Aaron Stecker

Aaron Stecker will always have a special place in the Cheddarheads hearts. When the Claymores initiated the Fan Club Draft in 2000, the Cheddarheads had 1st overall pick and we made Aaron the first ever selection. It was quite a pick! Aaron went on to lead the Claymores to the World Bowl, winning offensive MVP along the way. Although the Claymores fell to the Rhein Fire 13-10 in WB2000, he became the only losing player to ever win game MVP. From there he went straight back to the NFL, and won a roster spot on the Tampa Bay Bucs as back-up running back and kick returner. He would win a Super Bowl ring with them two years being a key component of their special teams. And finally in 2004 he enters the Cheddar Hall of Fame!

Aaron grew up in small Wisconsin town called Ashwaubenon, which is on the outskirts of Green Bay. He has a successful high school career at Ashwaubenon High, being named the Wisconsin High School Player of the Year in 1993 by the Associated Press and Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel. He finished up rushing for 2,157 yards and 37 TDs while leading team the team the state finals in his senior year, and was recruited locally by the University of Wisconsin to go and play for the Badgers.

However at Madison he joined a crowded backfield and had to bide his time while future NFL backs Terrell Fletcher and Brent Moss were tearing up the yardage. In 1996 though, they had both graduated and when Aaron rushed for 135 yards and two touchdowns against Nevada-Las Vegas in the second game of the season it appeared Stecker would be the next great Wisconsin back. However at the same time a freshman named Ron Dayne started to emerge, and when the future Heisman Trophy winner ground out five 200-yard games (including 339 against Hawaii) in mid-season Stecker became the forgotten man.

Stecker continued the great Claymore tradition of #27

  
Photo credits: universities of Wisconsin & western Illinois respectively

Aaron transfered from Wisconsin to Western Illinois in 1997

In 1998, Stecker was now a marked man - but still paced Leathernecks with 1,124 yards rushing and 12 TDs as a senior and they retained their conference title with a 5-1 record (9-2 overall).In the playoffs, Western Illinois knocked off Montana and Florida, but in the semi-finals fell 42-14 to Georgia Southern despite another heroic playoff effort by Stecker (175 yards on 31 carries). Aaron finished up the Leathernecks all-time leading rusher with 3,799 yards and 41 TDs.

Despite his exploits at the Division I-AA level, Aaron went un-drafted. He signed with the Bears as a free agent in 1999, and although he didn't make the roster - he caught of eye of Claymores coach Jim Criner in a pre-season game. Tampa Bay signed him their practice squad later in the season, and when decided they wanted to see what he could do in NFL Europe, Criner made sure he was allocated to Scotland for the 2000 season.

It was an inspired selection. Even in training camp it was obvious that Stecker had NFL talent, and Preston was convinced he would lead the league in rushing that year. And that he did, rushing for 774 yards (288 yards more than his closest rival) and 7 TD's. He was selected as Offensive MVP of the league and led the 6-4 Claymores to their 2nd World Bowl berth. Despite Stecker's 92 yards rushing and his electrifying 36 yard TD, the Fire would prevail 13-10 on a late TD. He was however named game MVP - and became the 3rd player to win a league and World Bowl MVP (David Archer and Paul Justin were the others).

Back in Tampa, the banged up Stecker prevailed through training camp and won a spot on the Bucs talented roster. He made a memorable NFL debut against the Bears (the team who had let him go 1 year earlier) in Week 2, rushing for 26 yards on 5 carries and returning a kick-off for 31 yards. We caught up with Aaron in Minnesota in October when the Bucs played a Monday Night game against the Vikings. In all he appeared in a total of 10 games before a sprained knee in a late season game versus the Bills ended his season. He contributed mainly to special teams where he was the club's top kick-off return man (29 returns for 663 yards and 22.9 avg). With Alstott and Dunn firmly entrenched as the Bucs RB's his backfield action was limited (12 carries for 31 yards and 1 catch for 15 yards

In 2001, he had more of a chance to shine and took his opportunities well. In Minnesota, he caught 3 passes for 33 yards including a clutch 22 yard grab to start the last drive of the game - however the Bucs would fall short in the Metrodome again. However he would have his revenge against the Vikings 1 month later, when he scored his 1st NFL touchdown. Late in the 1st half Brad Johnson dropped a screen pass out to Stecker, who dodged a series of tackles and sprinted toward the end zone for a 35 yard TD. (In a London sports bar where we were watching the game we got just a wee bit excited. By our reckoning Stecker became the 2nd Claymore to score an NFL TD after Sean LaChapelle). Later on in the season Aaron almost broke one of the more infamous ducks in NFL history. In the almost 30 year history of Tampa Bay no player has ever returned a kick-off for a TD. (Though Cheddar Hall of Famer Yo Murphy did manage it in a pre-season game for them). Against the Saints, on the opening kick-off he went 86 yards - the longest in franchise history. It set the tone for the day as the Bucs raced to a crucial late season victory en route to another division title. In the season finale versus the Eagles (who they would meet in the play-offs the following week), Stecker led the Bucs with 12 rushes for 35 yards, including a four-yard TD run. However the Bucs would again fall to the Eagles in Philadelphia in the 1st round of the playoffs.

2002 would prove to be the Bucs year however - and was it any coincidence that this was the year Aaron made his biggest contribution to the team? Much like Cheddar Hall of Famer George Coghill had proved in Denver, the heart of a championship team is not necessarily in its star performers but instead in the depth of the squad where key performances are easily overlooked. Aaron proved his worth all year in 2002. With Warwick Dunn now in Atlanta, he took on the role of 3rd down back more, even starting one game in Cincinnati. He finished the season by rushing for 174 yards on 28 yards (a team leading 6.2 average), including a career long 59-yard burst. He also added a career high 13 catches for 69 yards. And on kick returns he excelled again - with 37 returns for 934 yards (25.2 avg.) including a 67 yard return in Detroit, as well as 19 special teams tackles.

During the Bucs playoff run his success continues. In the divisional win vs the 49ers he ran 2 times for 8 yards and added 3 kick returns for 72 yards. In Philadelphia he caught 1 pass for 3 yards and added 2 kick returns for 33 yards. And in Super Bowl XXXVII, he became the 2nd Claymore (and Cheddar Hall of Famer after Yo Murphy) to touch the ball 1st in the Super Bowl, returning the opening kickoff 21 yards and finished with 3 returns for 67 yards as the Bucs throttled the Raiders 48-21. Aaron was finally a champion.

Stecker's Scotland Scrapbook