| 1/20/2005 3:47:00 PM | Email this article • Print this article |
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| Brett Dietz fired often as the starting quarterback at Hanover College in 2003. |
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Former Hanover standout Dietz signed to quarterback Marshals
By David Campbell
Courier Staff Writer
Last summer, Brett Dietz was forced to travel across the globe to play football. This spring, his commute will be decidedly shorter.
Last week, the former Hanover College standout quarterback signed with the expansion Cincinnati Marshals of the National Indoor Football League and should be the team’s starting quarterback when the season opens March 26 at home.
For Dietz, a native of nearby Villa Hills, Ky. who is currently working in Cincinnati, finding a team so close to home was almost a blessing.
“When I came back from Europe (last summer) I knew that I wanted to play football,” Dietz said Wednesday from his alma mater Hanover where he was broadcasting the women’s basketball game for local radion station WIKI in Madison. “But at the time, Cincinnati did not have a team and I was looking in Dayton, in Louisville, in Evansville, anywhere. Then, all of sudden Cincinnati popped up.”
The Cincinnati Marshals officially came into being Dec. 7, with the announcement of the expansion franchise. Now, less than two months from its first game, the Marshals are quickly assembling a roster.
The key to that roster is a quarterback and that’s where Dietz comes in. After leaving Hanover College as one of the most successful quarterbacks in the program’s history, Dietz had tryouts with several professional teams, including the Edmonton Eskimos of the Canadian Football League, before signing with the Turku Trojans in Finland.
While the culture shock was evident — not surprisingly, Dietz speaks no Finnish — his play on the field was superb as he led the league in most passing statistics and led the Trojans to an undefeated regular season and the championship game.
After coming back home, Dietz was galvanized in the pursuit of his life-long dream and decided to go after it 100 percent.
“Last summer was the first time that I ever just concentrated on just one sport,” said Dietz, who played golf, basketball and baseball as well as football at various times while at Hanover. “And I really realized how much I loved it. I really believe I am ready to make that step.”
The National Indoor Football League is similar to its better-known cousin, the Arena Football League, but on a smaller level. However, the style of play is the same and Dietz should be ready.
While at Hanover, Dietz was at the helm of one of the highest-scoring attacks in the country, a spread-the-field offense that puts a lot of emphasis on its quarterbacks to make the right reads and to deliver the ball accurately and quickly.
Dietz handled the job so well that he led the nation in total offense as a senior. It is those skills that he will need in the indoor game, which is primarily a passing league and scores resemble those in basketball.
“I think I have a huge advantage because of the system that I came out of (at Hanover),” Dietz said. “I’m used to throwing the ball 50 times a game. It doesn’t bother me mentally or physically. Even a (NCAA) Division I quarterback who is used to playing in a balanced system throws the ball maybe 20-25 times a game.
“(In indoor football) there is a reliance on the passing game and you may throw it on every down. At Hanover, I was used to making reads on every play and watching the linebacker to see what the coverage is. I think that gives me the advantage.”
Dietz’s skills and size — he is 6-foot-4 — make him the ideal arena quarterback and has already allowed him to beat out a more recognizable competitor in the Marshals’ tryouts. Former University of Kentucky star Jared Lorenzen, also of Northern Kentucky, tried out for the team but it was Dietz who was offered a contract.
With the season opener quickly approaching, Dietz and the Marshals have little time to prepare. In fact, the NIFL allows only 14 practice sessions before the first game.
As a result, the Marshals wanted Dietz to bring in any former teammates for a tryout and former Hanover wingback Jeffrey Jourdan, a favorite target among quarterbacks at Hanover, will perform this weekend.
“Because we only have 14 sessions, they wanted to know if there was anyone I was comfortable with,” said Dietz, who gave the Marshals several names including former Hanover receiver Stephen Lyon. “If it’s third and eight, I need to be able to know where somebody is right away. And Jourdo’s an excellent route runner. But he’s not a robot. He knows how to read a defense and how to change his route as needed and we are on the same page.”
While Dietz is completely focused on the upcoming season, he has looked ahead at his professional career. Coming out of a Division III school, even one as successful as Hanover, he knows that he has a large hurdle to overcome.
But the quarterback is confident. He has signed with an agent — who sought him out rather than the other way around — and has been working with several receivers from Division I schools who have had nothing but praise for the Covington Catholic graduate.
“Right now, I would say the sky is the limit,” Dietz said of his potential professional career. “I’ve worked with a lot of guys who say I definitely have the potential. My goal is to prove myself and open some eyes and to work my way up to the Arena League. And then from there, maybe even the NFL.
“A lot of people talk to me about Kurt Warner and he is definitely an inspiration,” Dietz said of the former Arena League star who eventually became an MVP quarterback in the NFL. “I think especially when it comes to Warner, he got to the NFL late and he’s a pocket passer like I am. Even though they say the league is switching to more Michael Vick-types, I know there will always be a place for a guy like a Peyton Manning. But I drive myself. I know what I need to do to be successful.”
The Marshals open the season at home against Beaumont, Texas, at U.S. Bank Arena in Cincinnati March 26. The former Hanover quarterback can’t wait.
“It’s going to be different being in big arenas like that, especially coming from Hanover,” Dietz said with a smile. “I’m not used to having that many people at a game. But I’m looking forward to it.”
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Reader Comments
Posted: Friday, January 21, 2005
Article comment by:
Albar M. Pelsor
Ever since the Cincinnati Swarm folded in Spring 2004, I have been waiting for arena football to return to Cincinnati. Now with a new team and a strong QB (Dietz), I am confident about the upcoming season.
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