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Illini Trio Heads to NFL Europe League
Cushing, Howard, Douthard head to Europe later this month -3/2/99
A trio of former Fighting Illini football standouts, including 1994 Butkus Award winner Dana Howard, are headed to the NFL Europe League, a training league coordinated by the National Football League.
Former Illini tight end Matt Cushing, who concluded his Illinois career in 1997, and Howard, the former All-American linebacker and all-time Big Ten tackles leader with 570 stops, will play for the Amsterdam Admirals. Cushing played briefly with the Pittsburgh Steelers last fall and Howard has seen regular season action with the St. Louis Rams and Chicago Bears after being selected in the fifth round by the Dallas Cowboys in the 1995 NFL draft.
Former Illinois running back Ty Douthard, who spent the 1997 season with his hometown Cincinnati Bengals, will join the Frankfurt Galaxy.
Training camp for the NFL Europe League will open in Orlando, Florida on March 9 and the 10-game regular season kicks off April 17. Fox Sports will televise selected NFL Europe League games.
