Blaze look for prospects

Eighty potential Arena Football League players showed up Friday morning at the Spence Eccles Fieldhouse on the University of Utah campus for an open tryout for the Utah Blaze.

About half that many were asked back after lunch to continue to run a few non-contact drills and show the Blaze coaches what they could do.

A handful of those players — maybe as many as 10 to 15 — will be invited back to try out for the 2008 Blaze.

"There was a lot of talent," said Blaze coach/general manager Danny White of Friday's tryout. "It's more and more like real football all the time. Compared to where we started (in the AFL) years ago, every year the talent level just keeps getting better and better."

The players trying out included some who were on NFL preseason rosters, former college stars and af2 players. Others were guys with relatively little football experience.

"I felt like I proved what I needed to prove," said former Ute linebacker Corey Dodds, who was one of the players trying out. Dodds, who spent last season playing for the Boise Burn in af2 — the AFL's official minor league — has added 15 pounds since he played for Utah, and he wanted to see how he would test with the added weight.

Another player who expects to be invited back to Blaze camp is Kyle Hunt, who was one of the last cuts by the Philadelphia Eagles this season while playing as a tight end. He figures to be a defensive end or linebacker if he plays in the AFL.

"I just love football and want to keep playing," explained Hunt, who received a special invitation from the Blaze coaches to attend the tryout.

"There are 20 or 30 guys out here who could play if they could just get the opportunity," said White.

White was pleased with the ability of some of the quarterbacks who showed up as well — naming Caleb Eastman of Idaho State and Royal Gill of Southern Utah by way of New Mexico State in particular. Mike Affleck, the former Timpview High QB who originally went to Arizona State, BYU, Dixie and Utah State, also tried out.

White said he expects seven or eight of the players who tried out to be invited back to training camp with roster spots and a few others to be brought in with two-day contracts so they can get a better look at what they can do.