COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO)--As Colorado's newest professional football team takes the field, the Colorado Springs Stampede are providing something many UFL football players desperately need: another opportunity.
Stampede head coach Rick Neuheisel knows better than most how quickly a football career can change.
"The opportunity here, it's fleeting," Neuheisel said. "So while you're healthy and you've got the ability, let's go have some fun doing it."
For many players in the United Football League, that opportunity is about more than wins and losses. The UFL has become a proving ground for athletes looking to break into the NFL, return to the league, or simply continue playing the game they love at a professional level.
"A number of them got to camps," Neuheisel said of his roster last year. "And listen, that's the dream."
Few players embody that dream better than Denver Broncos linebacker Dondrea Tillman.
After spending three seasons in the UFL, Tillman turned his spring football experience into an NFL opportunity and is now entering his third season with the Broncos. He credits the league with helping him grow both on and off the field.
"The biggest thing I took away was developing my skill set and my pass-rush moves," Tillman said. "Learning what I needed to do as a professional, improving my routine and recovery. A lot of guys in that league had NFL experience too, so that helped me a lot."
Current Stampede players Raiqwon O'Neal and Tyler Vaughns are hoping to follow a similar path.
Both have previously spent time in the NFL and now find themselves in Colorado Springs, helping establish professional spring football in the region while continuing to pursue another shot at football's highest level.
"It is the opportunity at hand rather than we’re sitting at home waiting for a call from the NFL," Vaughns said. "Like it happens and it doesn't but it's less likely to happen without this league.”
For O'Neal, success comes down to persistence.
"Just keep the faith, keep putting the work in, and everything will take care of itself," he said.
The UFL is not without its challenges. Questions about the long-term future of spring football leagues remain, and players certainly are not getting rich playing in them.
But for those on the Stampede roster, the motivation goes beyond a paycheck.
"To play in this league, you've really got to love football," Tillman said. "You're not getting paid a whole lot, but it's still an opportunity to perform, put good tape out there and keep chasing your dream. It's a grind."
For the players lining up every weekend, it's a grind they're willing to embrace, all for the chance that one more game, one more season, or one more highlight could lead to the opportunity they've been chasing all along
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