Soul continue building club; sign three

The Philadelphia Soul have announce the signings of three players: offensive lineman Jacob Hobbs (6-4, 310, SUNY Albany), defensive back Chris Martin (5-11, 190, Washington State), and wide receiver Antoine Rivera (6-1, 196, Saint Francis).

“Jacob [Hobbs] and Chris [Martin] are two veterans with plenty of experience that any team or player could benefit from,” said head coach, Mike Hohensee.  “They both have a great shot at solidifying a final roster spot, as does Rivera, who showed great hands and speed at the last tryout.  All positions will be open for battle as long as they come into training camp hungry.”

Hobbs is very familiar with the northeast, having spent time in training camp with the New York Giants (2008) and Philadelphia Eagles (2007) of the NFL.  In 2008, he also attended camp for the Columbus Destroyers of the AFL and played three games with the Albany Conquest of the AF2.  The former Great Dane was a three-year starter at left tackle and earned Football Gazette Second-Team Mid-Major All-American and First-Team All-Northeast Conference honors. 

Martin recorded 77 tackles, nine pass break ups, five interceptions, two defensive touchdowns, one forced fumble, and one fumble recovery as a defensive back for Hohensee and the Chicago Rush (2010).  As the team’s kick returner, he registered 83 returns for 1,663 yards and six touchdowns.  The Brooklyn, NY native also spent time with the Grand Rapids Rampage (2008) and Los Angeles Avengers (2004, ’06) of the AFL, as well as the Green Bay Blizzard (2004) and Peoria Pirates (2003) of the AF2.

Outside of the arena, Martin has played for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers (2007) and Hamilton Tiger-Cats (2004-06) of the CFL.  The former Cougar letter-winner recorded 100 tackles, six interceptions, and recovered two fumbles in 22 games.  Martin played his freshman and sophomore years at San Francisco Community College where he earned All-Conference and Second-Team All-American honors.

Rivera, a Willingboro, NJ native, is the seventh player signed from open tryouts this year.  In his senior season, Rivera had 53 receptions for 689 yards and four touchdowns.  His biggest game was against Wagner (September 26, 2009), where he caught ten passes for 154 yards.  In 2007, he finished with the most total receiving yards (885) in the Northeast Conference, which earned him a spot on the All-Northeast Conference Second-Team.