Ex-Saint, Bear Grosulak steals show at Outlaws tryout
By MIKE ZIMMER
Gazette Sports Editor
Of all the tests and drills conducted at Saturday's Billings Outlaws tryout, Ryan Grosulak passed the most important one with flying colors.
"The eye test," said Outlaws coach Heron O'Neal with a smile. "I saw him warming up before we started and I was like 'Whoa.'
"I went right over to him to find out who he was and what (position) he was trying out for."
That was not the only eye-popping test of the day for the muscle-bound, 5-foot-10, 235-pound Grosulak. The former Billings West and Carroll College star ran a 4.47 40-yard dash and hit 32 inches on the vertical jump. He also recorded times of 4.5 in the short shuttle drill and 7.2 in the 3-cone drill.
"He was impressive in all the tests and the one-on-one drills," said O'Neal. "The 4.47 (40-yard dash) pretty much sealed the deal for me. I knew right then we were going to offer him a contract.
"Ryan has the kind of speed, power and explosiveness you need in a running back in indoor football. The two things you look for in a running back in indoor ball is whether he has the speed to turn a missed tackle into a 20-yard gain and if he can blast it in from the one-yard line. Ryan can obviously do those things."
Grosulak is no stranger to Billings football fans. After moving to Billings from Sheridan, Wyo., for his senior year of high school, Grosulak ran for 19 touchdowns and a Class AA record 1,946 yards for Billings West in 2001.
He then went on to be a three-year starter at Carroll College in Helena, where Grosulak rushed for 3,583 yards and 38 touchdowns from 2004-06. He was part of the Saints' NAIA national champion teams in 2004 and '05 and earned NAIA All-America honors in 2005 and '06.
O'Neal said Grosulak is still hoping to land tryouts with teams in other leagues, but the United Indoor Football league contract he was offered Saturday will guarantee him a spot in the Outlaws' training camp next month and prevent other UIF teams from recruiting him.
"We'd love to get him into camp and see what happens," said O'Neal. "He certainly looks like the real deal."
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Another former Carroll College standout, wide receiver Tyler Peterson, was also offered a contract after Saturday's tryout.
The 5-foot-10, 190-pound Peterson was with the Outlaws for a month last season before returning to Helena for a job offer.
"Tyler looked great," said O'Neal. "He ran a 4.43 in the 40 and he's put on 15 pounds of muscle since last year, which makes all the difference in the world for him."
The only other player offered a contract Saturday was defensive back Eric Patterson, a 5-9, 190-pouder from Tacoma, Wash.
"He didn't run a great 40 time, but he showed some real good speed in our one-on-one drills," said O'Neal of Patterson. "He can definitely run. And he blew everybody away on the bench press ... he did 25 reps at 225 pounds."
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Overall, O'Neal was pleasantly surprised with the 19 players who showed up for Saturday's tryout, which was the first held in the team's new SportsPlex facility.
"This was the best tryout we've had in my three years here," said O'Neal. "You just never know what's going to happen with a tryout. You always hear from a lot of guys who say they're going to be there, but you just never know until the day of the tryout who's actually going to show up and pay the money.
"This time, we had guys from all over the country. And good talent ... this is the most talent we've had at the tryouts we've held in Billings."
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O'Neal said two former Outlaws, linebacker Zach Tune and defensive back Ernie James, have signed with the Boise Burn of the arenafootball2 league.
A third, wide receiver/kick returner Anthony Candler, has a tryout with the Colorado Crush of the Arena Football League later this week. O'Neal said that if "The Candy Man" doesn't sign with Colorado that he'll be back with the Outlaws.
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The Outlaws will begin their second season in the UIF this spring. Players will report for training camp on Feb. 20, and the season opener is Saturday, March 8 vs. the Omaha Beef at MetraPark Arena.
Published on Tuesday, January 15, 2008.
