Sharks Sign K Lindsey Wolfe, Make Mark on AFL Awards

(photo credit: oursportscentral.com)

In a case of good news and possibly some better news, the Jacksonville Sharks snagged two weekly awards and a new kicker ahead of Friday's game against the Orlando Predators.

Following Marco Capozzoli's retirement and a subpar performance from Jon Striefsky leading to his release, Jacksonville signed kicker Lindsey Wolfe on Wednesday. Per usual team policy, contract terms were not discussed.

Wolfe (5'11", 200 lbs) graduated from Fort Valley State University, and spent time with the Columbus Lions of the Professional Indoor Football League. Friday's game will be his first start in the Arena Football League, and should provide a boost to a struggling special teams unit looking to improve for the remainder of 2016.

(photo credit: alchetron.com)

For the poor performance of Striefsky against the Portland Steel, there were several bright spots to counter. Quarterback Tommy Grady and defensive back Greg Reid both won weekly awards for their performances in Week 8. Grady was named Under Armour Offensive Player of the Week, while Reid was named Riddell Defensive Player of the Week.

At 31, Grady is no stranger to great games, as he threw a League-record 142 touchdown passes with the Utah Blaze in 2012. He tapped into that well against the Steel, putting on one of his most efficient performances. Grady completed 22 of 27 attempts for 288 yards, eight touchdowns, and no interceptions. Three receivers (London Crawford, Joe Hills, and Tiger Jones) all caught at least two touchdown passes in the process.

Through the first eight weeks of the season, Grady is completing 68% of his passes, throwing for 40 touchdowns against a mere three interceptions. Going into Week 9, he leads the AFL in passer rating (125.8) and passing yards per game (295.9)

(photo credit: jacksonville.com)

Not to be forgotten on defense, Greg Reid highlighted a monster night on defense with his performance at safety. Reid broke up five passes and intercepted two more while recording 7.5 total tackles. He nearly added another touchdown to the stat book, but he was pushed into the wall at the Portland one-yard line.

In only his second season, Reid, 25, looks to add to his own trophy case after garnering Rookie of the Year honors in 2015. Reid leads the AFL in total tackles (52), ranks second in pass breakups (17), and is tied for fourth in interceptions (4). In just 19 career regular-season games, he now has 13 interceptions to his name.

This brings the total number of weekly awards to three, as Joe Hills was named Under Armour Offensive Player of the Week for Week 2.