The turnout for the Omaha Nighthawks' first mini-camp caught former Georgia quarterback DJ Shockley by surprise.
“I come from a place where they love their football,'' Shockley said, “but this was amazing.''
Papillion police estimated about 1,600 people turned out Saturday morning at Papillion-La Vista High School to get their first look at Omaha's new United Football League team. Many came to the Fun Fest event in Nighthawks gear. There was plenty of Husker red in the turnout.
And, of course, there was a healthy mix of Green Bay Packers gear in honor of the team's most notable player.
“This doesn't surprise me,'' said Ahman Green, the Omaha native who played eight seasons for the Packers after a stellar collegiate career at Nebraska. “It just goes to show how intense the fans are here.
“Whether it's Husker football or Nighthawk football or high school football, the support is going to be there. It's going to be exciting.''
Green is among about 50 players participating in the team's three-day mini-camp. Also in uniform was Green's cousin, Tierre, who primarily played defense at Nebraska but is trying to make the Nighthawks as a running back.
Tierre Green chuckled when told how some of his new teammates were surprised by the fans' showing.
“I have to think that very few other places would have a turnout like this for a non-NFL team,'' Tierre Green said. “We love our ball here.''
Nighthawks General Manager Rick Mueller said Saturday's showing exceeded expectations. Then again, Mueller said, just about everything in Omaha has since it was announced in May that the city would have a UFL franchise.
“I was a part of the league last year, and we focused on football,'' Mueller said. “I think the football product was outstanding, but we had to run things a little bit different. This year, we separated it. Each team is more of its own deal.
“From an expectation standpoint, I didn't know a lot about Omaha before I got here. I think it's going to be one of our model franchises. We've sold a bunch of season tickets. The community has been fantastic. You can look around and see (the support) has been fantastic.''
Mueller also was pleased from a football standpoint with Friday's and Saturday morning's first two sessions of mini-camp. The team held another workout Saturday afternoon and will wrap things up with another on Sunday.
The Nighthawks plan to have 70 players on the roster when they open training camp Aug. 18. Some of the players who are participating in the mini-camp might not make it to training camp. Others will be added to the roster before and after training camp starts.
“I like what we have, but this is not our full team, obviously,'' Mueller said. “We've got other guys who we're still talking to. We will be adding to this roster, but it's a pretty good chunk of our core.''
Nighthawks coach Jeff Jagodzinski did not address reporters after Saturday's practice. Mueller said Jagodzinski and the other coaches left immediately after the workout to return to the hotel to begin watching film.
Shockley was one of three quarterbacks participating in the workout. The others were Matt Gutierrez of Idaho State and Ben Sankey of Wake Forest.
Six former Huskers — the Green cousins, punter Dan Titchener, defensive back Daniel Bullocks, defensive end Jay Moore and running back Ken Wilson — were listed on the roster handed out to reporters.
Other players with local ties were wide receiver Keith Eloi of the University of Nebraska at Omaha and wide receiver Clinton Solomon of Iowa.
All showed up this weekend hoping to take advantage of an opportunity. For Tierre Green, it's a chance to get back into football.
He participated in the Packers rookie camp as an unsigned free agent after finishing his Nebraska career in 2007. He was not signed to a contract and returned to Omaha.
“I had settled back and had started working,'' he said. “When they said they were bringing a UFL team here, I thought, ‘I have to try that.' ''
Making the transition back from defense, which he played during his last three years as a Husker, to running back has been a challenge, he said. Still, it was a shift he was willing to make to get perhaps one last chance at playing professionally.
“I know I can still perform at a high level,'' he said. “It's been a while, but I don't think I've lost it. I'm still capable of playing.
“It does take some time to get back into it, but the team has been very gracious. Ahman has helped a lot, and so have some of the other guys. It's been great fun, and it's a blessing to be back out there even if it's only for a weekend.''
Contact the writer:
679-2298, steve.pivovar@owh.com
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