The Cleveland Gladiators‘ had a lot of question marks after the first few weeks of the season in 2016 at quarterback, but now they have experience and skill at the position going into 2017. The Glads added a new passer from the team that knocked them out of the playoffs last season when they announced they had added veteran Shane Boyd. Boyd, 34, who was on the Arizona Rattlers the last two seasons, and lost in Arena Bowl XXIX to the Philadelphia Soul.
Boyd’s Rattlers knocked the Gladiators out a round earlier in the National Conference title game winning 82-41, so Cleveland has to be happy in adding someone who has been on the winning side so often the last few seasons. Boyd has backed up the “Latin Laser” Nick Davila, one of the greatest to ever play on AFL turf.
However, Boyd was also a part of the winning ways when he got on the field, throwing for 581 yards and two scores, appearing in 11 games total over the last two seasons. Boyd has played for a total of four Arena Football League teams and he has also seen time with five National Football League teams.
The Glads also added Offensive Lineman Jaylen Hunter, the second lineman added to Cleveland’s roster in the last 48 hours, and they also added Defensive Back Paris Logan.
Hunter, 23, will be entering this rookie AFL season and brings a lot of talent with him. He was brought into camp by the NFL’s Seattle Seahawks before the start of their current season. Hunter was named first team All Conference USA in 2015 for his efforts while playing at Middle Tennessee State. In 2014, he led a line that helped his quarterback throw for over 3,000 yards and a running back go over 1,000 yards, which was the first time in school history that such a combo ever occurred for the Blue Raiders.
Logan, 24, is another rookie joining the red and black. Logan is a ball hawk that ranks third all time for his 33 pass break ups while playing his college ball at Northern Illinois, and he also racked up five interceptions in his time there.
The Gladiators have less than three months to put all the pieces together, as their season starts April 8 when they host the Tampa Bay Storm.
Inside the Arena 