Chasen Stangel and Daniel Adler become “Men in Purple”
Quarterback Chasen Stangel and Wide Receiver/Returner Daniel Adler, teammates and roommates from Northern Arizona University, will join Frankfurt Universe for the 2013 season. The two California natives both were transfers to NAU.
Chasen Stangel was a highly recruited quarterback from San Jacinto High School in southern California. In two seasons he completed 60 percent of his passes for 5764 yards, 49 TDs and only 12 interceptions. He was ranked in the top 25 nationally and the top 5 in California by recruiting services, and eventually chose Arizona State.
Filip Pawelka, Sports Director of Frankfurt Universe, says: “He has a super quick release - the ball comes out of his hand very quickly - he is very mobile, throws precisely in narrow ,windows’ and has a very good understanding of the game.”
Adler was a star Running Back at College Park high school in Martinez in northern California near Oakland and a Wide Receiver/Returner at Diablo Valley Junior College and then signed with Northern Arizona.
Stangel transferred from Arizona State to Northern Arizona after an intense QB competition that included two future NFL quarterbacks and Jack Elway, the legendary quarterbacks's son. He came in third in a competition against Rudy Carpenter, 2012 Dallas Cowboys back up, and Brock Osweiler who is now Peyton Manning's back up in Denver. At NAU he faced another competitive situation and eventually lost a three way battle for the starting job in his Senior year.
Chasen Stangel comes from a football family. His father Bob played quarterback at Pacific University and has been a college and high school coach in southern California, his grandfather Bob Sr. played quarterback at University of Oregon and at Long Beach State and was a legendary Junior College coach in California.
Universe-Head Coach John Rosenberg says: “When I was looking at the quarterbacks, Chasen came in to the situation late. A contact from NAU had recommended their current quarterback, but he was not finished school until May. Then he said I should look at the other NAU-quarterback who some people think is a better athlete with a stronger arm. As soon as I saw Chasen's video I said to myself: ,This is the guy we want.’”
When Rosenberg told Stangel that Frankfurt Universe was looking for a Wide Receiver/Returner to replace Brian Berry from 2012, the quarterback recommended his friend Daniel Adler.
“I looked at practice drill video and game video from NAU and highlights from Daniel’s Junior College and High School”, explains John Rosenberg. “My first reaction was he reminded me of the Patriots’ Wes Welker. He can catch, run after catch, return kicks and punts and he was a Corner on defense early in his career. I believe he can be the same type of all around skill position player that Brian Berry was in 2012."
The quarterback competition in the USA was intense, says Rosenberg and Pawelka adds: “I was impressed by both players. A big difference between football in the GFL and in Europe is that teams here have only one quarterback who is THE guy. In the USA in a college situation, there are three or four players competing and they are all talented. Think about Tom Brady? He was a back-up and then only one year starter at Michigan! One of the best quarterbacks Coach Rosenberg looked at this year did not play very much in college; he was Andrew Luck's back-up at Stanford. A player who has competed, practiced and played at that level can be a great player in the GFL.”