D-III alumni team up in AFL Otterbein alumnus Matt D'Orazio has another Arena Football League team riding high heading into the playoffs and will have a fellow Division III player to throw to. Bridgewater receiver Brandon Copeland was signed by the Philadelphia Soul on Tuesday, June 17, bringing the number of D-III alumni on active rosters to 11. Copeland, also an All-American in track, finished his collegiate career with 127 receptions for 1,924 yards and 21 touchdowns. In May, Copeland was invited to and participated in a NFL rookie minicamp with the Cleveland Browns. He was named an honorable mention camper by ClevelandBrowns.com for "catching everything thrown his way." "I have to stay on my goals at all times; you never know when your chance will come." Philadelphia is currently tied for the best record in the AFL at 12-3, and leads the league in scoring at 62.2 points per game, with D'Orazio, who won an Arena Football title with the Chicago Rush in 2006, sporting a 69-to-4 touchdown-to-interception ratio. The full list: QB Tom Arth, Grand Rapids Rampage, first year in Arena Football (John Carroll) FB/LB Frank Carter, San Jose SaberCats, 6 years (MacMurray) WR Brandon Copeland, Philadelphia Soul, first year (Bridgewater, Va.) QB Matt D'Orazio, Philadelphia Soul, 5 years (Otterbein) QB Brett Dietz, Tampa Bay Storm, 1 year (Hanover) K Carlos Martinez, Georgia Force, 4 years (Buena Vista) DL Bryant Shaw, Cleveland Gladiators, 5 years (Mississippi College) DL R-Kal Truluck, Georgia Force, 2 years (Cortland State) DB Jeremy Unertl, Chicago Rush, 4 years (UW-La Crosse) WR Sakeen Wright, Cleveland Gladiators, 1 year (Rowan) DL Nick Zeck, Chicago Rush, first year (Lakeland) Two Stagg Bowl XXXII opponents are on Arena injured reserve lists: Mary Hardin-Baylor's Elex Reed, a lineman for Cleveland, and Linfield quarterback Brett Elliott, with San Jose. Frank Trentadue, who played for Elmhurst from 1993-96, is an injured linebacker with Georgia. | ||
| Permalink | Jun 17, 2008 | ||
