ARLINGTON, Texas (March 2, 2025) – Players from all eight United Football League teams arrived here on Thursday, with days of meetings, conditioning tests and onboarding in front of them before they actually take the field for their first practice.
The Memphis Showboats will be holding that first practice Monday morning with new head coach Ken Whisenhunt at the helm, a new general manager, six new assistant coaches and an overhauled roster with newcomers comprising roughly 80 percent of the 64 players in camp.
“It’s been really good,” Whisenhunt said of the first few days together as a team. “I think the new coaches have created a bit of a buzz with these guys. They’re excited about it. I think we, as a coaching staff, are excited about the guys that (Showboats General Manager) Jim Monos has worked hard to bring in here.”
Jared Thomas, who returns to the Showboats after starting all 10 games on the offensive line last season, echoed his head coach’s sentiments.
“It's the time of the year to start playing football again,” Thomas said. “Guys come from so many different places and it's an exciting feeling when you get so many talented guys all in one room for the same vision, which is to win a championship. To get that same type of communication and vision from the new staff and who we have at the helm of leadership, is what's been most prevalent these last few days since we reported.”
Thomas said the team has spent a great deal of time together the past few days and the team dynamic has already begun growing.
“This year, there's actually more new guys than there are returners,” Thomas said. “Each year is always a different dynamic with trying to get guys on the same page but I think the overall feeling is like no matter what we've been doing, guys want to get to know each other, spend time with one another and guys want to win.”
The next step toward building a winning football team takes place Monday morning when the Showboats will hold their first practice of training camp.
“I’m always excited to get out on the field,” Whisenhunt said. “We’ve been around these guys for the last couple days now. It’s been great to meet them and see their passion, but it will be interesting to see them actually out there on the field. We feel good about where we are right now. But we’re anxious to get on the field and see how these guys perform. But I’ll tell you what, the attention in meetings, the way these guys talk, the way they interact with each other is a very positive sign. I’m hopeful that really carries over to the field and we can have success.”
Thomas said he and the rest of the Showboats are eagerly looking forward to getting on the turf with this new team.
“There's a lot of anticipation that's built up,” Thomas said. “ I think there's a common excitement among everyone to get to the main thing which is to play ball. I think there's also an anticipation just to see how this team looks from a collective standpoint as coaches, as players.”