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West Virginia took a major step in becoming a top IFL franchise today when they traded for guard Marshall Cuomo from St. Louis. Cuomo, considered one of the best guards in the game today, has been holding out for the Cardinals since the beginning of the post-draft FA period in an attempt to force a trade. St. Louis franchised the guard for the second year in a row, all but ending any negotiation privileges with him.
West Virginia had two first round picks next year so they didn't hesitate to send one of them to St. Louis along with a fourth rounder the following year to seal the deal.
Adding a top guard has the Beast brass hoping for big things this year.
"When I took over the team last season, I saw that one of the things this team has lacked is consistently at the offensive line positions," said Mark Lukehart, director of football operations for the Beasts. "We've tried to fix that the past two years in the draft and now in a trade for Cuomo."
Cuomo is a big pickup and the fact that they didn't need to ship a first rounder to St. Louis is an even bigger gain. The Beasts still haven't filled every hole on the team and weren't going to part with a first rounder.
"With a team this young, we didn't feel comfortable trading away a first rounder," Lukehart said. "You never know how well a group of young players will fare, especially in the IFL. We do, however, like the direction the team is headed in and feel that Cuomo is going to be a major part of our rebuilding puzzle."
This may not be the only deal the Beasts plan on making prior to the trading deadline. Lukehart said that they are interested in dealing for a left tackle and possible a receiver, but he also indicated that the team could very well go through the season with whatever roster he sets for week 1, the 53 man roster cutdown stage.
West Virginia had two first round picks next year so they didn't hesitate to send one of them to St. Louis along with a fourth rounder the following year to seal the deal.
Adding a top guard has the Beast brass hoping for big things this year.
"When I took over the team last season, I saw that one of the things this team has lacked is consistently at the offensive line positions," said Mark Lukehart, director of football operations for the Beasts. "We've tried to fix that the past two years in the draft and now in a trade for Cuomo."
Cuomo is a big pickup and the fact that they didn't need to ship a first rounder to St. Louis is an even bigger gain. The Beasts still haven't filled every hole on the team and weren't going to part with a first rounder.
"With a team this young, we didn't feel comfortable trading away a first rounder," Lukehart said. "You never know how well a group of young players will fare, especially in the IFL. We do, however, like the direction the team is headed in and feel that Cuomo is going to be a major part of our rebuilding puzzle."
This may not be the only deal the Beasts plan on making prior to the trading deadline. Lukehart said that they are interested in dealing for a left tackle and possible a receiver, but he also indicated that the team could very well go through the season with whatever roster he sets for week 1, the 53 man roster cutdown stage.
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