2023 NAL season | |
---|---|
League | National Arena League |
Sport | Indoor American football |
Duration | April 8 – August 12, 2023 |
Number of teams | 7 |
Regular season | |
Season champions | Jacksonville Sharks |
2023 NAL Championship | |
Champions | Jacksonville Sharks |
Runners-up | Carolina Cobras |
The 2023 National Arena League season was the sixth season of the National Arena League (NAL). [1] The league started the season with seven teams following the additions of the expansion team, the Fayetteville Mustangs, [2] [3] and the West Texas Warbirds joining from the Arena Football Association, while the Columbus Lions left the league following the previous season.
Teams | Location | Arena | Capacity | Founded | Joined | Head Coach |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Albany Empire [lower-alpha 1] | Albany, New York | MVP Arena [4] | 13,785 [5] | 2020 | 2021 | Maurice Leggett |
Carolina Cobras | Greensboro, North Carolina [6] | Greensboro Coliseum Complex [7] [8] | 5,000 [7] | 2017 [8] | 2018 | James Fuller |
Fayetteville Mustangs [lower-alpha 2] | Fayetteville, North Carolina | Crown Complex [2] [9] | 8,500 | 2022 | 2023 | Charles Gunnings |
Jacksonville Sharks | Jacksonville, Florida | VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena [10] | 13,011 | 2009 | 2017 | Jason Gibson |
Orlando Predators | Orlando, Florida | Amway Center | 17,192 | 2019 | 2019 | Herkie Walls |
San Antonio Gunslingers | San Antonio, Texas | Freeman Coliseum [11] | 9,000 | 2020 | 2022 [12] | Fred Shaw [13] |
West Texas Warbirds [9] | Odessa, Texas [14] | Ector County Coliseum [15] | 8,000 [16] [17] | 2019 [18] | 2023 | Tate Smith [19] [20] |
Team | Win | Loss | PCT | PF | PA | STK |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
z – Jacksonville Sharks | 10 | 2 | .833 | 773 | 505 | W8 |
y – Carolina Cobras | 9 | 4 | .692 | 764 | 616 | W4 |
x – San Antonio Gunslingers | 8 | 4 | .727 | 569 | 606 | L3 |
x – Orlando Predators | 4 | 7 | .363 | 483 | 575 | L2 |
e – West Texas Warbirds | 2 | 11 | .143 | 533 | 732 | L7 |
DNF – Fayetteville Mustangs | 4 | 4 | .500 | 371 | 373 | L1 |
DNF – Albany Empire | 1 | 6 | .142 | 257 | 339 | L6 |
z – clinched home field advantage
y – clinched home playoff game
x - clinched playoff berth
e – eliminated from playoffs
DNF – Did not finish the season
Semifinal | 2023 NAL Championship | ||||||||
1 | Jacksonville Sharks | 62 | |||||||
4 | Orlando Predators | 18 | |||||||
1 | Jacksonville Sharks | 54 | |||||||
2 | Carolina Cobras | 45 | |||||||
2 | Carolina Cobras | 52 | |||||||
3 | San Antonio Gunslingers | 36 |
Weeks | Offensive Player of the Week | Defensive Player of the Week | Special Team Player of the Week | Ironman Player of the Week |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Rakeem Cato, Fayetteville Mustangs | Marvin Ross, Jacksonville Sharks | Kendrick Ings, Fayetteville Mustangs | Tre Long, Fayetteville Mustangs |
2 | Darius Prince, Albany Empire | Kenny Veal, Carolina Cobras | Marc Orozco, Albany Empire | Jalen Childress, West Texas Warbirds |
3 | Arvell Nelson, San Antonio Gunslingers | Sha-ki Holines, Jacksonville Sharks | Kevin Didio-Webber, Jacksonville Sharks | Phillip Barnett, San Antonio Gunslingers |
4 | Rakeem Cato, Fayetteville Mustangs | Freddie Booth-Lloyd, Orlando Predators | T. C. Stevens, Carolina Cobras | Jensen Stoshak, Jacksonville Sharks |
5 | Jalen Childress, West Texas Warbirds | Trevon Shorts, West Texas Warbirds | Kendrick Ings, Fayetteville Mustangs | Trevon Shorts, West Texas Warbirds |
6 | Zach Brown, Carolina Cobras | Mike Green, Carolina Cobras | Darius Prince, Orlando Predators | Zach Brown, Carolina Cobras |
7 | Sam Castronova, Jacksonville Sharks | Jabari Gorman, Jacksonville Sharks | Adam Smith, Carolina Cobras | Marquel Wade, Jacksonville Sharks |
8 | Sam Castronova, Jacksonville Sharks | Jabari Gorman, Jacksonville Sharks | Marc Orozco, Jacksonville Sharks | Jalen Wilson, West Texas Warbirds |
9 | Sam Castronova, Jacksonville Sharks | Sha-ki Holiness, Jacksonville Sharks | Kevin Didio-Weber, West Texas Warbirds | Devonte Baker, Fayetteville Mustangs |
10 | Malik Henry, Carolina Cobras | Joshua Jenkins, Orlando Predators | Marquel Wade, Jacksonville Sharks | Devonte Baker, Fayetteville Mustangs |
11 | Darius Prince, Orlando Predators | Dwayne Hollis, Orlando Predators | Kevin Didio-Weber, West Texas Warbirds | Trevon Shorts, West Texas Warbirds |
12 | ||||
13 | ||||
14 |
The Columbus Lions are a professional indoor football team based in Columbus, Georgia and are a member of American Indoor Football. They were a founding member of the National Arena League (NAL) for the 2017 season. The Lions were founded in 2006 as an expansion team of the World Indoor Football League (WIFL). After the WIFL went under in 2007, the Lions joined the American Indoor Football Association (AIFA) where they played for two seasons. When the AIFA broke apart, the Lions joined the Southern Indoor Football League (SIFL). The Lions joined the Professional Indoor Football League (PIFL) in 2012 when the Southern Indoor Football League (SIFL) teams split up into two new leagues. After the 2015 season, the PIFL broke apart, and the Lions joined American Indoor Football for 2016.
Micheaux Robinson is an arena football defensive back who is currently a free agent. He attended training camp with the Montreal Alouettes of the Canadian Football League. He played college football at Otterbein College.
Arvell Nelson is an American football quarterback for the San Antonio Gunslingers of the National Arena League (NAL). He was signed by the Alabama Hammers as an undrafted free agent in 2012. He played college football at University of Iowa, before transferring to Fort Scott Community College and Texas Southern University.
Phillip Barnett is an American football wide receiver for the San Antonio Gunslingers of the National Arena League (NAL). He previously played for the Washington Valor of the Arena Football League (AFL) and played college football at the University of Toledo.
Justin Renfrow is an American gridiron football offensive tackle for the Jacksonville Sharks of the National Arena League (NAL). He has previously played for the Florida Blacktips and Hudson Valley Fort of the Fall Experimental Football League (FXFL).
Devin Wilson is an indoor football wide receiver who is currently a free agent. He previously attended Tennessee State University where he played college football for the Tennessee State Tigers and studied human performance and sports science.
Keith Lewis is an American football cornerback who is currently a free agent. He attended Virginia University of Lynchburg. He signed with the New York Jets after going undrafted in the 2014 NFL Draft. He has also played for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Omaha Mammoths, Calgary Stampeders, San Diego Chargers, Kansas City Chiefs and Detroit Lions.
Jonathan Bane is an American football quarterback for the Orlando Predators of the National Arena League (NAL). He played college football at Dakota Wesleyan.
Moqut Ruffins was an American football offensive lineman. He played college football at Louisiana Tech University. He has also been a member of the Lakeland Thunderbolts, Laredo Lobos, Lubbock Renegades, Bossier–Shreveport Battle Wings, New Orleans VooDoo, Pittsburgh Power, San Antonio Talons and Washington Valor.
The National Arena League (NAL) is a professional indoor football league that began play in 2017 and has been primarily based on the East Coast of the United States. It currently consists of five teams, after starting the 2023 season with seven total teams.
The 2017 National Arena League season was the inaugural season of the National Arena League (NAL). Playing with eight teams spread across the eastern and southern United States, the league's regular season kicked off on March 17, 2017, when the Columbus Lions hosted the Jacksonville Sharks and lost 41–56. The regular season ended 14 weeks later on June 17, 2017, with the Sharks hosting the Monterrey Steel and the Lions visiting the Georgia Firebirds. The playoffs were held in two rounds, with the top seed hosting the fourth seed and the second seed hosting the third seed, with the winners of these games facing in the 2017 NAL Championship hosted by the highest remaining seed.
Brandon Sesay is an American football defensive lineman for the Albany Empire of the National Arena League (NAL). He played college football at the Texas Tech University and attended Douglass High School in Atlanta, Georgia. He has been a member of the Iowa Barnstormers, West Texas Roughnecks, San Antonio Talons, Tampa Bay Storm, Portland Steel and Washington Valor.
Kenny Leon Veal, Jr. is an American football defensive back for the Carolina Cobras of the National Arena League (NAL). He played college football at Thomas More College in Kentucky and attended Hamilton High School in Hamilton, Ohio. He has also been a member of the Nashville Venom, Cleveland Gladiators, Wichita Falls Nighthawks and Green Bay Blizzard.
The Carolina Cobras are a professional indoor football team in the National Arena League (NAL) and that began play for the 2018 season. Based in Greensboro, North Carolina, the Cobras play their home games at the Greensboro Coliseum Complex.
Patrick McCain is an indoor football quarterback who currently is a free agent. McCain previously played for the Nebraska Danger and Tri-Cities Fever of the Indoor Football League (IFL), and Orlando Predators of the National Arena League (NAL).
Marvin Ross is an American football defensive back for the Jacksonville Sharks of the National Arena League (NAL). Ross started out with the Lions from 2013 to 2015 as part of the Professional Indoor Football League. As an Arena Football League player, Ross was the 2016 AFL Rookie of the Year with the Cleveland Gladiators before playing with the Atlantic City Blackjacks in 2019. In between these years, Ross played in the National Arena League with the Columbus Lions and the Canadian Football League with the Calgary Stampeders from 2017 to 2018. With the Lions, Ross was awarded the 2021 NAL Defensive Player of the Year and had the season record for most interceptions.
Darius Prince is an American football wide receiver for the Albany Empire of the National Arena League (NAL). Before joining the San Antonio Commanders of the Alliance of American Football (AAF) in 2019, he played on various indoor football teams including the Lehigh Valley Steelhawks from 2016 to 2017 and the Soul from 2017 to 2018. Prince received 1st Team All-NAL team honors with the Steelhawks and the ArenaBowl MVP Award with the Soul during ArenaBowl XXX in 2017.
The West Texas Warbirds are a professional indoor football team and a member of National Arena League. The Warbirds are based in Odessa, Texas, with home games at the Ector County Coliseum. The team was originally a member of Champions Indoor Football, but never played a league game due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The San Antonio Gunslingers are a professional indoor football team for the National Arena League (NAL). The team is based in San Antonio, Texas, where they are currently playing their home games at the Freeman Coliseum.
The 2022 National Arena League season was the fifth season of the National Arena League (NAL). The league played with only six teams mostly based in the Eastern United States, with one new team arriving from the American Arena League, the San Antonio Gunslingers, based in Texas. The season ended with the Albany Empire, Carolina Cobras, Columbus Lions, and Jacksonville Sharks qualifying for the playoffs and the Albany Empire winning the championship.
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