PRE-SEASON MEDIA GUIDE 2013 New Orleans VooDoo Pre-Season Media Guide 2013 1 TABLE OF CONTENTS STAFF DIRECTORY 3 ORGANIZATION Coaching Staff 5 PLAYERS Alphabetical Roster 13 Numerical Roster 14 Players (Numerical Order) 15 RECORD BOOK All-Time Roster (Numerical) 64 All-Time Roster (Alphabetical) 71 Franchise Timeline 76 All-Time VooDoo Scores 89 All-Time Honors & Awards 93 All-Time Series Records 94 VooDoo Team Records 98 2012 Game Summaries 121 Individual Records 128 2012 SEASON AFL Rules & Basic Training 148 AFL Information 156 NET 10 Wireless/CBS Network Schedule 158 NOTES 164 2013 VooDoo Regular Season Schedule BACK COVER New Orleans VooDoo 1515 Poydras, STE 100 New Orleans, LA 70112 Main Office: (504) 875-3900 Ticket Office: (888) 277-5526 The 2013 New Orleans VooDoo Media Guide is a production of Louisiana Arena Football, LLC. (Dan Newman, Owner; Gary Gussman, General Man- ager; Jason Coffel, Vice President of Operations; Hayley Asaro, Director of Media Relations; Photography, Romaguera Photography) All information current as of March 20, 2013. ©2011 New Orleans VooDoo. New Orleans VooDoo Pre-Season Media Guide 2013 2 STAFF DIRECTORY EXECUTIVE OFFICE Dan Newman Managing Member Jason Coffel Vice President of Operations Hayley Asaro Director of Media Relations FOOTBALL OPERATIONS & COACHING STAFF Pat O’Hara Head Coach/Offensive Coordinator Nick Ward Defensive Coordinator Doug Miller Special Teams Coordinator/Assistant DC/Line Coach Cherry Blackwell Director of Football Operations Matt Luwe Equipment Manager MEDICAL STAFF Dr. Gregory W. Stewart, MD Team Doctor Patrick Maloney, MS, ATC, LAT Athletic Trainer Kellie Abendschoen, MS, ATC Assistant Athletic Trainer SALES & MARKETING Casey Schrieber Director of Marketing Fred Jones Director of Group Sales Kasey Gore Ticket Sales Account Executive New Orleans VooDoo Pre-Season Media Guide 2013 3 Director of Operations Jason Coffel DIRECTOR OF OPERATIONS Jason Coffel enters his third year with the New Orleans VooDoo and fourth year with the AFL. He comes to the VooDoo after spending the 2010 season as the Director of Operations for the Bossier-Shreveport BattleWings. Prior to making the transition to football, Jason spent seven years in market- ing and promotions with some of the largest companies in the ATV Racing industry. Jason brings over ten years of experience in large-event marketing to the VooDoo and is looking forward to the 2011 season and being a part of one of the most storied AFL franchises in history. New Orleans VooDoo Pre-Season Media Guide 2013 4 Director of Media Relations Hayley Asaro DIRECTOR OF MEDIA RELATIONS Former COX 4’s Game of the Week Sideline Reporter Hayley Asaro is joining the VooDoo family for her first year as the Director of Media Relations. The Metairie, LA native holds a bachelor’s degree in Mass Communication with a focus in Broadcast Journalism from Louisiana State University, and she is also a graduate of Mount Carmel Academy High School. While at LSU, she was involved with Tiger TV, LSU’s local television station, and served as a production assistant for two years and a segment anchor for one semester. In the summer of 2011, she served as an intern with COX 4 where she edited features that aired on COX 4, helped in the production of live TV shows and mastered the art of media management. After serving as an intern for about six months, Asaro learned that she would be a sideline reporter for the COX 4 High School Football Games of the Week. She completed the 2012 season with a broad knowledge in the complicated process of reporting for live TV. She also hosts a show that airs on COX 4 called “Community LA.” Her COX 4 family wishes her all the best as she embarks on a new journey. “I’m very excited about the opportunity to work with the New Orleans Voo- Doo,” said Asaro. “My family at COX 4 has helped to prepare me for my future career and without them, I would have never had the experience of live TV and the opportunities that have come my way. For that reason, I will forever remember those who have gotten me to where I am today and I will always appreciate everything everyone at COX 4 has done for me.” Asaro is the youngest female, at 23 years old, appointed to the Director of Media Relations position in the Arena Football League. New Orleans VooDoo Pre-Season Media Guide 2013 5 COACHING STAFF Pat O’HARA HEAD COACH/OFFENSIVE COORDINATOR Pat O’Hara is in his second season as the head football coach of the New Orleans VooDoo, and in his first season with the VooDoo, O’Hara has guid- ed the franchise to the playoffs for only the second time in team history in 2012, and did so with 13 rookies on the active roster. As a head coach in the AFL, this postseason go- round is O’Hara’s third straight. Not only did O’Hara resurrect the VooDoo franchise from a dismal 3-15 in 2011, but he dropped a bomb on the team record books, setting new single- season team records passing yards (5,190), passing touchdowns (108), touchdowns (145), points (979), and interceptions (36). O’Hara also has molded another young quarterback in Kurt Rocco, with Rocco becoming the VooDoo’s first passer to toss for over 5,000 yards and 100 touchdowns in a season. O’Hara also had three receivers record over 1,000 yards receiving, which the VooDoo had never had more than one receiver tally over a 1,000 prior to his tutelage. O’Hara previously headed up the Orlando Predators for two seasons prior to joining the VooDoo – both seeing the team go to AFL Playoffs. In fact, his 2010 squad was two points away from going to the ArenaBowl, losing to his quarterback protégé Brett Dietz and the Tampa Bay Storm, 63-62. O’Hara’s 2011 team posted an 11-7 regular season record, and set new team records in points per game (55.6), while scoring over 70 points twice that included a franchise record 85 in a win over Tulsa. Orlando quarterback Nick Hill blossomed under O’Hara in 2011, completing 67 percent of his passes, while also setting new franchise records in total offense (5,149), passing yards (4,758), pass completions (387) and passing touchdowns (97). Hill’s total offense and passing yards numbers led the AFL. Also, three of Hill’s top receivers finished the season with over 100 catches and 1,000 yards receiving each, which included Bobby Sippio who tied Cory Fleming’s single-season record of 33 touchdown receptions. O’Hara brings with him to New Orleans a 19-15 regular season record and a 1-2 post-season mark in his two-year tenure with Orlando. New Orleans VooDoo Pre-Season Media Guide 2013 6 COACHING STAFF (cont’d) The AFL great’s quarterbacking career began between the walls in 1995 with the Predators, and before it ended, O’Hara would lead two different teams to five ArenaBowls that included claiming the crown three times. The majority of his playing career was with Orlando, spending six seasons with the club that saw the Predators claim ArenaBowl Championships in 1998 and 2000. O’Hara then ventured off to the Toronto Phantoms in 2001, guiding the team to the second round of the playoffs in just his first season under center. After two seasons north of the border, O’Hara returned to the Sunshine State to suit up with the Tampa Bay Storm in 2003. In that season, O’Hara came off the bench to lead the Storm to an ArenaBowl victory over the Arizona Rattlers after starter John Kaleo went down with an injury in the second quarter of the championship game. The Storm won ArenaBowl XVII thanks to turnover-less relief by O’Hara, accounting for three total touchdowns that included 103 yards passing while completing 7-of-13 passes in the 43-29 win. O’Hara remained with the Storm until the 2006 season, serving as a player- coach under future hall of fame head coach Tim Marcum before completely trading in the cleats for a clipboard in 2007 to become the team’s offensive coordinator. The Storm went to the playoffs in 2007 behind O’Hara’s offensive genius that saw the development of Dietz, who went on to be named Co-AFL Rookie of the Year. Dietz completed a rookie record 65.3 percent (196-of-300) of his passes in his first season between the walls, while throwing for over 2,300 yards and 47 touchdowns in only nine games. After the conclusion of the 2008 season, O’Hara was hired to be the head coach of the Los Angeles Avengers, but the AFL suspended operations before he could call a play. He was then hired to coach the Tri-Cities Fever of the af2 ranks for the 2009 season, taking over a 0-5 team at the time. The Fever managed to win three of its final eight under O’Hara. O’Hara also brings a wealth of high school coaching experience to the VooDoo as a volunteer assistant at Point Loma High School (San Diego, Calif.) in 1996, an assistant coach at New Smyrna High School (New Smyrna Beach, Fla.) from 1998-2000, and as the offensive coordinator at Olympia High School (Orlando, Fla.) from 2001-03. It was at Olympia where O’Hara coached NFL Pro-Bowl running back Chris Johnson. In the offseason, O’Hara also serves as a consultant on movies and has worked on The Longest Yard, Invincible, We Are Marshall, and The Game Plan, while appearing in The Waterboy and Any Given Sunday.