Ellington

Undeterred by Friday night's rain and eager to make the team, 16 hopeful young men arrived at Newell Field in Jackson bright and early May 8 to try out for the Jackson Juggernauts 2010 football season. The Juggernauts are in their second year with the Southern American Football League, a league with teams from 10 southern states. The league gives players an opportunity to showcase their skills throughout the South and to college, Arena League and Canadian League scouts.http://www.jacksonfreepress.com/v3/images/uploads/JUGGERNAUTS-shirt-1.jpg

Tryouts consisted of drills from Phase 1 of the Juggernauts training program—running and conditioning—and the men needed frequent water breaks.

"We gotta get in shape!" yelled Commissioner Joe Bean, a league owner.

Most of the hopefuls were medium height and slim; a few were muscular. One short, heavy young man visibly struggled during the drills, resting his arms on his waist and breathing heavily. Two large men in blue jeans—returning players from last year—observed, critiquing the players the way Drew Brees might watch an eager young quarterback vowing to be a Saint.

The drills lacked intensity. An intense workout would surely deter players with less developed skills, but with only 16 men at the tryouts, participation was limited. Bean attributed the lack of contenders to the previous night's storm. He explained that many are unaware that Newell Field has artificial turf, making muddy ground of no consequence.

"This is the second year for the team in Jackson, and turnout last year was good," Bean said.

In 2009, Robert Bronson, current president of the Mississippi Youth Sports Association, coached the team's first season to a 6-4 finish. Bronson declined to coach for the 2010 season, though, and the team is searching for a new head coach.

Matthew Pulliam's pure love for football led him to the tryouts, and his parents proudly observed their son as he attempted to add another chapter to his football career. A Clinton native and 2000 graduate of Clinton High School, Pulliam attended Mississippi College, where he was a successful snapper for the Choctaws. He graduated in 2004 and earned a tryout with the Buffalo Bills but fell short of making the team. He currently works as a registered nurse with the University of Mississippi Neurosurgical Intensive Care Unit and regularly volunteers with the Madison Central High School football team.

"He loves football and saw this as a chance to stay in the sport," his mother explained about his tryouts for the Juggernauts.

Reginald Hill is looking for the same opportunity. He was a football and track standout at Brandon High School, where he graduated in 1997. He continued both sports at Hinds Community College in Raymond, and says that he was a two-time All-American in both sports. Hill earned a scholarship from Texas State University in football and track, and again won All-American honors in both sports. With one year of eligibility left, he returned to Brandon after his mother was diagnosed with breast cancer. His mother survived, and in 2005, Hill earned his bachelor's in Criminal Justice.

The following year, Hill returned to Texas and joined the unattached track team, Speed Koncept Track Club. Hill also he says tried out for the 2000 and 2008 Olympics. He quit Speed Koncept in 2008 and began working for a telephone company in Houston.

Hill's mother suffered two heart attacks, which led to his second return home. When asked about his ambitions for the Juggernauts, he explained that he "just wanted to keep in shape." He's headed for the ELITE Pro Football Combine in Atlanta June 7, in hopes of earning a spot on a National Football League, Canadian League or Arena League team.

If he's not picked up, he plans to return to Jackson, play with the Juggernauts and attend the Jackson Police Academy.

Jackson native Rodney Gamblin, 27, began his career with the Juggernauts in its first season and is a league All-Star. He graduated from Jim Hill High School in 2003, earning a football scholarship to Hinds Community College where he played until 2006. Gamblin went on to play for Paul Quinn College in Dallas, but after his first year, the college dropped the football program due to lack of funds. He stayed in Texas and began his semi-pro football career with the North Texas Stampede, returning home to the Juggernauts after a year.

Gamblin works as a lab assistant with the Public Health Laboratory and is a youth basketball coach. As for the Juggernauts, he says that he "always shoots for the stars, because if you don't end up on the stars, you can land in the clouds." He wants to play professionally, but despite his ambitions, he says: "We are here for the community and to make it better. It's not about the glitz and glamour of the NFL."

The Juggernauts' first game is in Baton Rouge July 10, with the first home game against the Lake Charles River Cats at Newell Field July 17. Tickets are $5. For more information, call 601-665-7444 or visit http://www.safleague.org.