Outlaws ready to open camp, prepare their inaugural roster

Victoria Sun

Tuesday, Jan. 2, 2001 | 11:11 a.m.

The Las Vegas Outlaws will play their first game against the New York/New Jersey Hitmen at Sam Boyd Stadium on Feb. 3.

That will probably be the easy part.

For the Outlaws' coaching staff, the month leading up to the game will be the toughest. The four XFL Western Conference teams will hold their training camps in Las Vegas starting on Wednesday.

Each team will have until Jan. 28 to trim its roster from 70 players to 45 (38 active, seven on the practice squad).

"That's always the most difficult, especially when you have as many talented players as we have," Outlaws offensive coordinator Vince Alcade said. "It's going to be a very difficult decision.

"We've got good competition at each position which is a good problem to have. The key thing for us is we have to find out a bunch about a lot of guys in a hurry.

"It's going to be important for us to get a chance to see everybody competing and give them all an opportunity to see what they can do. We don't have much time."

The Outlaws will hold camp at Sam Boyd Stadium alongside the Los Angeles Xtreme. The Memphis Maniax will train at Foothill High School and the San Francisco Demons will train at Cimarron Memorial High School.

Las Vegas will open camp at 9 a.m. and have an afternoon session at 3 daily. All of the two-a-day practices will be open to the public except on Jan. 11, Jan. 20 and Jan. 26.

Alcade hopes fans who want to know more about the XFL or the Outlaws will show up to the practices.

"They will see that it's going to be legitimate football and something exciting to be a part of," Alcade said. "With the players and coaches that we have in the league, I think it's going to be a great brand of football.

"It's not going to be a gimmick or a show. True football fans will be able to enjoy this."

The rosters will be cut to 63 players on Jan. 14 and 55 players on Jan. 21 before the final rosters are finalized on the 28th.

Having to waive players in such a short period of time is another challenge for the coaching staff.

"At each position, it will come down to a guy's ability to grasp what we're trying to teach in the classroom and take what we're teaching from the classroom to the field and translate it in a consistent manner," Alcade said. "It's a guy's ability to process the information and be able to perform."