| 1/20/2006 3:00:00 PM | Email this article • Print this article |
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| Brett Dietz, during his senior season at Hanover in 2004, has already played in one exhibition with the Arena Football League’s Tampa Bay Storm. (Courier file photo) |
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Ex-Hanover QB Dietz has shot at AFL Storm
David Campbell
Courier Sportswriter
Brett Dietz, the former Hanover College standout who led the Cincinnati Marshals deep into the National Indoor Football League playoffs last season, has earned a shot at bigger things.
Dietz, a Villa Hills, Ky. native and a 2004 graduate of Hanover College, signed a contract with the Tampa Bay Storm of the Arena Football League this week and has already seen action in an exhibition game.
The strong-armed quarterback led NCAA Division III in total offense as a senior at Hanover. Last season he stepped right into the starting role with Cincinnati, which made a deep run into the playoffs.
Dietz had signed to play for the Louisville Fire of the Arena Football League2 last week, but that was before the Storm came calling this week.
“I am signed with the Fire, but I tried out for the Tampa Bay Storm and just now I signed,” Dietz said. “So if I make the final roster and I stay I won’t be playing for the Fire this year.”
The AF2 is the second-tier level of the Arena League while the AFL is considered the “top stop” in the league. Arena League games are broadcast live on NBC throughout the spring and summer and the league is one of the fastest-growing in the country.
Dietz will try to catch on with the Tampa Bay Storm and has already begun practicing with the team. Under his contract with the Fire, if he gets cut from Tampa Bay before March 1 he can return to Louisville.
But making the Storm will be his top priority. On Wednesday, Dietz saw action in Tampa Bay’s 38-30 exhibition loss to the Orlando Predators despite having just two days of practice with the team.
Dietz followed starter Shane Stafford and back-up Pat O’Hara to engineer a touchdown drive late in the game. He also threw an interception, but the 6-foot-5 quarterback felt good about his performance.
“I was in for 11 plays and threw one interception and one touchdown. Both possessions we went down the field,” Dietz said. “There are some differences between the AFL and the NIFL. One of the differences is the reason for the one interception, I still need to work on that. One of the coaches and most of the players said that I did real good. The coach said especially for only being here for two days. I need to continue to improve and I know I will with time.”
Dietz appeared in 12 games for the Marshals last season, completing 198-of-345 passes (57.4 percent) for 2,226 yards and 41 touchdowns. He averaged nearly 190 yards per game.
He left Hanover as one of the top quarterbacks in school history and played for the professional Turko Trojans in Finland in 2004. He has also had a tryout with the Edmonton Eskimos of the Canadian Football League.
The Tampa Bay Storm, five time champions of the AFL, open the season Sunday, Jan. 29 at Philadelphia. The game, which will be aired on NBC, starts at 3 p.m.
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