Post by Banana Cat on Feb 24, 2011 11:12:22 GMT -5
This will work out great .........NOT.
news.cincinnati.com/article/20110223/SPT/102240363/Jared-Lorenzen-lured-back-field?odyssey=mod|newswell|text|Sports|p
news.cincinnati.com/article/20110223/SPT/102240363/Jared-Lorenzen-lured-back-field?odyssey=mod|newswell|text|Sports|p
Jared Lorenzen lured back to field
Former Kentucky star goes from GM to QB for N. Ky. team
Feb 24, 2011
Written by Richard Skinner / Enquirer contributor
Jared Lorenzen played in the NFL with the Giants and Colts.He says playing for the River Monsters is "just a chance to have fun."
During a tryout for the Northern Kentucky River Monsters that Jared Lorenzen put together as the Ultimate Indoor Football League team's general manager in January, the former NFL and University of Kentucky quarterback joked that he was considering a return to playing.
He apparently wasn't kidding. The team announced Wednesday that Lorenzen will be a starter Friday night when the River Monsters play their first game, against the Cougars in Canton, Ohio.
The 30-year-old Lorenzen must relinquish his role as GM, according UIFL rules, but will continue as a consultant. He plans to return as GM when the season ends.
"I loved putting the team together and getting the players out in the community and finding a head coach, but it was one of those things where I didn't want to regret, when I'm 35 and can't play, that I didn't keep playing a little longer," Lorenzen said. "I was really serious about turning the page on my playing career when I became general manager, but that was in September. I love the guys on the team and just got the itch to play. This is the perfect situation. I'm not looking at the next level or beyond this. It's just a chance to have fun. I live seven miles from where I play (The Bank of Kentucky Center)."
Lorenzen was a star quarterback at Highlands High School, where he served as an assistant coach last season, and was named Kentucky's Mr. Football in 1998. He went on to UK and became the program's career leader in total offense (10,637 yards), passing yards (10,354), completions (862) and touchdown passes (78).
The 6-foot-4 left-hander battled weight problems throughout his college career and is believed to have tipped the scales at more than 300 pounds. That earned him nicknames like, "Hefty Lefty," and, "J-Load."
But his strong arm landed him a spot with the New York Giants in 2006 and 2007 and then in the training camp of the Indianapolis Colts in 2008.
He played for the Lexington Horsemen of the Arena League's af2 in 2009 before the team went bankrupt.
Lorenzen admits his first few River Monsters practices were grueling.
"I went back one day to see how I would feel and if it was possible ... and I was so sore," he said. "From the top of my hair to my toenails, I hurt all over and there was practice the very next day and I wasn't sure I could make it through. The good it does is it keeps me working out."
The team also signed former Mason County receiver Harry Lewis, who played at North Carolina and Louisville. He was a teammate of Lorenzen on the Lexington indoor team in 2009, when he caught 94 passes for 1,300 yards and 24 touchdowns.
Also signed by the team is one of Lorenzen's former Highlands teammates, Brett Hamblen, a wide receiver and defensive back who started his career at UK before transferring to the University of Cincinnati. He also played indoor football briefly for the now-defunct Cincinnati Marshals and has been working out in New Jersey for the past three months in hope of playing again.
Former Kentucky star goes from GM to QB for N. Ky. team
Feb 24, 2011
Written by Richard Skinner / Enquirer contributor
Jared Lorenzen played in the NFL with the Giants and Colts.He says playing for the River Monsters is "just a chance to have fun."
During a tryout for the Northern Kentucky River Monsters that Jared Lorenzen put together as the Ultimate Indoor Football League team's general manager in January, the former NFL and University of Kentucky quarterback joked that he was considering a return to playing.
He apparently wasn't kidding. The team announced Wednesday that Lorenzen will be a starter Friday night when the River Monsters play their first game, against the Cougars in Canton, Ohio.
The 30-year-old Lorenzen must relinquish his role as GM, according UIFL rules, but will continue as a consultant. He plans to return as GM when the season ends.
"I loved putting the team together and getting the players out in the community and finding a head coach, but it was one of those things where I didn't want to regret, when I'm 35 and can't play, that I didn't keep playing a little longer," Lorenzen said. "I was really serious about turning the page on my playing career when I became general manager, but that was in September. I love the guys on the team and just got the itch to play. This is the perfect situation. I'm not looking at the next level or beyond this. It's just a chance to have fun. I live seven miles from where I play (The Bank of Kentucky Center)."
Lorenzen was a star quarterback at Highlands High School, where he served as an assistant coach last season, and was named Kentucky's Mr. Football in 1998. He went on to UK and became the program's career leader in total offense (10,637 yards), passing yards (10,354), completions (862) and touchdown passes (78).
The 6-foot-4 left-hander battled weight problems throughout his college career and is believed to have tipped the scales at more than 300 pounds. That earned him nicknames like, "Hefty Lefty," and, "J-Load."
But his strong arm landed him a spot with the New York Giants in 2006 and 2007 and then in the training camp of the Indianapolis Colts in 2008.
He played for the Lexington Horsemen of the Arena League's af2 in 2009 before the team went bankrupt.
Lorenzen admits his first few River Monsters practices were grueling.
"I went back one day to see how I would feel and if it was possible ... and I was so sore," he said. "From the top of my hair to my toenails, I hurt all over and there was practice the very next day and I wasn't sure I could make it through. The good it does is it keeps me working out."
The team also signed former Mason County receiver Harry Lewis, who played at North Carolina and Louisville. He was a teammate of Lorenzen on the Lexington indoor team in 2009, when he caught 94 passes for 1,300 yards and 24 touchdowns.
Also signed by the team is one of Lorenzen's former Highlands teammates, Brett Hamblen, a wide receiver and defensive back who started his career at UK before transferring to the University of Cincinnati. He also played indoor football briefly for the now-defunct Cincinnati Marshals and has been working out in New Jersey for the past three months in hope of playing again.