SD Fleet Daily Update
January 12, 2019 - Alliance of American Football (AAF)
San Diego Fleet News Release
TODAY'S HEADLINES
Following Friday's day off, the Fleet held a morning practice at 8:45 a.m. CT on Saturday and a will have an evening walk-through at 7:45 p.m. at Heroes Stadium in San Antonio, Texas.
Yesterday, the Fleet waived DE Branden Hester (Humboldt State) and OT Gerrad Kough (Colorado) due to illness. This move brings the Fleet's active roster down to 71 players.
The Fleet had 70 of the 71 players on the roster participate in today, with the exception being DE Meffy Koloamatangi (knee). FS Tyler Thornton (groin) practiced on a limited basis. RB Bishop Sankey (knee) and WR Dontez Ford (hamstring) both returned for a full practice.
WR Kyle Lewis (Cal Poly) practiced with the running backs group, as Head Coach Mike Martz is exploring with the idea of using him as a tailback to take advantage of his speed and power. Having already demonstrated the ability to take the top off the defense at the 'X,' Lewis has a background of running from the wing and on jet sweeps from high school and college; though limited experience running between the tackles.
Alliance of American Football Co-Founder and CEO Charlie Ebersol was at practice today to observe Fleet training camp. Of note, the avid sneaker collector wore a pair of Nike kicks that consisted of Fleet colors yellow and battleship grey.
Yesterday, former Syracuse quarterback Don McPherson (1984-87) delivered a very inspirational presentation to all the players on the Fleet roster about personal awareness and social responsibility.
HIGHLIGHTS
LB Tau Lotulelei (UNLV) was explosive in seven-on-seven drills against both the run and the pass. He got the defensive unit fired up after a big hit at the line of scrimmage on RB Ja'Quan Gardner and later went fully outstretched for a leaping interception.
WR Dontez Ford (Pittsburgh), back at full speed after being hampered by a hamstring strain, drew praise from Head Coach Mike Martz for his route running on a post-corner. He later used that route to make a grab deep downfield in seven-on-seven drills.
TE Marcus Baugh (Ohio State) continues to impress the coaching staff. The six-foot-four, 240- pounder sealed the right edge on a long run by RB Paul James (Rutgers) and later showed his soft hands on a pass reception during seven-on-seven drills.
LB Travis Feeney (Washington) beat the right tackle then the tight end on successive plays to get to the quarterback during one-on-one pass rushing drills.
P Sam Irwin-Hill (Arkansas) continued to boom punts in special teams drills, prompting General Manager Dave Boller to illustrate his confidence that the Fleet has the best punter in the league.
BOATS QUOTES
Defensive Coordinator Larry Marmie on the progress of his unit: "The defense is coming along. We're starting to understand the concepts; but it's a process -- getting in the right position; knowing what they're asked to do. We are not there yet. It just takes a little bit of time. But there is definitely a lot of talent on this defense."
Defensive Coordinator Larry Marmie on the value of the AAF: "This is something football has needed for a long time. You know, it's just a matter of being at the right place at the right time. For some guys, it just takes three or four years for everything to click. So we have a chance to work on technique and teach some of these things to help these guys get better; to better prepare them for the next opportunity. There are a lot of stories of guys who have gone two or three years then finally found a home. I think this is critical and I think it's good for these guys."
LB Tau Lotulelei (UNLV) on playing for the Fleet with his older brother, John (LB): "It's a blessing to play with my brother. He got me to try out back in San Diego. It had been two years since I played. I'm so glad he did. Just to spend time with him; we're roommates, so he stays on me all the time. That's a good thing; he teaches me a lot. This is such a good opportunity."
TE Gavin Escobar (San Diego State) on the opportunity to be targeted heavily in the passing game: "I'm very excited. Coach Martz loves using his tight ends. He was a tight end, himself; so I guess he's biased. For us, it's fun. We know we have to take care of the run game and help out the offensive line and running backs - but knowing we are going to catch some balls is exciting."
TE Gavin Escobar (San Diego State) on if he's having fun after a full week of practices: "Oh, yeah. How can you not have fun playing football? We're in San Antonio. It's not too hot. It's football weather."
LB Jonathan Williams (Syracuse) on the competition on defense: "Everyone's really competitive and everyone wants to raise the level of each other. We push each other, work hard; and Coach MacDuff (linebackers coach) does a really good job to motivate us and push each other harder. We're all competing to get better every day. We want to win, so everyone's buying into the message Coach Martz is talking about; and we're just playing hard for each other."
LB Jonathan Williams (Syracuse) on the impact of his Fleet coaches: "Individually, I feel like this experience is helping me out a lot because they're breaking everything down, step-by-step. It's more about learning about fundamentals; taking it slowly. That's just getting us better technique-wise. It's going to make us faster when we all go full speed. Honestly, I feel like I'm really learning to play linebacker for the first time in my career."
DROPPING THE LINE (OF THE DAY)
DE Damontre Moore (Texas A&M) after DE Jonathan Petersen (San Diego) was able to get to the quarterback during pass rush drills in successive tries: "Easy money! Easy like Sunday morning!"
COUNTDOWNS
The Fleet will enter practice tomorrow with 28 days before the inaugural season kicks-off in San Antonio against the Commanders at the Alamodome on Feb. 9.
The Fleet will enter practice tomorrow with 15 days before its dress rehearsal game (i.e preseason game) against the Atlanta Legends at the Alamodome on Jan. 27.
The Fleet will enter practice tomorrow with 5 days before its joint practice with the Atlanta Legends on Jan. 17.
COACH SPOTLIGHT - PAT MORRIS, OFFENSIVE LINE COACH
Pat Morris has an impressive resume that offers 17 years of NFL coaching experience to the San Diego Fleet. Most recently, he served two seasons as offensive line coach for the Buffalo Bills in 2013-14. In these 17 seasons, Morris orchestrated an offensive line that generated the league's best rushing totals three times (1998, 1999, 2007) and a Top-10 finish 10 times. In 2013, the Bills ranked second in the NFL behind only Philadelphia. Morris started his coaching career with San Francisco as the tight ends and assistant line coach in 1997. The native of Sylmar, Calif., was soon elevated to 49ers offensive line coach from 1999-03. He went on to hold the same post with the Detroit Lions (2004-05), Minnesota Vikings (2006-10), Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2011) and Buffalo. Prior to his NFL experience, Morris spent 21 seasons in the college ranks as assistant at University of Southern California, University of Northern Arizona, University of Minnesota, Michigan State University and Stanford University. Morris had four-year playing career as an offensive lineman at USC from 1972-75, during which time the Trojans went to three Rose Bowls and won two national titles (1972, 1974).
PLAYER SPOTLIGHT - DAMIEN MAMA, LEFT GUARD
LG Damein Mama (USC) started his collegiate career at University of Southern California as arguably the most decorated high school lineman in the nation after his senior year at St. John Bosco in Bellflower, Calif., in 2014. In fact, he was the top-rated lineman in the country according to many scouting sites, including rivals.com and 247sports.com, in addition to being selected as a USA Today High School All-American in 2013. Mama spent three seasons with the Trojans - and was named 2015 All-Pac-12 honorable mention as a sophomore and 2016 All-Pac-12 Second-Team as a junior - before declaring early for the NFL draft. Although going undrafted, the six-foot-four, 331-pounder was signed by the Kansas City Chiefs in May. He has spent time on the practice squad for the Chiefs, the New York Giants (2017) and the Dallas Cowboys (2018). He was on the active roster for the Giants for a handful of games in 2017.
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Alliance of American Football Stories from January 12, 2019
- Salt Lake Stallions Daily Update - Salt Lake Stallions
- Arizona Hotshots Daily Update: Saturday, January 12, 2019 - Arizona Hotshots
- January 11, 2019 - Orlando Apollos Daily Update - Orlando Apollos
- San Antonio Commanders Daily Training Camp Update for Saturday, January 12, 2019 - San Antonio Commanders
- SD Fleet Daily Update - San Diego Fleet
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