EVERETT – Two key members of the 2006 Everett Hawks will play elsewhere this season.
Clay Harrell, a fan favorite and a second-team All-af2 lineman in 2006, has signed with the Stockton Lightning, and Jason Null, a fullback-linebacker obtained by Everett last May as part of the trade that sent Hawks quarterback Julian Reese to South Georgia, has re-joined the Wildcats.
The 6-foot-2, 305-pound Harrell has been a Hawks mainstay since the team’s inception. Last season, he led Everett in quarterback sacks with seven. He was second to John Fields – who signed with Philadelphia of the Arena Football League last November – in tackles for loss with six.
“We’re very fortunate and blessed to sign a player of Clay’s caliber,” Stockton’s first-year coach, Doug Murray, said of Harrell who was reportedly looked at closely by several AFL teams, including the Nashville Kats, in recent months.
Everett coach Cedric Walker was not available for comment on the departures of Harrell and Null.
Joining West Division rival Stockton – which drew an average of 7,445 fans per home game despite a 5-11 record in 2006 – marks Harrell’s return to his Northern California roots. He grew up in West Sacramento, graduating from River City High School.
Harrell was a standout lineman at Northern State University (S.D.), graduating in 2004. He joined Everett for its lone season in the National Indoor Football League in 2005.
The durable Harrell was an immediate crowd-pleaser who shined on both sides of the line as Everett rolled through an unbeaten regular season and finished 15-1 after losing in the second round of the NIFL playoffs.
Despite last season’s 4-12 mark in Everett’s inaugural season in the af2, Harrell teamed with Fields and Ufuoma Pela, to provide the Hawks with one of the league’s most formidable defensive lines.
One of Harrell’s best efforts came in a 50-41 victory over Stockton last June 17, when he had two key sacks to help seal Everett’s only road triumph.
He also had two sacks in a 63-34 rout of Bakersfield July 8.
The hard-hitting, 6-foot-3, 260-pound Null played in seven games for Everett in 2006, rushing for three touchdowns. The three-year veteran’s biggest impact was on defense and special teams, where he made 10 tackles, including a sack and a tackle for loss.
Null is returning to a South Georgia team that finished 3-13 in 2006. The Wildcats’ staff includes former Hawks coach Rickey Foggie, who is the offensive coordinator.
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