Charly Martin and Keith Null talk at Night with the Pros. Photo by Evan Grice.
The WTAMU football program has become very successful over the past few seasons and brought WT into the national spotlight. One big reason for the national attention is the number of former Buff football players that now play in the National Football League and the Canadian Football League.
On March 26 some of those former Buffs returned home to help raise money for the WT athletics department with the second annual “A Night with the Pros.” Among the special guests were former WT quarterbacks Dalton Bell and Keith Null along with former wide receivers Charly Martin and Anthony Armstrong as well as standout running back Keithon Flemming.
Martin, who now plays for the Carolina Panthers said he was just as excited for this year’s fundraiser as he was for the previous year.
“It’s a blast from the planning process to everything in-between,” Martin said. “I really look at it as a time of fellowship for people to come have a good time together and ultimately raise money and give back to the student athletes of West Texas.”
Martin’s teammate in Carolina, Keith Null said that he’s always overwhelmed by the response when he comes back to Canyon for this event.
“It’s unbelievable to see just how many people are out here to support WT athletics for this cause,” Null said. “This whole event is about making life as a WT athlete better because there are so many things that can be improved for the student athlete on campus.”
While getting to the pros is the dream of most football players, sometimes the journey is very difficult and full of hardships. For Anthony Armstrong, Keithon Flemming and Dalton Bell pro football was a long and winding process.
Armstrong, who had a standout season with the Washington Redskins, said that at one time he was working in a jewelry store just to have income while he practiced in the Arena Football League for the Dallas Desperados.
“The toughest part initially was when I couldn’t try out for the Falcons after I left WT,” Armstrong said. “I knew I had to get a job just to pay some bills and so it helped to have a little extra income. I was going to practice and then going to work till about nine o’clock at night so it was really rough.”
After a successful stint as a standout with the Buffs, Keithon Flemming felt that his hard work would lead to an eventual draft position. Unfortunately, it turned into a long struggle just to stay afloat in football.
“When I was in Philadelphia then Coach (Andy) Reed told me that I was handling things very well especially from a mental aspect,” Flemming said. “It was more of a business decision as to why they let me go. After that it was a waiting game and I got a few different calls along with issues with my agent. I actually ended up getting the same agent that Charly has and it helped me out a lot. He actually helped get me a tryout with the British Columbia Lions and within two to three weeks I had a contract.”
When Dalton Bell graduated from WT, the Buffs were just hitting their stride and starting to become a national powerhouse. After several unsuccessful stints with NFL teams, Bell settled north of the border in Canada. Bell said that one of the things he had to get used to was a different ball as well as a different style of play.
“The ball is fatter, it’s 13 pounds of air,” Bell said. “When I first grabbed ahold of it then I thought that the ball was from Wal-Mart. One of the things that is so different about the CFL is the field is bigger and you can throw the ball through the uprights and catch it for a touchdown.”
Bell also said that the strangest rule he had to get used to is known as the “Rouge Rule.”
“Rouge is basically where you can catch a punt or field goal in the end zone and kneel it, then the kicking team gets a point,” Bell said. “We’ve actually had a game where that process went on for a long time and it can get really crazy.”
One of the popular topics for discussion on the night was the ongoing labor dispute in the NFL. Martin, as well as the other NFL pros took these questions in stride and even took time to address facts that might not be known.
“If people want to be informed then that’s their choice,” Martin said. “The bottom line is that we want to play and we’re ready to play. It’s the owners who chose to lock us out and it was their choice to opt out of the Collective Bargaining Agreement that we had in place.”
Fans who attended the fundraiser had the chance to get autographs as well as pictures with the pros. Live auctions as well as a silent auction were held to help raise funds. AJ Swope and The Last Train Home band provided live entertainment for the evening.
