Jan. 27, 2008
Orlando, Fla. (www.ucfathletics.com) - Team Florida of the newly formed All-American Football League added a pair of former UCF standouts to its roster on Saturday during the league's inaugural draft. Former Knights Elton Patterson and Tavaris Capers will be teammates again after playing together at UCF on the 2001 and 2002 teams.
Patterson was an upperclassmen on those teams, while Capers was just beginning his UCF career. Patterson was put on the protected list by Team Florida, securing his spot on the roster. The team used its 11th-round pick on Capers and took Patterson in the 18th round. There were a total of 50 rounds in the inaugural draft.
Patterson concluded his UCF career in 2002 as the school's all-time leader in tackles for loss with 59 and third on the school's sack total list with 30. He owns three of the top eight single-season tackles for loss efforts at UCF after registering 20.5 in 2001 (2nd), 19 in 2000 (5th) and 16.5 in 2002 (8th). Patterson was one of two defensive ends from UCF named by the Orlando Sentinel to the school's 25th Anniversary team.
In 45 career games for the Black and Gold, Patterson totaled 256 tackles, including 151 solo stops. During his career with the Golden Knights, he also deflected nine passes and forced eight fumbles. The Tallahassee native was named an honorable mention All-American by Football News following the 2001 season. That season as a junior, his contributions helped the Knights' defense post a pair of shutouts. He tallied 85 tackles, 20.5 TFL's (tied eighth nationally) and 8.5 sacks, while also forcing five fumbles (tied sixth nationally).
Following his UCF career, Patterson was drafted in the seventh round (259th pick overall) of the 2003 NFL Draft by the Cincinnati Bengals. He spent parts of three seasons in the league, including making eight appearances during the 2004 season. In two games with the Bengals, he made one tackle before signing later that year as a free agent with the Jacksonville Jaguars. In six appearances for the Jags, Patterson collected seven tackles. He also spent part of the 2006 season with the Berlin Thunder of NFL Europe.
Capers concluded his UCF career in 2004 with 157 receptions, 1,717 receiving yards and 17 touchdown receptions. His 17 receiving scores in 47 career games is a mark that is still tied for sixth all-time in the school's record books. He also excelled as a punt returner for the Black and Gold, returning two punts for scores during his tenure with the Knights. He was the team's top receiver as a junior in 2003 when he totaled career highs in catches (67), yards (585) and touchdowns (7). Capers had a pair of nine-receptions games that season against Virginia Tech and Florida Atlantic.
Following his UCF career, Capers signed with the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2005, but did not see any game action with the team. He eventually signed on to play in the Arena2 Football League with the Memphis Xplorers. He also played in the AFL2 in 2007 with the South Georgia Wildcats. Capers ranked ninth in the league in kickoff returns in 2007, bringing back 50 kicks for a total of 994 yards (19.9 ypr).
Team Florida, who is coached by former University of Florida quarterback Shane Matthews, will play three of its home games at Ben Hill-Griffin Stadium in Gainesville and also play one home game each at Jacksonville's Municipal Stadium and Tampa's Raymond James Stadium. The team will open its season on April 19 at Team Michigan.