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FUTURE STARS SET SIGHTS ON EUROPE AS NFL TEAMS ALLOCATE RECORD 152 PLAYERS, 15 QUARTERBACKS TO NFL EUROPE LEAGUE FOR 1999 SEASON
posted 02/22/99
Top young quarterbacks from around the NFL are heading to Europe to compete in the NFL Europe League, where they hope to follow in the footsteps of potential NFL starters Brad Johnson, Jon Kitna and Doug Pederson, through allocation by NFL clubs that was announced today.
A record 152 current NFL players were allocated to the six NFL Europe teams for the 1999 campaign, which culminates with World Bowl '99 in Dusseldorf, Germany on June 27. That number is expected to grow before training camps open next month.
NFL Europe League teams will boast a record group of 15 young NFL quarterbacks on their rosters, up from 10 a year ago, when the new season kicks off on the weekend of April 17-18.
In Dusseldorf, Germany, New York Giants QB Mike Cherry will battle the Detroit Lions' Chris Sittoe for the starting job with the defending NFLEL champion Rhein Fire.
"I think this experience will really help me because it allows you to be on the field," Cherry says. "Take a look at players who have played in Europe. Jon Kitna and Brad Johnson are prime examples of people who had success in Europe and are now in prime positions to run NFL teams here in the States. I hope I can follow in those same footsteps."
Hoping to win the Frankfurt Galaxy starting quarterback position will be Jake Delhomme of the New Orleans Saints. Delhomme, who spent a portion of last season in New Orleans after playing for the Amsterdam Admirals in 1998, was a four-year starter at Southwestern Louisiana, finishing as the Cajuns' all-time passing leader.
"The NFL Europe League is very competitive and very good," Delhomme says. "It's a great place for a young player like me to go and develop my game. It's not quite as fast as the NFL, because that speed is just unbelievable, but it definitely helps playing against quality competition."
Green Bay Packers QB Ronnie McAda and Oakland Raiders QB Pat Barnes also will compete for the starting job in Frankfurt.
In Amsterdam, Miami Dolphins QB Dan Gonzalez will look to follow in the footsteps of Dolphins' teammate Damon Huard, who quarterbacked Frankfurt to a berth in last year's World Bowl. Currently the backup to probable Pro Football Hall-of-Famer Dan Marino, Huard used his time in Europe to impress Miami head coach Jimmy Johnson.
"We weren't sure about Damon," Johnson says. "We sent him to Europe and I thought it helped him tremendously. After getting the experience in Frankfurt, he came back and was a shining star in our preseason, which earned him the No. 2 spot. We'll be watching Dan closely and hope he makes an impact in Amsterdam."
Gonzalez will compete with Buffalo Bills QB Mike Cawley.
Three prolific collegiate passers are vying to become the first to step under center for the Berlin Thunder in its inaugural season. Oakland Raiders QB Andre Ware captured the 1989 Heisman Trophy for his exploits at the University of Houston, where he threw for 4,699 yards and 46 touchdowns during his final season with the Cougars.
Ware will be competing with quarterbacks Chuck Clements, one of seven players allocated by the Super Bowl champion Denver Broncos, and Dave Barr of the New York Jets.
"The quality of players being allocated by NFL teams is getting better every year," said Oliver Luck, NFL Europe League president. "We want to give those players the best possible opportunity to play and develop their skills."
The Scottish Claymores seek to return to the World Bowl for the first time since 1996 behind a pair of NFL quarterbacks - Carolina's Dameyune Craig and Oakland's Mike McQueary.
Craig earned all-SEC honors as a senior at Auburn, setting a single-season yardage record and becoming the first quarterback in school history to pass for 3,000 yards. McQueary was an honorable-mention all-Big Ten selection following his senior season at Penn State, leading the Nittany Lions to a 9-3 record.
"I think quarterbacks are among the players with the most to gain from competing in our league," says Amsterdam head coach Al Luginbill. "It is probably the toughest position to play in our sport. Those players can really benefit by being tested in game situations on a weekly basis."
Battling for the top QB spot in Barcelona will be a trio of quality young prospects, including Jim Murphy of the New England Patriots. Murphy enjoyed a standout career at Northeastern, setting school records in attempts, completions, yards and touchdowns. Vying with Murphy will be Minnesota's Todd Bouman and Indianapolis' Jim Kubiak.
Twenty-nine NFL teams are sending players to Europe, with the largest contingent coming from the New Orleans Saints with 12 allocated players.
The following 152 NFL players have been allocated to the NFL Europe League for the 1999 season:
| NFL Team |
Player |
Pos |
NFL Europe Team |
| Arizona | Jomo Cousins | DE | Berlin |
| Arizona | Kevin Drake | WR | Scotland |
| Arizona | Andy McCullough | WR | Frankfurt |
| Atlanta | Schad Freeman | LB | Berlin |
| Baltimore | Mike Bowman | WR | Berlin |
| Baltimore | Brandon Dyson | C | Scotland |
| Baltimore | Ben Snell | RB | Scotland |
| Baltimore | John Williams | CB | Berlin |
| Buffalo | Mike Cawley | QB | Amsterdam |
| Buffalo | Craig Guest | LB | Frankfurt |
| Buffalo | Dave Mudge | T | Amsterdam |
| Carolina | Dameyune Craig | QB | Scotland |
| Chicago | James Baron | DE | Scotland |
| Chicago | Ricky Bell | CB | Barcelona |
| Chicago | Jim Cantelupe | S | Frankfurt |
| Chicago | Chris Dolan | P | Scotland |
| Chicago | Nick Ferguson | CB | Rhein |
| Chicago | Adam Hernandez | T | Scotland |
| Chicago | Dan Palmer | T | Frankfurt |
| Chicago | Greg Williams | S | Amsterdam |
| Dallas | Terry Billups | CB | Scotland |
| Dallas | Chris Brymer | G | Rhein |
| Dallas | Brandon Noble | DT | Barcelona |
| Dallas | Oliver Ross | T | Rhein |
| Dallas | Robert Thomas | LB | Rhein |
| Dallas | Jason Tucker | WR | Rhein |
| Denver | Chuck Clements | QB | Berlin |
| Denver | Dan Finn | G | Frankfurt |
| Denver | Tori Noel | CB | Barcelona |
| Denver | Marvin Thomas | DE | Barcelona |
| Denver | Dave Thomas | LB | Barcelona |
| Denver | Melvin Tuten | T | Barcelona |
| Denver | Nate Wayne | LB | Barcelona |
| Detroit | Chris Dittoe | QB | Rhein |
| Detroit | Henry Taylor | DT | Amsterdam |
| Detroit | Deron Thorp | T | Barcelona |
| Green Bay | Ronnie McAda | QB | Frankfurt |
| Green Bay | Denorse Mosley | CB | Scotland |
| Green Bay | Edwin Watson | RB | Berlin |
| Indianapolis | Jim Kubiak | QB | Barcelona |
| Indianapolis | Kaipo McGuire | WR | Barcelona |
| Indianapolis | Tre Sartin | T | Rhein |
| Jacksonville | Reggie Lowe | DE | Rhein |
| Jacksonville | Jason Nevadomsky | LB | Amsterdam |
| Jacksonville | Heron O'Neal | CB | Berlin |
| Jacksonville | Cameron Quayle | TE | Barcelona |
| Kansas City | TaVarr Closs | T | Berlin |
| Kansas City | Joel Davis | G | Barcelona |
| Kansas City | Jesse Haynes | RB | Scotland |
| Kansas City | Jim Hoffman | DT | Scotland |
| Kansas City | Brad Kubik | C | Amsterdam |
| Kansas City | Mike Maslowski | LB | Barcelona |
| Kansas City | Shawn McWashington | WR | Amsterdam |
| Kansas City | Nate Parks | T | Scotland |
| Kansas City | Fred Pollack | G | Amsterdam |
| Kansas City | Bob Rosenstiel | TE | Amsterdam |
| Kansas City | Terry Rice-Locket | LB | Scotland |
| Miami | Todd Doxzon | WR | Amsterdam |
| Miami | Dan Gonzalez | QB | Amsterdam |
| Miami | Denis Montana | WR | Rhein |
| Miami | Jamie Reader | RB | Scotland |
| Miami | Barry Stokes | T | Scotland |
| Minnesota | Tony Bland | WR | Frankfurt |
| Minnesota | Todd Bouman | QB | Barcelona |
| Minnesota | Eric Moss | G | Scotland |
| New England | Tarren Crawford | T | Barcelona |
| New England | Cory Gilliard | S | Frankfurt |
| New England | Kadar Hamilton | S | Barcelona |
| New England | Jim Murphy | QB | Barcelona |
| New England | Matt Reem | T | Barcelona |
| New England | Bernard Russ | LB | Scotland |
| New England | Brent Warren | G | Berlin |
| New England | Sir Mawn Wilson | WR | Rhein |
| New Orleans | Jake Delhomme | QB | Frankfurt |
| New Orleans | Mike Halapin | DT | Rhein |
| New Orleans | Alonzo Johnson | WR | Barcelona |
| New Orleans | Carlos Jones | CB | Amsterdam |
| New Orleans | Ron Leshinski | TE | Frankfurt |
| New Orleans | Tony Maranto | S | Berlin |
| New Orleans | Bob Sapp | T | Berlin |
| New Orleans | Steve Scifres | G | Frankfurt |
| New Orleans | Daryl Terrell | T | Amsterdam |
| New Orleans | William Whitehead | LB | Frankfurt |
| New Orleans | Tashe Williams | T | Berlin |
| New Orleans | Terrell Willis | RB | Amsterdam |
| N.Y. Giants | Mike Cherry | QB | Rhein |
| N.Y. Giants | Keith Council | DT | Amsterdam |
| N.Y. Giants | Scott Dragos | TE | Barcelona |
| N.Y. Giants | Andy Haase | TE | Rhein |
| N.Y. Jets | Dave Barr | QB | Berlin |
| Oakland | Vince Amey | DE | Frankfurt |
| Oakland | Pat Barnes | QB | Frankfurt |
| Oakland | Calvin Branch | CB | Barcelona |
| Oakland | Dayroni Harris | DT | Rhein |
| Oakland | Marcus Hinton | TE | Berlin |
| Oakland | Mike McQueary | QB | Scotland |
| Oakland | Andre Ware | QB | Berlin |
| Oakland | Scott Whittaker | T | Rhein |
| Philadelphia | David Akers | K | Berlin |
| Philadelphia | Chris Akins | DT | Frankfurt |
| Philadelphia | Barry Cantrell | P | Frankfurt |
| Philadelphia | Kenny Harris | S | Rhein |
| Philadelphia | Matthew Hogg | T | Frankfurt |
| Philadelphia | Dana Howard | LB | Amsterdam |
| Philadelphia | Mark Kacmarynski | RB | Frankfurt |
| Philadelphia | Clarence Love | CB | Frankfurt |
| Philadelphia | Henry Slay | DT | Berlin |
| Philadelphia | Melvin Thomas | T | Frankfurt |
| Pittsburgh | Matt Cushing | TE | Amsterdam |
| Pittsburgh | Terrance Joseph | CB | Scotland |
| Pittsburgh | Ryan Olson | LB | Scotland |
| Pittsburgh | Shawn Scales | WR | Frankfurt |
| Pittsburgh | T.J. Washington | G | Berlin |
| St. Louis | Jamaal Alexander | S | Amsterdam |
| St. Louis | Jon Hesse | LB | Scotland |
| St. Louis | Donald Sellers | WR | Scotland |
| St. Louis | David Thompson | RB | Amsterdam |
| St. Louis | Phillip Ward | LB | Berlin |
| St. Louis | Marvin Welch | RB | Barcelona |
| St. Louis | Glenn Young | DE | Amsterdam |
| San Diego | Kenny Bynum | RB | Rhein |
| San Diego | Richard Hogans | LB | Rhein |
| San Diego | Clifford Ivory | CB | Scotland |
| San Diego | Mike Martin | RB | Amsterdam |
| San Diego | Anthony Rodgers | WR | Berlin |
| San Diego | Tyrone Taylor | WR | Berlin |
| San Diego | Justin Watson | RB | Berlin |
| San Francisco | Jamara Bell | TE | Scotland |
| San Francisco | Curtis Eason | DT | Berlin |
| San Francisco | Corey Hill | S | Berlin |
| San Francisco | Karl Lerum | WR | Amsterdam |
| San Francisco | Kelly Malveaux | CB | Amsterdam |
| San Francisco | Ed Scissum | RB | Barcelona |
| San Francisco | Vernon Strickland | LB | Berlin |
| Seattle | Michael Black | RB | Frankfurt |
| Seattle | Joey Eloms | CB | Scotland |
| Seattle | Curtis Galick | CB | Frankfurt |
| Seattle | Michael Jenkins | WR | Scotland |
| Seattle | Jason McEndoo | C | Berlin |
| Seattle | Derek Strey | LB | Frankfurt |
| Tampa Bay | Ron Bailey | CB | Frankfurt |
| Tampa Bay | Cedric Donaldson | CB | Rhein |
| Tampa Bay | Charles Emanuel | S | Rhein |
| Tampa Bay | Matt George | K | Amsterdam |
| Tennessee | Josh Bradley | TE | Scotland |
| Tennessee | Maurice Bryant | WR | Barcelona |
| Tennessee | Israel Byrd | CB | Berlin |
| Tennessee | Tony Church | TE | Frankfurt |
| Tennessee | Mike Sutton | DE | Rhein |
| Washington | Raphael Ball | CB | Rhein |
| Washington | David Hoelscher | T | Frankfurt |
| Washington | Tyrone Smith | CB | Barcelona |
courtesy NFL
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