Despite the fact that the Iowa Barnstormers of the Arena Football League wrapped up their training camp sessions today, Head Coach and Director of Football Operations Mike Hohensee made an additional move on Tuesday. The Barnstormers have traded offensive lineman Gershom Jordan in exchange for defensive back Erick McIntosh. McIntosh was recently with the Tampa Bay Storm for three seasons (2010-12) before being acquired by the Orlando Predators in the offseason.
A native of Fort Myers, Florida, McIntosh played four years of college football at Florida Atlantic University; from 2006-2009. Coach Hohensee said of McIntosh, "Errick is a guy that we targeted in the offseason, and I'm glad that we were able to acquire him." Hohensee said that although he believes Gershom Jordan will have a successful career in the ARL, the Barnstormers had depth at the offensive line position. The defensive backfield currently consists of Josh Wilkins, Drew Gardner, Mike Williams, Davion Mitchell, Jason Simpson, De'Mon Glanton and Ter'Ran Benton. With the season nearing and the team forced to cut their season roster to 24, there is a strong possibility that some of those players will be gone.
Prior to entering professional football, McIntosh was a star at Florida Atlantic and just two classes short of a Bachelor's degree in Arts and Humanities. Before he expected it, executives from the Storm offered a contract in May of 2010 to play in the AFL. In an interview with Peter Pupello, McIntosh said, "To be honest, it wasn't a difficult decision to leave school and go play football. It was actually probably one of the easiest."
His professional career began with McIntosh being red hot, making four tackles in his debut with the Storm. Weekly awards for performance started racking up. And then, injuries became a concern. McIntosh suffered a separated shoulder in a July game at Jacksonville (Sharks). It ended his regular season. He was able to return for the Storm's playoff bid, which they lost to the Spokane Shock in the ArenaBowl. McIntosh said that he learned a lesson. "Football might not always work out," McIntosh said. "The injuries taught me you need a plan B."
McIntosh is healthy and had planned on going back to school to get his degree following the 2012 season. It is apparent he has his plans solidly in place.
His career totals: 243 tackles, eight interceptions and 43 pass break-ups.
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