Foothill alum ushers in Arena Football’s return to Las Vegas

By Steve Silver

Friday, Aug. 21, 2009 | midnight

Arena football is returning to Las Vegas and so is one of the city's most talented high school graduates.

Former Foothill High School and Oregon State star Jeff Van Orsow and the Spokane Shock will battle the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Pioneers for the AF2's ArenaCup10 championship at 7 p.m. Saturday at the Orleans Arena.

This is the first time the AF2 is holding its title contest in Las Vegas.

Unfortunately the Henderson native's homecoming will not be so pleasant.

After starting the first 10 games this season for Spokane at both nose tackle and defensive end, Van Orsow tore a tendon in his hand that required surgery. Although still recovering from that surgery, Van Orsow will be on the sidelines as an alternate for the championship Saturday.

"You always want to come back and play in front of the home crowd," said Van Orsow, who racked up 12 tackles and 2.5 sacks before his injury. "It's unfortunate that I got hurt, but I still feel like I'm a part of the team and a part of this title run."

Battling adversity, though, is nothing new for the 2003 Foothill graduate.

Despite flying under most college recruiters' radars in high school, Van Orsow compiled a 1st-team All-Nevada senior season with the Falcons and attracted attention from schools such as UCLA, UNLV and UNR. He ultimately committed to Oregon State shortly after graduation.

"Jeff was a very good kid," said Foothill coach Marty Redmond. "He was very mature for his age when he was here. Good leader. Led by example and he was a dominant player on the field."

It did not take long for Van Orsow to dominate at Oregon State. The 6-foot-4, 260-pound defensive lineman earned a starting role by his sophomore season and graduated with more than 30 consecutive starts.

In 2006, Van Orsow earned a spot in Pac-10 lore as he became notorious for tipping John David Booty's two-point conversion pass with seven seconds left to preserve the Beavers' 33-31 upset of then-No. 3 ranked USC. That victory also snapped the Trojans' 27-game Pac-10 win streak.

"I don't like bringing up that one play, but a lot of people do know me as that guy," Van Orsow said. "People will sometimes introduce me as the guy who tipped the USC pass and I just take it in stride."

Even with a storied football past, Van Orsow is contemplating an end to his football career due in part of the dissolution of the Arena Football League. AF2's players do not have many options to move up except to the Canadian Football League or now to the upstart United Football League.

Van Orsow said he expects a lot of UFL coaches to attend Saturday's championship to scout talent.

But if a return to his hometown in the form of a Las Vegas Locomotives uniform is not an option, Van Orsow has a solid backup plan.

After majoring in political science at Oregon State, Van Orsow began interning at a law firm and studying to become a commercial airline pilot. He is now just 10 flight hours away from qualifying for a commercial check ride.

"I am looking to start my life and let football go," Van Orsow said. "Maybe not totally yet, but we'll see. The UFL is out there and I think they will be successful. There are a lot of possibilities for me."

Steve Silver can be reached at 948-7822 or [email protected].