June 28, 2010
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By Marc Daniels
UCFAthletics.com
ORLANDO, Fla. (UCFAthletics.com) - The last time Daunte Culpepper left the Citrus Bowl field he walked off as an All-American. He shattered the UCF record book in almost every category. He helped put UCF on the college football map and to this day is the greatest UCF student-athlete I have ever seen. He was more than just a talented quarterback.
Culpepper was the kid that chose the school that stuck by him when the others just said they would. He was the spread offense long before Tim Tebow and Urban Meyer came to the state. He ran like a freight train and passed with a cannon arm that earned statistical status among college football's all-time best.
A decade and a half later, Culpepper will return to the home field where he left behind hundreds of highlights. He will walk out of the tunnel as a well-traveled quarterback who just wants to play the game he loves so much.
Culpepper will play this season in the UFL for the Sacramento Mountain Lions who face the Florida Tuskers on Oct. 21 in Orlando. The pro league returns for a second season and Culpepper will see familiar faces on his sideline. Dennis Green is the team's head coach and Mike Kruczek is the team's offensive coordinator.
"My goal for this year was to get on the field and play football," Culpepper said at the news conference where he was introduced. "When the opportunity came for me to sign with the UFL and play for coach Green in Sacramento I could not resist. I am also excited to be reunited with my college coach Mike Kruczek as the offensive coordinator. I am expecting to have a lot of fun running a wide-open offense and being a part of the United Football League."
Last seen running for his life behind the NFL's worst offensive line in Detroit, Culpepper says he is in great shape and expects to have a big season. He hopes it can lead to one last shot in the NFL. But if the call from the NFL never comes, he is just happy to get a chance to play the game he loves.
No one knows for sure what could have been. But there was a time when NFL people felt Culpepper and Randy Moss were the best quarterback-receiver combination and if the two had stayed together in Minnesota they could have shattered NFL records.
But that was then and Culpepper prefers to focus on the present opportunity. Culpepper gives the UFL its biggest name and one that can draw attention if he plays well. And if he never makes it back to the NFL, he may be able to play several seasons in a league where most players dream of being where Culpepper was.
But on Oct. 21, wearing a familiar number 8 in a visiting team's uniform, Daunte Culpepper will come home. It will be a special night for one of UCF's true sons of football.
"I can't wait to get to Orlando to play in front of family and friends," Culpepper said. "The Citrus Bowl has always been a special place for me and I have so many memories of my days at UCF."
He plays because he loves the game. He doesn't care if critics mock his ability to play in the NFL. Daunte Culpepper wants to play football and the UFL has given him a chance. UCF fans get a chance to also see one of their greats take the field at a place full of distant memories that can come alive one more time.
Knights notes and more: Props toTiki James. The former UCF star finished sixth in the 100-meter hurdles at the USA Track and Field Championships in Des Moines, Iowa...Terry Rooney made it clear about his commitment to UCF. With the vacancy at Notre Dame, speculation surrounded Rooney because of his ties to the Irish. But a contract extension ended the rumor mill and Rooney reiterated his mission of taking the Knights to Omaha to play in the College World Series...If you don't have your football season tickets yet, get them now. There are great plans available and if this sounds like a sales job, it is. The more tickets UCF sells, the more revenue. The more revenue, the ability for the athletic department to grow...Conference expansion tidbit of the week: Oklahoma's President recently stated the SEC extended invitations to the Sooners and Texas A&M before both schools chose to stay in the Big 12. Let me get this straight, no conference has as many media members covering college football everyday inside and out and no one had this story before his announcement or after? No one?...Final thought: For the last 15 years, each day I choose to get an oil change, I am told that it is the only day that a $69.99 special on engine fuel injection is available. Why is that? It's never offered at that price any other day?
Marc Daniels' From the Press Box runs several times per month on UCFAthletics.com. Listen to Marc during UCF football, men's basketball and baseball radio broadcasts on the UCF-ISP Sports Network. Each weekday, Marc hosts "The Beat of Sports" on ESPN 1080 in Orlando from 9-11 a.m.