The Aarhus Tigers of Denmark’s National League have bolstered both their offense and defense with the signing of running back Rickey Stevens and defensive lineman Kori Hurd.
The Tigers finished fourth in the league in 2017 and were eliminated in the semifinals by the Copenhagen Towers who went on the win the title. In fact, Aarhus has reached the Danish semifinals four of the last five years and made it to the final in 2014 when they were beaten by the Towers.
Stevens, 5’9″, 205 lbs from the University of Maine (NCAA Div. I FCS) has played multiple seasons in Europe, most recently in Poland with the Wroclaw Panthers and in Finland with the Poorvo Butchers.
This past season, he helped the Panthers win the Polish title, their second with Stevens at running back. In only three games at running back he rushed for 678 yards and 14 touchdowns. Once the Polish season was over, he played for the Porvoo Butchers in Finland’s Maple League and in half a season rushed for 1,006 yards and nine touchdowns, good for second in the league. He is a familiar name to football fans in Denmark, as he scored two touchdowns in the Wroclaw Panthers 34-14 victory in the Central European Football League tournament over the Triangle Razorbacks from Denmark.
Stevens:
“Yeah, I had a great game in Vejle last year. I hope to build on that and just enjoy playing in Denmark.”
Tigers head coach Thomas Pedersen:
“Rickey will bring another dimension to our running game. We have one of the most talented young Danish RBs in Lasse Lykke, and he will benefit tremendously from having Rickey as a mentor and partner in the backfield.”
Kori Lamont Hurd II, 6′ 2’’, 260 lbs, played football at Arizona Christian University (NAIA), where he earned All Defensive Senior of the Year in 2016. He recorded 40 tackles, 15 tackles for loss and five sacks in his final season with the Firestorm.
For the Tigers, Hurd will play DL, and take reps at other positions.
“I really look forward to play in Europe. It has always been a dream of mine, to see different parts of the World and meet new people.”
Pedersen:
“Kori will help us on both sides of the ball. He may not the biggest lineman, but he has proven himself at ACU, and we have a lot of confidence in him.”
