NEW ORLEANS – Former Angelo State linebacker Tyrell McCrea signed a professional contract with the Arena Football League's New Orleans Voodoo Tuesday and will join the team as a two-way player at linebacker and fullback.
McCrea, who played two seasons with the Corpus Christi Sharks (Arena Football 2) in 2007 and 2008, was a four-year letter winner for Angelo State from 2003-06 and was named an All-Lone Star Conference selection as a senior while helping lead the Rams to the NCAA Division II playoffs. The Del Rio native registered 230 tackles during his career, including 17 tackles for loss and six sacks. McCrea also was a member of the Rams baseball team his senior season and contributed to ASU's first ever trip to the NCAA Division II World Series.
Angelo State strength and conditioning coach Kelsey Hite was part of the same football recruiting class as McCrea and the two played together for five years. Hite was excited for his former teammate.
“I was able to see how he worked every day – he matured a lot as an athlete and as a football player,” Hite said. “He came in as a running back and switched to defense. He learned both positions easily and played in two different systems, a testament to how good of a student of the game he was. He was a real tough player with good speed, and he was a big guy too. It was fun to have him playing behind me when I was a defensive end.”
McCrea has spent time among the coaching ranks in the past couple of years while rehabbing from an injury sustained with the Sharks. He spent a season at Navarro College coaching the running backs and was the offensive coordinator at Brooks Academy in San Antonio last year. McCrea sent film to AFL teams earlier this year only to find most of the training camp spots already filled up. After a 0-4 start to the 2011 season, VooDoo head coach Derek Stingley was looking for a change and remembered McCrea from his time in Corpus Christi.
“It's been two long years of rehab but I'm back to 100 percent,” McCrea said. “It's like a dream come true for me. I didn't set lofty goals like most people do coming out of a Division II school, but when I started in AF2, I wanted to play at the highest level I could and that's the AFL. My focus now is trying to make an impact and maybe work my way up to the Canadian Football League or the NFL.
McCrea will suit up for the first time this weekend when the VooDoo travel to Cleveland for a showdown with the Gladiators at 6:30 p.m. Saturday.
“I'm anxious,” McCrea said. “There will be a lot of emotions, but at the end of the day I just need to relax, go out there, and have fun like I always do.”
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