Former Pitt QB Stull still playing thanks to AFL's Voodoo
South Hills football fans remember Bill Stull from his days as a star quarterback at Seton-La Salle High School.
They surely remember him from his days as the signal caller at Pitt, and many fans even may remember his stint with the Pittsburgh Power of the Arena Football League.
His days with the Rebels are long behind him. His Pitt career is complete, and he's no longer with the Power. But Stull is not done with football. Not hardly.
These days, he's a backup quarterback with the New Orleans Voodoo in the Arena Football League, where he's made a positive impression.
“He's a veteran guy who came in here and helped us out as a backup and gone in as a starter,” Pat O'Hara, the Voodoo head coach, said. “He comes to work every day with his hard hat on. He's a blue collar quarterback, a tough kid, a Pittsburgh-type kid. He's been a great addition to our team.”
Stull has seen significant snaps as a backup, in addition to starting a game earlier this season. He's completed 55 of 96 passes for 629 yards, nine touchdowns and three interceptions.
New Orleans is 5-12 overall and finishes the season Saturday at Orlando.
Stull said he's been a fit with the Voodoo largely because of O'Hara, a former quarterback at USC and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
“It's always nice having a head coach and offensive coordinator who is a quarterback,” Stull said.
“He puts his faith in his quarterback, because he's already gone through it as a quarterback himself.”
Stull has taken quite a journey to New Orleans.
After his stellar scholastic career at Seton-La Salle (3,310 passing yard and 40 touchdowns as a senior in 2004), Stull signed to play his college ball with his hometown Pitt Panthers.
He was a backup for two years, and was ready to take over as a starter for the 2007 season when a thumb injury in the first game put him out for the year.
Stull earned the starting spot as a junior in 2008 and, during his senior year, was an All-Big East Conference selection, throwing for 2,633 yards and 21 touchdowns, setting himself up for a professional career.
After graduating from Pitt following the 2009 season, Stull spent parts of the next two years with the Hartford Colonials of the United Football League, the British Columbia Lions of the Canadian Football league, the NFL's Kansans City Chiefs, the AFL's Spokane Shock and, in late 2011, joined the Power.
A few games into the 2012 campaign, Stull — then the team's starter — endured a shoulder injury that put him on injured reserve, off the team roster after the season, and far from the minds of many within the sport.
But not O'Hara.
“Early this season, we went through some injuries at quarterback and I started really doing a lot of research on quarterbacks that were available,” O'Hara said.
“Bill was on a list of injured players. He was rehabilitating from a shoulder injury in Pittsburgh. I got ahold of him; he told me he was healthy and trying to get cleared to play.”
Stull got that clearance and a tryout with the Voodoo.
“All of a sudden I was on a flight,” he said. “About a day and a half later, I'm playing in the second half of a game.
“That was definitely a quick turnaround, coming off IR for shoulder surgery, then getting into a game that quick. But the learning curve in arena football is pretty quick. There's only so many different concepts you can run. I knew the concepts, and the routes, and the route trees were all the same. I was in there fast, and it was exciting.”
Stull has been on the team since, and may continue to be there for some time.
O'Hara said Stull is the type of player he could see bringing back to the Voodoo next season.
“Bill has been a starter in the league, and he accepts his role on the team,” O'Hara said. “His leadership and knowledge are really beneficial. He's a great leader and a great locker room guy. The other guys really like him, and that was evident from day one.
“I try to fill our locker room with good football players who are also good people, and Bill is one of those guys.”
A return is something Stull would be open to as well.
“I like the organization here, and I really like playing for coach P.O., so that's kind of a fit for me,'” Stull said.
And there's that whole New Orleans thing.
“The city, itself, is awesome. The people here are great,” Stull said. “It seems like every week there is some type of festival or carnival, and a lot of cool things to do.
“And, of course, there's Bourbon Street.”
Brian Knavish is a freelance writer.
