Go to the mobile version of this Web site.

Login | Contact Us | Site Map | Paid archives | Electronic edition | Subscription Questions | Extras

Last shot for ex-Mullen star

Former Mullen, Miami QB holds football dream dear

By Jim Benton, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)

Published January 21, 2008 at 12:45 a.m.
Updated January 21, 2008 at 6:36 a.m.

Text size  
Colorado Crush defensive coordinator Ernesto Purnsley watches as Ryan Clement leaps in the broad jump during tryouts Sunday in Centennial. Clement works for The Kenney Group, a Denver firm that specializes in strategic communications services.

Photo by Darin McGregor © The Rocky

Colorado Crush defensive coordinator Ernesto Purnsley watches as Ryan Clement leaps in the broad jump during tryouts Sunday in Centennial. Clement works for The Kenney Group, a Denver firm that specializes in strategic communications services.

More More Sports

More stories »

Ryan Clement had college recruiters lining up at his door 15 years ago during his prolific senior season at Mullen High School.

Notre Dame, Florida, Miami, Stanford, Pittsburgh.

They all wanted Clement, considered one of the nation's top college quarterback prospects in 1993, along with a guy by the name of Peyton Manning.

Clement eventually signed with national powerhouse Miami and went on to play four seasons for the Hurricanes, starting 30 games from 1994-97.

Then, suddenly, it was over. Clement, undrafted by the NFL, felt a void that even a promising career as an attorney couldn't fill.

"I love the game so much," Clement said. "I've loved it since I can remember."

As it turns out, he loved football too much to let it go.

Clement, now 32, still is chasing his dream, living a football odyssey that has taken him from NFL Europe to the Canadian Football League to the XFL to the French Federation of American Football to the United Indoor Football League.

On Sunday, he was among the players trying out for the Arena Football League's Colorado Crush at the South Suburban Family Sports Center Dome in Centennial.

"I don't think you can ever turn down opportunities that come your way that most other people in the world don't get," Clement said. "The joy of the game and just being around it on any level is something you don't get out in the real world very often. So if you can go back and have those experiences at any time, it's good for your soul."

Eye-opening experience

It's not as if football is Clement's only option.

He works for The Kenney Group, a Denver firm that specializes in strategic communications services ranging from government relations to campaign consulting.

Before that, he was an attorney in Florida, working in the Miami- Dade County public defender's office.

"It was an eye-opening experience for a young, idealistic person who wanted to protect the Constitution of the United States and our citizens' rights," he said. "I got to see a slice of life that a lot of people don't get to."

But football has been in his blood since he began watching college and NFL games with his grandfather.

In fact, the prospect of a pro football career was a key factor in deciding to attend Miami, known at the time as "Quarterback U."

"After my career at Mullen, I was one of the top recruits in the nation, me and Peyton Manning and Josh Booty," Clement said. "Not really in that order. It was probably Peyton, Josh and me as far as people being sought after. So we had our choices of schools.

"I made a choice from factors at the time that were important to me. One of those was going to the NFL. Miami, almost on an every- other-year basis, was either winning the national championship or playing for it. And I saw the long line of quarterbacks that had played there."

In making his final choice, Clement also considered another factor.

"I wasn't stupid," he said. "I called Peyton and asked him what school he was going to, because I wasn't going to go there. I chose Miami."

Senior slump

As the full-time starter in 1996, Clement led the Big East Conference in passing efficiency as Miami finished 9-3, including a bowl victory.

In 1997, though, Miami slipped to 5-6 as NCAA sanctions took their toll. In the process, Clement's stock slipped among NFL scouts.

"I was invited to the NFL combine, but I'm not a physically imposing guy," he said. "I didn't have a huge arm. Nothing jumped off the table."

Clement still hoped to be drafted, but optimism turned to disappointment during two long days at his grandfather's home in Cheyenne while waiting for his name to be called.

"That was very difficult and it was embarrassing," he said.

In 1999, Clement signed on with the Scottish Claymores of now-defunct NFL Europe. Though he didn't play much, he enjoyed the experience.

"It took a lot of the sting out of not getting a chance in the NFL," he said.

One last chance

So he continued to dabble in pro football, as a starter for the Las Vegas Outlaws of the short-lived XFL and finally, last summer, for the Fort Collins-based Colorado Ice of the UIFL.

"I had a really good time and it was really good competition, better than I anticipated," he said of playing for the Ice. "It just didn't work out. They paid $250 a game, and I was driving from Denver to Fort Collins four nights a week."

Clement decided to part ways with the Ice late in the season in order to spend more time with his family. At the time, his wife, Ann, was pregnant with their son Lane.

But he stayed involved with football. He helps run a quarterback academy for two hours Sunday mornings in Jefferson County and is the director of a quarterback camp at Impact Sports in Broomfield.

So he was intrigued when the Crush called in December with an invitation to try out. He hopes his arm and experience make him attractive as a backup to established starter John Dutton.

"I understand what (arena football) is like," he said. "The field is so contained that you think you see a hole where you can fit the ball in that really doesn't exist."

Clement hopes his tryout performance at least earns him an invitation to Crush training camp that begins Feb. 6. But if not, he said he finally is ready to let go of his football dream.

And what will he do if he makes the team?

"I have the best boss on the planet," he said, referring to David Kenney. "We're all kind of frustrated ex-jocks. So if that would happen, we'd make sure our clients were well taken care of and we'd work it out."

Crush tryouts

Dailey likes Clement

Crush coach Mike Dailey has done his homework on former Mullen High School and University of Miami quarterback Ryan Clement and got to see him perform during open tryouts Sunday at the South Suburban Family Sports Center Dome in Centennial.

"He looked good," Dailey said. "He did all the testing. Athletically, he looked pretty good. He throws the ball hard. Obviously, I know who he is, know he played successfully in college and he played with the Colorado Ice (United Indoor Football League).

"I've been in touch with what's he's been doing. He's got a good drop, he's got a good, big arm and he has a sense of the field."

Holland hopeful, too

Clement and his friend, Justin Holland, help coach a quarterback camp together, and both were trying to impress Dailey and Crush quarterbacks coach Chris Boden.

Holland, a former Bear Creek High School and Colorado State quarterback, attended training camp with Miami in 2006 and was signed by the Canadian Football League Winnipeg Blue Bombers but was let go in July.

"I'm not ready to say I'm done playing," Holland said. "With something like this (tryouts), where I feel I have a shot of doing something, I'm going to take it. Hopefully, I'll get a call and get invited to training camp."

Signings possible

Dailey will be starting his 19th season of coaching in the Arena Football League and remembers when 80 percent of the players on league teams participated in open tryouts.

That has changed as the league has matured, and Dailey figures that a few players who participated in the Crush tryouts will be invited to a two-day, private workout at the team's Commerce City facility.

"There were some quality athletes out here," Dailey said. "There may be one or two guys that we may be interested in signing, but the next step for a lot of guys is maybe a call back for a private workout."

Taking their shots

Ryan Palmer, an Arvada West High and Northern Colorado graduate, and Aaron Robbins, who played at Smoky Hill High and the University of Wyoming, are hoping to get an opportunity for a private workout.

Palmer, a 239-pound linebacker, played for the Colorado Ice last season and was the UIFL Defensive Rookie of the Year and a Western Conference All-Star.

"I just thought I'd come out and give it a try," Palmer said. "You never know until you try. I've got a couple friends on the Crush who said if I got the chance, I could play here. We'll see what happens."

In June, the Pittsburgh Steelers released Robbins, a defensive end who completed his eligibility at Wyoming last season.

"It's great doing anything football-related right now," he said. "I feel like it went well."

Numbers game

102 players turned out Sunday for open tryouts for the Crush at the South Suburban Family Sports Center Dome.

bentonj@RockyMountainNews.com

Comments

  • January 21, 2008

    8:38 a.m.

    notafan writes:

    (This comment was removed by the site staff.)

  • January 21, 2008

    1:04 p.m.

    notafan writes:

    (This comment was removed by the site staff.)

  • January 21, 2008

    6:01 p.m.

    Suggest removal

    Broncos4Life writes:

    Chasing a dream or not knowing when to move on with your life?

  • January 22, 2008

    11:54 a.m.

    Suggest removal

    notafan writes:

    The AFL is the toilet bowl for washed up cant make it in the NFL players.

  • January 23, 2008

    5:31 a.m.

    notafan writes:

    (This comment was removed by the site staff.)

  • January 23, 2008

    12:34 p.m.

    Suggest removal

    notafan writes:

    AFL is for women and kids! EX steroid users play in the AFL.