Knights Open Training Camp With a Mix of Old and New Faces
Keith Murphy
Sunday March 26, 2006
The 2006 version of the Knights will be a mixture of familiar faces and players who Stingley and his staff have sought out and brought into the fold. On the opening day of the 2006 training camp, Stingley said that he was, "Feeling pretty good about this year."
Old Favorites and New Stars Try to Crack 2006 Roster
After initially meeting with some of the players who had been assigned to the squad’s training camp roster, Stingley was cautiously optimistic. "It’s still brand new to me because I haven’t seen what I have just yet. I know some of the faces, there are a lot of new faces. A lot of the guys I actually went out to go and get. But we actually haven’t started camp yet, you can always say ‘we’re the best team on paper;' but, until you can actually see what guys can do. . . . You never know until the first day and my first day is tomorrow. I’m hoping that things are going to look good for us and I have it in my mind that we are going to be a great team."
"I targeted the DS positions for sure. I just wanted to see if I could get a touch more athletic back there. We also tried to get better up front. We’re also bringing in fresh faces, rookies, into the game and see what we can do with that. At the receiver position, we went and got some more athletic, fast guys; but, with the talent [at WR] we’re bringing back, camp is going to be competitive."
The Train’s Not at the Station
There is one bit of bad news for fans regarding returning veterans as last season’s starting quarterback, Lionel "Little Train" Hayes will not be returning to Macon. During the ’05 regular season, Hayes set a franchise single-season record for passing yards with 3,958 and he completed 70 regular season touchdown throws. According to Stingley, Hayes found a lucrative non-football job at his home in Baton Rouge. "He really wanted to come. He was torn. Lionel was a friend of mine before he was a player so I told him that, ‘Football, as long as I am coaching, will always be here. Go out there and see if you can make a better living for your family. But if you get that bug or if it’s not working out for you then you know what the future holds with me."
Stingley does believe that the Knights will find a competent field leader for 2006,"I think we’re okay with a good guy, Cecil Lester. I have a rookie in Trey Willie which I’m hoping that he can catch on really fast. Then I have Chad Elliott who I traded for from Bakersfield and he’s played in this game for a good while and started and led teams. He’s got a great arm and he broke a lot of records up there in Bakersfield. It’s going to be interesting to watch that race as it comes along in training camp."
Among the returning veterans in camp are a number of fan favorites. The line should be especially strong, Stingley explains, "Of course we’ve got [Andre] Slappey, he’s always been an anchor of our line play. We’ve brought Marco McGee and Kentrell [Blatcher] back. Ed Wangler is pushing hard to be that DLS. We’ve got Derrick Lloyd which is good and we’ve also got Clifford Browning that actually played for the Georgia Force last year at Fullback/Mac. He’s an experienced guy. We’ve got another good guy in John Johnson that has good ability at the Fullback/Mac. Marcus Pratt who played at Bossier last year is a great pass rusher so, at that position, it’s going to be an exciting race as well."
"We’ve also got Hosea Laney, Damien Purse, and, of course, I’ve got Matt Jackson which is big for us because he is such an exciting player to watch. I think that with one more year under his belt and with him having the confidence to know that he can dominate whenever he steps on the field it’s going to big for him in the future." In 2005, Jackson was nominated for af2 rookie of the year and he led the Knights in field goal return yards (188), kick return yards (1026), and interceptions (9).
Stingley also remembered the return of one other long-time Macon veteran, "How can I forget about Jamal [Garman]? Jamal is like the guy who is a coach either on the field or off the field. He maintains the locker room; keeps everybody in line in there. On the field his awareness is above a lot of the other players. He has ‘been there and done that’ and you can’t coach that. Sometimes it is hard to even coach him because sometimes he is coaching me. We were once teammates; but he respects me as a head coach and I do the same for him as a player. I need somebody like him. The race at that position is tight; but I know Jamal and he’s coming to camp ready to compete for it." Garman, a local product, was the Knights’ number two receiver in receptions, yards, and touchdowns with 57 catches, 625 yards and 14 touchdowns in 2005. On defense, he racked up 33 tackles and one interception
Experience in the Coaching Staff
As the Macon Knights open their sixth quest for the af2 Championship, Stingley, who took over for Mike Hold last May, is facing the difficult task of building a team for the first time: "This will be my first year actually building a team and I have to give it to these coaches in A-2 because it’s pretty tough to go out and try to find good talent to want to play in the af2."
Stingley does expect that last year’s experience should only improve him and his team, "I think that with the way that I motivate and how I try to keep things simple and let guys know that the game of arena football is not that hard; it’s more simple than they think it is. And then I surround myself with some good coaches who can go out there and teach technique and know the game and know how to motivate as well as I do. Yet you’re always going to want to take athletic ability and the best player; but, for me, I would love to have a bunch of guys who are just willing to play hard for me, run through a wall, and understand that what I am trying to tell them is the correct thing. Then we’re going to win a bunch of ball games."
The FVSU Connection
Once again, a number of familiar and new players who hail from Fort Valley State University are suiting up for the Knights. The NCAA Division II football power is only 35 miles or so southwest of Macon and Stingley says that the connection between FVSU and the Knights organization is important. "You always want local product and a lot of these guys know each other so then that, number one, is going to bring fans into the arena. Then, just to keep the product here in Georgia from going to other teams and then going out and getting the local guys to even try out. The fact is that it all starts with Jamal [Garman]. You have Jamal, then you have Hosea [Laney], and then for all you know we seem to be developing a pipeline and if that’s so that would be great because I think Fort Valley is a great school that turns out a great product and players. Hopefully we can keep that trend going here in Macon because, as of right now, I haven’t been disappointed with not one Fort Valley player. They have proven to me that they can play this game of arena football."
Kickoff 2006
The 2006 season kicks off Saturday April 8 as the Knights host the Albany Conquest. For information about single game tickets, ticket packages, or season tickets, contact the team at (478) 314-3000. Pre-game festivity information is still tentative. For full schedule and final official roster information see www.maconknights.com.
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
