UFL Chances

Dexter Jackson [Super Bowl MVP Dexter Jackson from the Bucs' 2002 championship season] is a new addition to the Florida Tuskers. They are one of four franchises in the upstart league (along with the California Redwoods, Las Vegas Locomotives and New York Sentinels) that will play a six-game regular season from Oct. 8 to Nov. 20 with the title game Nov. 27. He's like many of the 62 players in Tuskers camp hoping to make the 50-man roster, play well enough to get a new reel of highlights and impress an NFL general manager looking to fill a late-season hole. The league is hoping televised games on Versus with on-air talent including former NFL quarterbacks Doug Flutie and Kordell Stewart, will help stir interest along with former NFL coaches Dennis Green (California), Jim Fassel (Las Vegas) and Haslett. "A lot of guys in the league said they wanted to go with young players who never played in the NFL. I wanted to get some good players. And for whatever reason, they're out of football and deserve another opportunity. So we have guys who were suspended from the league, guys who were hurt and out a year. We had guys come out of NFL training camp. We just tried to get as many good players as we could." So you'll find 34-year-old tight end Jerome Wiggins (who earned a Super Bowl ring with the Patriots), running back Tatum Bell (four seasons with the Broncos) and quarterback Brooks Bollinger (a brief starter with the Jets). Another player, guard Zach Piller (a Florida Gator who spent eight seasons with the Titans), joined the team with no desire to return to the NFL. The UFL is home to many players who never latched on in the NFL. Yet there are also familiar names such as former Bucs defensive end Simeon Rice and former Seahawks wideout Koren Robinson (both playing in New York for Ted Cottrell, a longtime NFL defensive coordinator).