Colts Make First Wave Of Cuts, Part Ways With Caldwell, Rucker [UPDATE] Whalen to IR

Stew Blake — Mon, 27 Aug 2012 01:48:26 -0000

As teams slim down their rosters to the initial 75 for the 4 p.m. Monday deadline, NFL hopefuls from around the league are introduced to the reality of the business that is, well, professional football. However, veterans can also come face to face with the chopping block, as illustrated by Colts' initial cuts.

Eleven cuts were made on Sunday night, bringing the Colts roster to 80 players:

Terrence Johnson showed very little to justify a roster spot, and with the addition of Vontae Davis to compliment a now-crowded CB corps, the Colts look to be much more solid at a position that once screamed "HELP!" Also, the big CB Chris Rucker--drafted in the sixth round of the 2011 NFL Draft--was given his walking papers. Rucker was a physical specimen, but he saw limited action and failed to impress the new regime.

David Caldwell started 13 games in 2011. Before being cut, he slipped to third on the depth chart behind Tom Zbikowski and Jermale Hines.

The 2011 waiver claim, wide receiver Quan Cosby, also says goodbye. His career numbers include only 6 receptions for 71 yards. He also never made a catch for the Colts in the regular season.

Griff Whalen, the new fan favorite, lives to fight at least one more day, despite fracturing his foot in Saturday's preseason game against the Redskins. Whalen put up some more big numbers on Saturday, and with the uncertainty surrounding Austin Collie, Whalen could prove to be a cheap and valuable asset in the slot. However, the seriousness of his foot injury will be the deciding factor in his future as a Colt.

Five more cuts will have to come before tommorrow's deadline. Who do you think they will be?

UPDATE: The Colts have made their way down to a 75-man roster. As a result, DT Brandon McKinney has been placed on IR, along with WR Griff Whalen and OT George Foster.

Rookies NT Josh Chapman and G Justin Anderson have been placed on the reserve/PUP list.

The Probound Sportswear Florida Bowl has been cancelled

Damond Talbot — Sat, 10 Mar 2012 17:12:02 -0000

This was going to be the first year of the Probound Sportswear Florida Bowl that was supposed to take place in Tampa, Florida from March 19-24. This was going to be the last bowl game of the college year, and was supposed to be played at Raymond James Stadium, but due to financial backers pulling out at the last minute, the game had to be cancelled. Del Price, the CEO of Probound Sporstwear released an Official Statement to the players and fans in an email last week where he said that since the game would be cancelled, Probound Sportswear will be putting on a Combine/Pro Day for the players that were supposed to come to the event if they still want to participate for free on March 24 at Daytona Municipal Stadium, for new players there will be a fee of $100 to participate. You can find out more about the Pro Day/Combine here on his site.

I just wanted to write an article to see what that game could have been, with the players that they had going in.

When the Probound Sportswear Florida Bowl came out this last year, it was a great idea, it was Florida versus the Nation, and since the players from Florida are supposed to be a step above the rest of the United States, it was a very good concept. They also had reached out to former players like Dexter Jackson, Super Bowl MVP of the Bucs, Eric Moulds of the Buffalo Bills, Michael Pittman of the Bucs, and Danny Nutt, a coach and Houston Nutt's brother. The players that were committed to the game were really impressive. There scouting department had really began to to lock down great players for their event. Some of the players that were at this game, are starting to get national attention.

Since it was cancelled CEO Del Price asked me to write an article and give a shout out to the players that were committed, because they really did have an impressive roster.

TEAM FLORIDA

Player Name: Position: Ht: Wt: School:

DeJarrius Adams WR 6"2" 205 Delta State

Kyle Auffray TE/P 6"5" 254 Univ. New Hampshire

Sharly Azard S 5"11" 212 USF

Trevor Barlow TE 6"1" 227 Charleston Southern

Ricky Carlson DB/PR 5"10" 180 Webber Intl.

Branden Curry OL 6"6" 320 Florida A&M

Lavaris Edwards DB 5"11" 195 Memphis

Brandon Ellison CB 5"11" 185 Florida International

Mike Evans DB 5"10" 187 Louisville

Cliff Exama LB 6"0" 230 Grambling State

Joel Figueroa OG 6"6" 323 Miami

Tommy Hampton RB 5"8" 190 West Texas A&M

Willie Harvey DE 6"5" 280 Eastern Arizona

Brandon Howard CB/FS 6"1" 185 Grand View Univ.

Antwan Ivey RB 5"5" 180 North Alabama

Brandon Jordan OL 6"4" 315 Missouri A&T

Josh Long DL 6"5" 290 Webber Intl.

Joe Marshall DL 6"2" 290 Delta State

Chris Masson QB 6"2" 203 Louisiana Lafayette

Ernest McCoy OL 6"6" 330 Texas Southern

Josh McGregor QB 6"2" 210 Jacksonville Univ.

Jermaine McKenzie WR 6"2" 185 Memphis

Preston Pace DB 6"0" 205 Louisville

Anthony Parker OL 6"5" 321 Western Michigan

Michael Parker OLB/S 6"1" 216 Charleston Southern

Terrance Parks S 6"2" 215 Florida State

Josh Philpart WR 6"0" 166 Jacksonville Univ.

Justin Robertson DE 6"3" 250 Arkansas State

Julio Sanchez LB 5"11" 220 Hampton University

Brandon Sanders LB 6"1" 205 Salisbury University

Josh Samuda OL 6"4" 312 Massachusetts

Joemese Scott DE 6"2" 260 Defiance College

Alfonso Simmons DL 6"0" 265 Arkansas State

Terrence Simien S 6"3" 218 Louisville

Rudell Small RB 5"10" 205 Jacksonville Univ.

David St. Louis LB 6"2" 220 Toledo

Demetri Stewart OLB 6"1" 219 Northern Michigan

Nicholas Taylor CB 5"10" 180 Florida International

Ricardo Volcin S 6"1" 216 Norfolk State

Mike Walsh LS 5"10" 215 USF

Curtis Witherspoon LB 6"0" 218 USF

TEAM NATION

Player Name: Position: Ht: Wt: School:

Raphael Amey WR/KR 6"0" 187 Kentucky State

Todd Anderson FB/LS 6"2" 260 Michigan State

Vic Anderson RB 5"9" 188 Louisville

Terrell Bailey DB 6"2" 190 Univ. North Alabama

Chris Banjo S 5"10" 195 SMU

Duane Bennett RB 5"9" 208 Minnesota

Morkeith Brown DE 6"5" 260 Temple University

Eddy Carmona PK 5"11" 205 Harding University

Nate Chandler DT 6"4" 295 UCLA

Lebron Daniel DE 6"2" 250 Iowa

Dominique Davenport DB 5"10" 182 Coastal Carolina

Chance Dennis WR 6"2" 220 Delta State

Dan Di Lella QB 6"5" 232 Albany

Kevin Doty TE 6"3" 260 Lafayette College

Riley Dunlop WR 6"2" 191 Ohio University

Jason Edwards LB 5"11" 235 Louisiana Monroe

James English OL 6"3" 305 Shenandoah

Sioeli Fakalata OG/C 6"3" 340 New Mexico State

Jason Foster OL 6"5" 309 Rhode Island

Gerald Gooden DE 6"3" 235 Purdue

Roderick Hall WR 5"7" 175 Arkansas State

Shareef Harris RB 6"1" 195 Southern Illinois

Kyle Hurt DL 6"3" 270 Lane College

Dom Joseph DB 6"1" 190 Virginia

David Legree QB 6"4" 225 Hampton

Willie McGinnis DL 6"2" 315 Rhode Island

Jessie Mitchell OL 6"3" 345 Kentucky State

Jack Petion OLB 6"1" 235 Southern Conn.

Kim Royston DB 5"11" 200 Minnesota

Matt Singletary DE 6"3.5" 259 Cal Poly

DeQuan Starling DB 5"9" 180 Benedict College

Matthew Tau'fo'ou ILB 5"11" 235 Iowa State

Herschel Thornton DB 6"2" 220 East Stroudsburg

Tommie Westbrook LB 6"2" 235 North Alabama

Ian Wild S 6"0" 210 Mercyhurst Univ.

Jamahl Williams DB 5"8" 185 Kean University

- The Quarterbacks on this roster were very solid, Dan Di Lella of Albany has been on the rise, he killed the Fordham pro day, and has been really impressive this offseason, Chris Masson of University of Louisiana Lafayette has been a kid that has shown his passing abilities before getting injured last season. He is a very good pocket passer.

-The Runningbacks would have been great to see, both Vic Anderson of Louisville and Duane Bennett of Minnesota were really the guys that stuck out to me. Both of these runningbacks have had great careers, and could be latching on to an NFL camp for sure.

-The Wide Receivers were led by guys like Chance Dennis of Delta State who was pretty impressive, I am telling you this group of Wide Receivers was pretty decent.

-On the Defensive side of the ball there were many players that could have made an impact in this game. Guys like Ian Wild, Safety of Mercyhurst, and Jamahl Williams of Kean University are two guys that are under the radar, and could have made some things happen for the National team.

- Mike Evans, and Preston Pace on the Florida team would have been pretty great to watch as well. There are tons of NFL talent on this roster, and to be honest it is a shame that the financial backers pulled out of this event. They didn't just pull out from the company, they pulled out from the kids, that were trying to make it to the next level.

So let me ask this question. Out of this roster, what player do you think has the best chance to make it on an NFL Roster? Please leave a comment in the Comment section below.

SB Nation - Jason Foster

Colts Make First Wave Of Cuts, Part Ways With Caldwell, Rucker [UPDATE] Whalen to IR

The Probound Sportswear Florida Bowl has been cancelled