’ third head coach of the season just before last week’s loss to Memphis. The ‘Wings have also yet to win a road game on the season. Sullivan says that despite the turmoil and the 3 – 5 record, Bossier City is a dangerous team. “They’ve had a little bit of turmoil over the last few weeks. Coaching changes, quarterbacks leaving and things like that. But they’ve got a number of guys on the roster who do have some arena experience. They’ve got a couple of guys up front who are pretty good. Rufus French was drafted as a tight end out of Ole Miss. He spent a couple of years in the NFL as a tight end. And they’ve got some guys in the secondary who have some experience. That’s the biggest thing they’ve got going for them is experience. They seem to rely quite heavily on those guys in the secondary and they are a pretty steady ball club.”
Kickoff is set for 7:30 pm at the Macon Coliseum. The Camelot tailgating festivities will begin at 4:30 weather permitting.
Dr. Murphy has nearly 20 years of media experience ranging from radio to the Internet. He has served as webmaster for two AF2 teams and the football team at Fort Valley State University. He is a professor at FVSU and directs www.bunniwerks.org, a non-profit rabbit rescue organization. He has been commissioned as a Kentucky Colonel. Murphy is also serving as a first party editor of af2 stories for ArenaFfan. For more information about Dr. Murphy see: www.keithmurphy.info
