Denton, Phillips: Possible Outlaws?

Victoria Sun

Wednesday, Oct. 18, 2000 | 10 a.m.

The Las Vegas Outlaws of the XFL submitted their list of 11 territorial picks to the league office in Stamford, Conn., today.

As of early Tuesday afternoon, the most recognizable player eligible to be protected by the Outlaws was not on that list. Despite recent reports, former Nebraska running back Lawrence Phillips was yet to be added.

Nebraska, UNLV and BYU are the three territorial schools the Outlaws have to pick from.

After the unveiling of the team's new uniforms at the Harley-Davidson Cafe, Outlaws head coach Jim Criner talked about the possibility of having Phillips, the No. 6 pick overall by the St. Louis Rams in the 1996 draft, in a black or white jersey with gold and red trim.

"Nothing right now has happened," Criner said. "Lawrence has applied to get into the league, but whether or not he was able to meet the deadline, I don't know.

"The deadline was Saturday to have a contract into the league office. We will not get an actual copy of the draft pool until sometime tonight. As of the last one I received, his name was not on it."

Like every other player wanting to be on one of the XFL's eight teams, Phillips will have to pass a background check by the league, which has a "zero tolerance" policy for all of its players. The volatile back, who rushed for 2,777 yards on 449 carries with 30 touchdowns in three seasons at Nebraska, was arrested three times and spent 23 days in jail during 19 months with the Rams before being waived in November 1997.

Phillips also played with the Miami Dolphins and, most recently, the San Francisco 49ers.

Another talented but troubled player the Outlaws like is former UNLV quarterback Jon Denton. Denton played two seasons at UNLV before being kicked off the team for violating team rules during the 1997-98 season. He transferred to Eastern Kentucky and was later dismissed.

"Are they convicted felons?" Criner said. "Neither was actually convicted.

"If we go by that actuality, that's the reason we have a background check and that's good."

Among other former UNLV players Criner said he is interested in are wide receiver Todd Floyd and offensive guard Lorenzo Clark. Criner also mentioned former BYU offensive lineman Scott Brumfield, a four-year starter in the NFL.

"There are a number of guys like that we're real high on," Criner said. "We've worked them out and they are quality players."

The inaugural XFL draft will be held Oct. 28-30. The first 10 rounds will be conducted in Chicago and the rest of the draft conducted by conference call.

"We have been having individual workouts by invite to make sure we're dealing with a high level of athletic ability," Criner said. "We have worked out 400 players here in small groups.

"I'm really impressed with the quality of athlete, not only that we worked out, but that's in the draft. We've had everything from a Toby Wright, a great football player that started in the NFL and played in the Pro Bowl, all the way to a young man like David Andrews, who is a young man that went to a small school and is 6-foot-6, 300 pounds, but just needs some development, some opportunity. So we've got both extremes."

The base salaries for XFL players are as follows: Kickers and punters will receive $35,000, quarterbacks will receive $55,000 and all remaining players will receive $45,000. There are incentives for winning games, starting, for being the best at a position and making the All-Star team.