Arizona Hotshots stage first practice
Alliance of American Football kicks in gear
After wrapping up their first official in-state practice on Tuesday on the practice field next to State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona Hotshots head coach Rick Neuheisel had a simple, pointed message for his Alliance of American Football team.
“I said, ‘Just look at the setting here,’ ” Neuheisel began, adding, “I mean, the grass looks like it was used at the Phoenix Open. The wind is a little bit out of the south, but it isn’t going to make you go back for the 6-iron if you have the 7iron in your hand. Look at the beautiful vistas of the mountains. I said, ‘This is home, this is Arizona, this is as perfect as it gets.’ ”
Then he pointed about 100 yards to the north to where the Cardinals’ stadium stood and added, “And by the way, there’s the dream. That’s what everybody’s here for – to get back to that level or to get a chance at that level and that’s what beautiful about this league and for sure, about this setting.”
The eight-team AAF, a new professional league centrally owned and operated, opens its inaugural 10-game season on Saturday. The Hotshots kick off their season on Sunday with a game against the Salt Lake Stallions at 6 p.m. at Arizona State’s Sun Devil Stadium, their official home for 2019.
The Hotshots already are being mentioned as early favorites to win the AAF’s inaugural championship.
“Oh man, I’m so excited. It’s going to be awesome. I’m just so all-around happy to be here and be a part of this,” said Hotshots wide receiver Marquis Bundy, a native of Anthem who spent 2016 on the Cardinals’ practice squad and active roster.
Bundy was one of several players who stood out during portions of Tuesday’s practice, catching several passes thrown by Hotshots quarterbacks Trevor Knight and John Wolford, the frontrunners to land the starting job. There are three quarterbacks on the roster and Neuheisel, the former prep QB standout from Tempe McClintock who would go on to become a head coach at Colorado, Washington and UCLA, said all three likely will get the chance to play.
According to Hotshots General Manager Phil Savage, 49 of the 52 players on Arizona’s current roster have spent some sort of time with an NFL team, either as a member of an active roster, practice squad or training camp tryout. They include several players with Arizona ties and those who have had connections with the Cardinals, including linebacker Scooby Wright III, guard Josh Allen, defensive tackle Will Sutton and wide receiver Rashad Ross.
The Hotshots’ kicker is Nick Folk, the former University of Arizona star who has spent 11 seasons in the NFL with the Cowboys, Jets and Buccaneers. He most recently had a tryout with the Chicago Bears, but is looking forward to spending the next three months here with the Hotshots.
“It’ll be a fun 10 weeks,” Folks said. “I’m excited about it. … It’s a good situation for a lot of people here, myself included.”
Savage, a former longtime NFL executive which included four seasons as senior vice president and general manager of the Cleveland Browns, thanked the Cardinals for allowing the Hotshots to use the outdoor practice fields this week and the use of their locker rooms inside the stadium.
“Our players can be on this field and look across the street and see the dream,” Savage said. “We don’t have to tell them about it. They can visually look over and see it.”
For ticket information, visit the team’s website at aaf.com/ArizonaHotshots.