Tag Archives: hartford colonials

NFL, ufl, University of Texas

Smith, Greg (TE)

hit11 gsmithCard: Sage Hit 2011
Acquired: 2/16/2013, Longhorn Neighborhood Foundation Bowling Tournament

An intriguing prospect, Greg Smith was a versatile tight end for the University of Texas, who had experience at all 5 offensive line positions including long snapper and as an extra blocking tight end in jumbo sets. Over his career at the school he participated in 51 contests, starting 15 of them, recording 17 receptions for 112 yards and a touchdown.

Greg went undrafted in 2011 by the NFL; However he was the 7th round (32nd) pick of the Hartford Colonials of the UFL. The Colonials were ‘contracted’ before they even took the field in 2011. Greg signed a free agent contract with the Carolina Panthers that season and he remained on their practice squad for 2011 and through August of 2012. Currently he is a free agent.

NFL, ufl

Putzier, Jeb

ud06 putziertntufl11 putzier
Card: TNT UFL 2011, Upper Deck 2006
Acquired: TTM 2014, C/o Home
Sent: 2/10    Received: 6/23   (133 days)

Jeb got his start in 1999 with the Boise State Broncos. He got out onto the field as a Freshman and logged 10 receptions for 120 yards and 2 TDs from the tight end position. Considering the offensive wizardry that was employed at Boise St., Putzier was redeployed as a wide receiver from his Sophomore season on out. He topped his numbers fairly evenly each season, culminating in a Senior year with 44 receptions for 824 yards and 12 touchdowns when he was an All WAC selection. He finished his career on the blue tundra with 128 receptions for 2,050 yards, 16.0 YPR, and 19 touchdowns.

The NFL reclassified Putzier back as a tight end, going into the 2002 draft. He did not receive a combine invite, but his fairly productive career at Boise St., coupled by his size (6’4″, 251) and well received team day (4.6 40), turned some heads of the scouts enough to get some attention. He was also valued for his special teams play as a long snapper. Jeb was tabbed in the 6th round, by the Denver Broncos as a ‘value pick’. He’d start off slowly and not even see the field consistently until 2004. He’d provide some nice mismatches, making 36 receptions for 572 yards and 2 TDs in 2004. (The 15.9 YPR was the highest number by a Bronco TE in over 25 years.) Putzier then followed it up in 2005 with a modest 37 receptions for 481 yards. With the Houston Texans making Denver Broncos offensive coordinator Gary Kubiak their head coach, Putzier signed with the team to replace Billy Miller at the position in 2006. The Texans however found Owen Daniels in the draft. While the position was retooled now with Daniels getting the majority of the snaps, Putzier ended up sharing time with Mark Bruener as well. He’d log 126 yards on 13 receptions. In 2007, he made 6 receptions for 39 yards, and 1 TD- a 7 yarder in a 38-36 loss to Tennesseee. After the season Putzier was allowed to sign with the Seattle Seahawks for 2008. There, he lasted about 6 games before resigning with the Denver Broncos, where he was cut in 2009.  Jeb signed with the UFL Hartford Colonials, but was waved in June of 2010. The Omaha Nighthawks picked him up, and he immediately fit right into the offense guided by Jeff Garcia. Putzier had 14 receptions for 144 yards and 3 touchdowns- which tied for the team lead. Of the 3 touchdowns, 2 were game winners against the Moutain Lions and the Hartford Colonials. Due to financial instability in the league, (namely players not being paid,) Putzier decided to retire after the season. Currently he lives in the Denver area where he has served as a guest on some of the local sports radio stations.

A few things were going in Jeb’s favor for me sending a request out to him: 1) He’s a former Houston Texan, and 2) I did a UFL custom entry of him a few years ago for the Omaha Nighthawks. I really had high hopes things would take off, and as some fans had egged me on to do more cards I expanded off the base set and pushed the original UFL offering out to a bit over 100 cards. It became a labor of love when I lost out on a job in the industry I wanted, and I realized the league wasn’t going to make it. A lot of it to me is about preservation, and recovering that which is already forgotten to some. It’s just an added bonus when the player wants one of these cards to remember it by too, since a lot of them didn’t get squat from the league in the end. I didn’t honestly expect this one back, but lo and behold after a little wait, Jeb signed the TNT card, plus added one of his own, and asked me for a copy of my custom! With the recent flood of requests, I really have my work cut out for me!

NFL   69/17     Rec  96        Yds  251             Avg   13.0           Td  3              Lg 39
UFL      Rec 14       Yds 144      Avg 10.3       Td 3      Lg 33

 

NFL, ufl

Gray, Keith

tnt11-grayCard: TNT UFL 2011
Acquired: TTM 2013, C/o Home
Sent: 6/22    Received: 6/27   (5 days)

A physical offensive lineman who played collegiality at Connecticut from 2005-2008, Keith Gray was a free agent signee of the Carolina Panthers in 2009, and on the practice squad of the Indianapolis Colts in 2010. He joined the Florida Tuskers of the UFL in 2010, and was then traded to the Hartford Colonials (formerly the New York Sentinels) in exchange for defensive tackle Bryan Save in the league’s first ever trade that year.  With the flexibility to play both guard and center, Gray was a valued contributor to the Colonials offense helping pave the way for the offense led by quarterback Josh McNown, and bruising runningbacks Lorenzo Booker and Andre Dixon. All in all Hartford rolled up 2593 yards in 2010, with 903 of it coming on the ground and an additional 1690 through the air, and a lot of credit up front with their prolific offense should go to the guys in the trenches, like Keith. Things were definitely moving in a positive direction for the team, but the organization as a whole- that being the UFL- was not. Bills had not been paid, and the rent was sky high at the Colonials facility. Head coach Chris Palmer, broke ranks with the league as soon as he could and landed a job back in the NFL as the offensive coordinator of the Tennessee Titans. In the meantime, Jerry Glanville was brought in to replace Palmer under much fanfare, but the Colonials, -under the most financial duress, -folded, and Keith was a free agent.

Keith moved to Texas and focused on family life. In the meantime I had tracked him down through Facebook and offered him a card, but I honestly had a lot of things that went off the rails for me personally, along with a player who had agreed to respond to me after I sent him my customs, that never did.  It made me really gun shy about the project. A few weeks ago though I finally buckled down and got back to the UFL and AFL cards that I had done, and with a few extra dollars in my pocket, went ahead and printed a few for my portfolio. I also remembered Keith and my promise and sent him some to keep. In a short 5 days he responded, writing me a touching note discussing about how he was a trading card collector as a kid, thanking me for the cards, how they are a great keepsake, and how they’ve sparked a fire in him to keep going.

For all the Peyton Manning’s and Brett Favre’s I get TTM, it’s these types of responses in the end, that mean more than anything I could ever wish for.