Who’s Going to Step Up Big in Austin?

Christopher M. Duchene
Sunday February 8, 2004

With an expansion team in any league there are often critics who like to determine just how long it will take a team to reach their full potential. Although, from a players and coaches perspective, they cannot put a timetable on just how long it will take before they are good. The reason is that players and coaches play every game to win, not to say that they hung around with the big boys for awhile. If players and coaches did not feel this way, there simply would be no motivation for them to compete. Realistically speaking though, for any team, in this case an expansion team, there has to be players that are willing to take over a game. There has to be players that are going to come up big when their team needs them the most. In Austin there seems to be plenty of these players.

Let us start off with the quarterback position where there seems to be talent on this team already. John Kaleo, who helped lead the Tampa Bay Storm to the ArenaBowl Championship last season, will look to have some of that same magic down in Austin with the Wranglers. Kaleo threw for 75 touchdowns to only 13 interceptions, so the expansion Wranglers should feel pretty good about where they stand with a player of his talent.

Protecting Kaleo and rushing opposing passers will be none other than 6’4”, 270-pound lineman Tom Briggs. Briggs, who is an 8-year veteran, has already been named to the Arena Football Writers Association All-Preseason team. Briggs had a career high 42 tackles to go along with three forced fumbles last season while with the Dallas Desperados, making Briggs a major pickup for this Wrangler team.

In my eyes, the next key player who will have to step up for this team to have any chance at a great season is offensive specialist and return man Shannon “Skinny” Culver. At 5’10”, 175 pounds, Shannon may not be the biggest player in the league physically, but he very well could have the biggest heart. Culver had 37 receptions last season on an explosive Desperado team, but I look for that number to increase while in Austin. With a young expansion team at any level, you need players with some experience stepping up big for your team, and I believe Shannon “Skinny” Culver will be a big time name with Arena Football fans in Austin this coming season.

Along with Culver, leading the charge on offense the Wranglers will have a player at receiver and defensive back that the Wranglers traded for in the off-season for future considerations, former Texas A&M standout Sirr Parker. You may remember Parker in the Big 12 Championship game in 1998 against Kansas State. He helped rally the Aggies by scoring a touchdown and two-point conversion late in the game to tie it up to send it into overtime. Then, in overtime, he caught a 32-yard pass to help give the Aggies a victory over the top-ranked Wildcats. Hopefully he will be one to spark the Austin offense.

These are just a few of the big names that will help carry the Austin Wranglers into the 2004 inaugural season. There is just so much more talent and potential on this Wrangler team that it will be interesting to see who steps up big in important situations, and you will definitely be hearing of other standout players on this team as the season progresses.

 

The opinions expressed in the article above are only those of the writer, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts, opinions, or official stance of ArenaFan Online or its staff, or the Arena Football League, or any AFL or af2 teams.

Christopher M. Duchene Articles
Austin`s Inaugural Season Bittersweet 6/4/2004
The Only Thing the Austin Wranglers Have Left is Each Other 5/19/2004
Do the Wranglers Believe? 4/27/2004
The Battle for the South 4/23/2004
Has the Defense Awakened in Austin? 4/16/2004
The Comfort of Being Home 4/8/2004
The Tacoma Fontaine Show 3/23/2004
Where Were the Wranglers Last Sunday Afternoon? 3/18/2004
Expectations Starting to Increase in Austin 3/13/2004
Will the Wranglers Respond Against Carolina? 3/5/2004
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