Isaiah Trufant, Locos secondary have starred in two-game winning streak

By Case Keefer (contact)

Thursday, Oct. 14, 2010 | 2:05 a.m.

Las Vegas Locomotives cornerback Isaiah Trufant has arguably made the two most significant defensive plays in the history of the United Football League.

Last year, Trufant set up the Locos game-winning field goal in overtime of the UFL Championship with an interception. Last weekend, Trufant returned an interception for a touchdown against the Omaha Nighthawks to give Las Vegas a lead it never relinquished.

Trufant also had a second interception in the 22-10 victory that catapulted Las Vegas to first in the UFL standings and handed Omaha its first franchise defeat.

“It feels great to have that kind of a success,” Trufant said. “But as a whole, I’m just glad we won to get back to 2-1 and back on top.”

If Las Vegas hopes to get back to the UFL Championship Game, it’s going to take an inspired effort from Trufant and the rest of the secondary.

Every team in the UFL has a veteran quarterback and likes to move the ball through the air. The Locomotives take on one of the most notable at 8 p.m. Friday when they travel to Sacramento to face Daunte Culpepper and the Mountain Lions.

“Daunte challenges you a lot,” Las Vegas safety C.J. Wallace said. “He’s not afraid to make certain passes. The ball can be coming at any time and be coming deep. He’s still got a great arm.”

But the Locomotives pass defense has looked like the best in the league over the last two games. After surrendering 308 yards to Brooks Bollinger in its season-opening loss to the Florida Tuskers, Las Vegas has tightened up its defensive backfield.

The Locomotives held Bollinger to 196 yards in the rematch and limited the Nighthawks Jeff Garcia to 168 yards last weekend.

“We’re playing more as a cohesive unit,” Las Vegas coach Jim Fassel said. “They didn’t start out good and they rallied. I’m proud of that. We’ve got to be good in the secondary, because we’re playing against these elite quarterbacks.”

Part of the success came because of familiarity. Trufant and Wale Dada, the other starting cornerback, are back with the Locomotives for a second season.

Las Vegas didn’t protect Trufant in the expansion draft, but he was relieved when he was not selected.

“This is definitely where I wanted to be,” Trufant said. “It’s football — people come and go all the time and you never know — but I got the call to come back and I was grateful.”

Unlike most players in the UFL, Trufant never spent any time in the NFL. Scouts were hesitant to give him a shot because of his small 5-foot-8, 170-pound frame.

Before the UFL began, Trufant spent four years in the Arena Football League. His older brother, Marcus Trufant, is a Pro Bowl cornerback for the Seattle Seahawks.

Isaiah said he wouldn’t be where he was if it wasn’t for Marcus, who was blessed with more prototypical NFL size at 5-foot-11, 200 pounds.

“We are only two years apart, so it was motivation for me to be successful,” Isaiah Trufant said. “Everything he did, I was trying to do the same.”

Wallace played with Marcus Trufant for the last three years in Seattle before entering the UFL this season. He said he could tell the Trufants were brothers solely by the way they play.

“The similarities are definitely there,” Wallace said. “You can tell they both have that Trufant God-given ability as a straight lockdown corner.”

That ability should aid Las Vegas in its chase for a second straight championship. Fassel knows how important Isaiah Trufant is if the Locomotives want to achieve that goal.

“By NFL standards, no one would give him a chance,” Fassel said. “I spent 19 years in the NFL and can tell you he can play for a lot of teams and make a lot of plays. You can’t measure a kid’s heart, and he’s got tremendous quickness and is a hard-working steady guy. I would take him on my team anytime.”

Case Keefer can be reached at 948-2790 or [email protected]. Follow Case on Twitter at twitter.com/casekeefer.