Super Bowl Update

Stanley Arukwe during pregame at Clemson / Lamar Higgins photo

Another free agent signee is wide receiver Stanley Arukwe agreeing to a deal with the Arizona Cardinals.

Arukwe, depending on stopwatches, ran anywhere from a 4.19-4.29 on Pro Day in his first run. He was a track runner his first four years of college, but had a year left to play football and did last year. He made some incredible catches in the Arkansas game and is still raw as a receiver, but very, very fast.

Some more links inking James Brown to the Chicago Bears are HERE, HERE and HERE.

****2 p.m. edit, here's my chat with Arukwe, and it will run in Monday Dothan Eagle plus on dothaneagle.com..


Stanley Arukwe played just one year of college football, but his blazing speed caught the eye of NFL personnel.

Arukwe, who played receiver for Troy University last year, had calls after the NFL Draft from the Philadelphia Eagles, Tennessee Titans and Arizona Cardinals. One call stood out, though, and it was the one with Arizona. It eventually led to Arukwe signing a free agent deal with the Cardinals.

“I was happy my name was in the conversation with teams,” Arukwe said. “Arizona’s wide receivers coach (Frank Reich) called me and said they really wanted me out there to come and compete for a spot. He said they think I have a lot of upside and so much potential and they need some more speed on their team.

“This wasn’t a scout or someone in the administration calling me, this was an actual coach. I took joy to that and had a gut feeling that Arizona was the place to go.”

Arukwe, listed at 6-foot and 184 pounds, has been training out in California. He is from Tracy, Calif., and spent two years running track at Modesto Junior College in Modesto, Calif., before transferring to Troy for track.

He ran track for two years, earning medals in the 2010 Sun Belt Championships in the 100-meters, 200-meters and 4X100-meter relay. Arukwe is fast, running anywhere from a 4.19 to 4.29 (seconds), depending on the stopwatch, in his first run of the 40-yard dash at Troy’s Pro Day.

That run was with the wind, but it still caught the eye of scouts in attendance, many of whom were already familiar with Arukwe’s speed. Strength and conditioning coach Richard Shaughnessy, who aids Troy players in trying to reach their professional goals, said 13 scouts timed his run.

“Thirteen stopwatches aren’t lying,” Shaughnessy said. “He's worked out for three or four teams and I’ve talked to at least 10 more about him. He’ll be in a camp for sure because of his speed.”

Arukwe didn’t even start practicing with the football team until last August. He earned a spot in the rotation, catching 12 passes for 231 yards. He caught four passes for 84 yards at Arkansas and four passes for 51 yards against UAB. His 51-yard reception set up a touchdown at FIU.

“I really never thought I’d have this opportunity,” Arukwe said. “I’m just thankful for the Troy coaches giving me a chance. I’m always striving to get better in everything I do and always trying to compete. I’m really, really happy to get this opportunity.”

Arukwe said his agent had sent in the paperwork for his contract. He said his next step with the franchise is likely to be at a May 10-12 minicamp.