Stoerner one of four to sign AAFL deals

Former Razorbacks quarterback Clint Stoerner is returning to football in Arkansas by way of Tampa, Fla.

Stoerner, along with former Hogs J. J. Jones, Chrys Chukwuma and Anthony Brown, signed contracts with Arkansas’ unnamed All American Football League franchise Saturday at War Memorial Stadium. The contracts guarantee each player a slot at the AAFL’s Tampa-based training camp and will place each in Arkansas should they make the 42-man roster.

The AAFL, which is scheduled to begin its inaugural season next spring, has teams from Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Michigan, Tennessee and Texas.

While Stoerner, Jones, Chukwuma and Brown each walked away with an invite, there were far more players still working to catch the league’s attention. More than 200 athletes were invited to work out at War Memorial Stadium on Saturday, including 59 from in-state colleges.

Jimmy Dunn, the AAFL’s director of player personnel, said the results of Saturday’s workouts will be placed in a database used by league coaches for draft and roster-assignment purposes.

Coaching staffs have not yet been hired, though Dunn and AAFL board member Jack Lengyel said league officials are reviewing applications from interested coaches.

Stoerner, who quarterbacked the Razorbacks from 1996 to 1999 and holds the school’s all-time mark in career passing yards, has logged time in the NFL and the Arena Football League, but said the in-state draw is what led him to sign on with the AAFL.

“It’ll be fun, and I want to be a part of it,” Stoerner said. “I was at a crossroads. I didn’t want to keep giving up the things I was giving up to play arena football.”

Chukwuma, a running back, was playing semipro football and working in the business sector when he caught word of the league. He said he felt good about his chances of making it through training camp and returning to War Memorial Stadium with some former teammates.

“This is what I call the alumni stadium of Arkansas,” Chukwuma said. “The Hogs really don’t play many games here anymore. After you graduate, you come home to Little Rock. This is the place where you come to hang out.”

One former Razorback who didn’t sign but felt good about his combine showing was former defensive tackle Jermaine Brooks. Brooks was a success athletically and academically at Arkansas, but was also arrested in 2004 for selling drugs.

Brooks, who had a stint on the Dallas Cowboys’ practice squad and played in one regular-season game, said his memories of Arkansas weren’t tainted by his brush with the law, and that he hoped to land a spot on the hometown team.

“Other than that, it was pretty solid there,” Brooks said. “It’s always good to come home and show some Arkansas love.”

Players weren’t the only ones hoping to catch the eye of league officials. Former Cowboys fullback Robert Thomas, who played at Jacksonville and Henderson State, was on hand to look into the possibility of catching on as a coach.

“I have a lot more knowledge,” Thomas said. “I want to walk away from this game the same way I came into this game.”

Thomas said he was attracted to the AAFL because of its college degree requirement, something he said could help stem the number of college football players who quit school after their senior seasons.

“Guys are four to six hours away [from degrees ] and they say, ‘To heck with this. I’m going to make these millions and go to the league,’” Thomas said. “And then the league doesn’t want them. It’s very prevalent. It happens all the time.”