Former Wranglers preach patience, stability for new USFL
July 30, 2021
Before Rick Neuheisel coached the Arizona Hotshots at Sun Devil Stadium, he played quarterback for the San Antonio Gunslingers, a team in the USFL that also had a franchise based at the Tempe stadium. The USFL is returning in 2022. (Photo by Christian Petersen/AAF/Getty Images)
PHOENIX – The United States Football League of the mid-1980s brought sports fans a three-season whirlwind of front-office intrigue, roster turnover and eventually litigation, occasionally interrupted by some decent spring football.
Before imploding in spectacular fashion in 1986 amid a failed move to the fall, the league, broadcast on a fledgling ESPN, introduced future stars like Steve Young and Herschel Walker to fans nationwide.
Jan. 1, 2021
Although Oregon quarterback Tyler Shough (left) and Iowa State quarterback Brock Purdy will be rivals in Saturday’s Fiesta Bowl, the two grew up in the Valley and have been friends for many years. (Photo courtesy Tyler Slough)
PHOENIX – If anyone has a unique perspective on two of the key players in Saturday’s Playstation Fiesta Bowl, it’s Dan Manucci.
Call him the quarterback whisperer.
“I have been training these guys since seventh grade so I pinched myself to make sure it was true,” the former Kansas State quarterback said. “Two better men cannot be found on this earth.”