Murietta takes command

Now that Jason Murietta has earned the starting quarterback job for the Spokane Shock, he plans on keeping it.

Murietta unseated Justin Rummell, a popular backup who performed well when called on during the Shock’s 12-5 campaign last season. The odds weren’t in Murietta’s favor. Head coach Adam Shackleford told the quarterback candidates in training camp that the job was Rummell’s to lose.

As it turned out, Rummell didn’t lose it as much as Murietta simply won it. His performance in training camp and four touchdown passes in an exhibition win over Tri-Cities prompted the Shock to trade Rummell to Manchester.

“The reason I came up here is because they told me and all the quarterbacks that it was an open job,” said Murietta, a Northern Arizona University product who will guide Spokane’s offense in the season opener at Green Bay on Sunday. “If I thought I would be a backup I probably would have gone elsewhere.”

Spokane has never been afraid to make moves at the marquee position in arenafootball2. Late in the 2006 regular season, former coach Chris Siegfried benched Alex Neist in favor of Kyle Rowley, who led the Shock to the ArenaCup title. Last season, Andrico Hines was the starter, but Rummell capably filled in when Hines was injured or struggling.

“Whatever they saw in me, they liked and they gave me a shot and it worked,” Murietta said. “Whenever you come in and don’t know the players, you have to get respect and the only way to do that is you earn it on the field. After the exhibition game, I thought coming off the field I got more respect from the defensive players and the offensive players.”

Shock receiver Raul Vijil, an Eastern Washington graduate, played against Murietta in college.

“He always tore us up,” Vijil said. “I knew he was a good quarterback coming in. He stepped up and won the spot. He makes quick reads and he has an eye for the game. He gets the ball out quickly.”

Toasters make nice gifts

For the first game, Shock starting defensive lineman Harrison Nikolao will trade in his jersey for a tuxedo. Nikolao will miss the opener because he’s getting married in Odessa, Wash., this weekend.

Nikolao, a former Eastern Washington Eagle, told the team the ceremony was already set when he signed in November. “We’ve known about it and we’re prepared for it,” Shackleford said.

The Shock has experience with in-season weddings. Jerome Stevens missed the 2006 ArenaCup because of his wedding ceremony. Stevens retired after last season.

Jack out of the box

A rule change regarding the “Jack” linebacker will impact game plans for offenses and defenses. The Jack used to be confined to a box no wider than the tackles. Now the Jack can go sideline-to-sideline, no deeper than 5 yards from the line of scrimmage. He still cannot blitz.

“They’ve basically taken the sides off that box,” Shackleford said. “We have to feel out early in each game how people are using that position and we’ll have different approaches depending on what they do with the Jack.”

Kevin McCullough, a first-year af2 player, will probably start at Jack linebacker.

“Being an outdoor football player that was my strong point, getting involved in the run game,” McCullough said. “At Jack, I have to get more involved in the passing game. Being able to move side to side allows me to get in passing alleys, make plays and get some interceptions but also make tackles.

“We can run a lot more zone coverages, where the corners drop and I can go out in the flat and replace the corner.”

Notes

There are three third-year Shock players – Raul Vijil, Rico Ochoa and Katon Bethay. Vijil has been with the franchise since its first game in 2006. Ochoa joined Spokane for its second game and Bethay came aboard later in the season. … DB Rob Keefe, a fan favorite the last two seasons, is on the AFL Philadelphia Soul’s practice squad. … Shock games on radio have moved to FM-101.1. Larry Weir and Paul Sorensen return on the headsets. KHQ will televise all home games. Greg Heister and Mike Peterson will have the call. … There are about 1,000 tickets left for the April 5 home opener against Stockton.