Former Hogs ready for shot in AAFL
Posted on Monday, January 28, 2008
Former Arkansas running back Chrys Chukwuma has been through at least two now-defunct professional football leagues or teams since he left campus in 2000.
None have led to an opportunity in the NFL, but he's confident that will change with his third attempt in April.
Chukwuma, and others like him, will don a helmet and pads once again in April with the start of the inaugural season of the All American Football League. Chukwuma will be one of several former Razorbacks to play for Team Arkansas in Little Rock this season under head coach Ron Calcagni.
"It's like an alumni team," Chukwuma said.
The new league requires players to hold a four-year degree from a university to participate, unlike other faltering leagues like the National Indoor Football League, which folded its Arkansas Stars operation in Fayetteville after just one season in 2006.
"You've got guys that would have never gone back to get that degree going back," said Chukwuma, who played and worked in the front office for the Arkansas Stars. "That's the good thing about the AAFL and that's how much they love football."
Chukwuma and former Razorbacks Tony Bua and Jermaine Petty attended an AAFL team draft party at Grub's Bar & Grille in Fayetteville on Saturday. All were drafted by Team Arkansas after being declared as "protected"players by Team Arkansas before a Jan. 18 deadline. As a protected player, no other franchise in the six-team league could draft the former Razorbacks or a list of 25 players from the states of Oklahoma, Arkansas and Louisiana.
Players will make a base salary of $ 50, 000 for 10 games, according to the AAFL league office.
The most notable protected player for Team Arkansas was the Razorbacks' all-time leading passer Clint Stoerner. Stoerner, who was in Little Rock on Saturday at the team's draft headquarters, will still have to compete for a starting spot like many, however.
Calcagni, who also serves as general manager, also selected former LSU quarterback Marcus Randall in the quarterback position. Randall led LSU to the 2003 BCS national championship and threw for 2, 845 yards and 18 touchdowns in his career with the Bayou Bengals.
Bua, who was drafted by Miami in the fifth round of the NFL Draft in 2004, never saw much action in the professional circuit, save for some hard hits on special teams. Injuries led to waivers for the former Razorback linebacker. In April, he gets another shot to make it back to the pros, he said.
"Why not ? "Bua said.
The 27-year-old will open his own athletics training facility in Rogers in mid-February. Called Bua's Next Level Training, the facility will offer hands-on training and support for young athletes under the guidance of former Razorbacks, Bua said.
"I made a living running a 4. 5 or 4. 6 in the 40-yard dash," Bua said. "But I played at the speed of a 4. 4 because I knew what I was doing on the field."
The UA's all-time leader in tackles heard about the league in December, he said, when coach Calcagni called him to express interest in having the former Razorback join the team.
After agreeing, Bua said he now has future AAFL players calling him to ask if they can use his new weight-training facility in Rogers in preparation for training camp in March.
Former teammate Petty, who once returned an interception 90 yards for a touchdown in a 42-17 blowout of Auburn in 2001, may end up being one of them.
"It's almost like a reunion. It really is," Petty said. "To reunite with those guys, that's great. It's going to be fun."
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