Burn Add Veteran/Rookie Quarterbacks to 2009 Roster

Following back-to-back 8-8 seasons with no playoff appearances, Boise?s new head coach Brent Winter felt it was important to bring in an experienced quarterback to lead his team. The third year arenafootball2 franchise announced today that they have been assigned QB Tim Hicks by the af2 league office. The team also announced that they have been assigned rookie QB Mark Thorson.Hicks (6-5 and 250-pounds) from West Liberty State College, has spent the past six years playing arena football including the last two seasons with Coach Winter and the Los Angeles Avengers of the Arena Football League. In 2008, Hicks started six games for the Avengers completing 142 of 21 passes for 1,837 yards, 38 TD?s and 8 INT?s. He also had 15 rushes for 44 yards and a score. Prior to playing in L.A., Hicks spent four seasons in the af2. The Rockwood, Tenn., native earned his ticket to the AFL while playing with the Quad City Steamwheelers in 2006. Hicks threw for 4,496 yards while completed 62.7 percent of his passes (357-569). He also threw for 79 TD and 15 interceptions in his last year in the af2, and says he is excited about re-uniting with coach Winter. ?I?m excited to come to Boise and play for coach Winter. With his experience, I have no doubt that he will bring a team that will compete for a championship,? said Hicks. ?Hopefully I can help bring that championship to the organization and to the city. Again, I am extremely excited for this opportunity.?Thorson (6-6, 240-pounds) played at Western Oregon University and attended the Boise Burn open tryouts this past Sunday. He impressed coach Winter enough to earn a contract into the 2009 camp in March. The rookie out of McMinnville, Ore., was a three-year starter for the Wolves where he led his team to a 20-12 record and holds the school records for pass attempts (987), pass completions (568), TD?s (60), and most TD?s responsible for (63). Hicks and Thorson join Boise State alumni Taylor Tharp on the Burn QB depth chart. Boise opens the 2009 campaign on Friday, March 27 at Tri-Cities. The Burn will host its West Division rival and defending National Conference Champion Spokane Shock for its home opener on Saturday, Apr. 18 at Qwest Arena. Season tickets are currently on sale. Call the front office at 208.383.0080 or check online at www.boiseburn.com for more information.About af2With its 10th anniversary season set to begin in the spring of 2009, af2 serves as a vehicle to bring Arena Football to small-to-midsize cities and as a developmental league with an unmatched history of sending players, coaches and officials to major professional football leagues each year. af2 operates under the same Mission Statement and Fans? Bill of Rights as the Arena Football League, which finished its 22nd season in July. Log on to www.af2.com for more information.