tiger jones.jpg

Wide receiver Tiger Jones has joined the Jacksonville Sharks for the 2015 Arena Football League season after spending the previous three years with the Philadelphia Soul.

(Courtesy of Arena Football League)

Former Alabama place-kicker Jeremy Shelley made it to the Arizona Rattlers just in time. Shelley was assigned to the Rattlers on Thursday for the 2015 Arena Football League season, which kicks off on Friday night.

Shelley made 11-of-11 field-goal attempts and 69-of-69 extra-point attempts for the Crimson Tide's 2012 BCS national-championship team. The next year, he went to NFL training camp with the Atlanta Falcons, but was released in the final wave of cuts before the regular season.

Shelley was one of 14 kickers tried out during the offseason by the Rattlers, who have won the past three ArenaBowls. Craig Ratanamorn, who kicked for those teams, retired after the 2014 championship.

During his career at Alabama, Shelley made 44-of-55 field-goal attempts and 172-of-175 extra-point attempts.

The Rattlers open their 2015 season against the Spokane Shock on Saturday night.

Shelley's addition puts two former Alabama players on the rosters of the 12 AFL teams for the opening weekend of the season. Ex-Athens High School standout Alfred McCullough, who was with the Tide from 2007 through 2011, is an offensive lineman for the Tampa Bay Storm.

Shelley and McCullough are exceptions among the players with their football roots in Alabama who are on AFL rosters to kick off the campaign. The rest played at colleges other than the state's big two of Alabama and Auburn. North Alabama has three players on one team - the L.A. Kiss, owned by Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley.

The roster of state players in the AFL includes:

Arizona Rattlers: Marcus Pittman, defensive end, North Alabama; Jeremy Shelley, place-kicker, Alabama.

Jacksonville Sharks: Lee Chapple, quarterback, North Alabama; Tiger Jones, wide receiver, St. Paul's Episcopal School.

L.A. Kiss: Antron Dillon, defensive end, North Alabama; Dominie Pittman, defensive end, North Alabama; Kenny Spencer, place-kicker, North Alabama.

New Orleans Voodoo: Darian Barnes, defensive end, Tuskegee; R.J. Bibbs, fullback, Miles, Pleasant Grove High School; Chuck Curry, offensive lineman, West Alabama; Cortez Stubbs, defensive back, Concordia, Huffman High School.

Orlando Predators: Larry Brackins, wide receiver, Dothan High School; Terence Moore, jack linebacker, Troy.

Philadelphia Soul: Ryan McDaniel, wide receiver, Samford.

Tampa Bay Storm: Alfred McCullough, offensive lineman, Alabama, Athens High School.

Jones is the most accomplished of the players, joining Jacksonville for 2015 after spending the previous three seasons with the Soul. The former Mobile prep star has caught 789 passes for 11,033 yards and 230 touchdowns in his AFL career. His TD total ranks ninth in league history, and Jones owns three of the top seven single-season receiving-yardage totals in AFL history.

Tampa Bay coach Lawrence Samuels is a former Shaw High School standout in Mobile who is a member of the AFL Hall of Fame for his playing exploits before becoming the Storm's coach last season.

The 28th AFL season kicks off with six games this weekend - two on Friday and Saturday and one on Sunday and Monday. ESPN2 and CBS Sports Network will be televising AFL games this season, with the other contests available on ESPN3.