A pair of Humboldt State offensive linemen will try to extend their playing careers this summer, as they follow in a fast-growing tradition for former Lumberjacks football players.

Offensive linemen Richard Torrence and Duane Manyweather have both been recruited to play for the Amarillo Dusters of Arena League II, and both will head to Texas to join the team and become pros as soon as school is out in early May.

“I just want to take it as far as I can,” said Torrence, who has been with the HSU program dating back to 2001 and has been a starter the past three years.

Manyweather, a fifth-year senior this past fall, echoed the sentiment.

“I’m not a realistic guy at all,” he said with a smile. “But I’m just taking it one step at a time. I’m going to treat it as an opportunity to show people I can perform until I can’t perform anymore.”

The decision to try and extend their playing careers is nothing new for HSU players, with standouts such as Chris Butterfield and Mike Mari, who both played at HSU in the mid 1990s, catching on for several years in the Arena Football League.

More recently, several former Lumberjacks have traveled to Europe to continue their playing careers in leagues in Germany (Todd Eagle), Austria (Travis Mari) Spain (Joey Stein and Blake Moorman) and even Norway (Chris Weingarten).

“Both Duane and I, we got offers to go to Europe, but I wanted to stay stateside,” said Torrence, who has one more year remaining in school and intends to return to HSU in the fall.

For both, the process began with hiring an agent and using some essential tools of the trade in selling yourself worldwide.

“I put my game film up on You Tube,” said Manyweather. “And then an agent got in contact with me and it just went from there.”

Both players attracted plenty of interest from a wide variety of teams, mostly in Europe, but also a few Arena II squads. The problem, however, was fitting the team’s schedule into the players’ school schedule.

“A lot of teams were skeptical because they knew we couldn’t leave until May, but the head coach of Amarillo was willing to wait,” said Torrence.

For Manyweather, the decision was an easy one.

“Amarillo just felt right,” he said. “They knew a lot about me and they have a new coaching staff, a first-year head coach and their line coach played with Chris Butterfield.”

Butterfield, who is retired from professional football but still stays in regular contact with the HSU program, was a key figure in the process for Manyweather and has been advising the two players.

“Growing up in Los Angeles, I used to actually watch Chris Butterfield play (For the L.A. Avengers),” Manyweather said. “He’s helped me out a lot, with telling me what to expect. He’s been a mentor for me, him and (HSU strength and conditioning coach) Drew Peterson. Both of them have been real supportive.”

So far, the Dusters are 1-1 after losing their opening game 69-13 at Tulsa, before bouncing back to defeat Central Valley 71-60 Saturday night.

And both Torrence and Manyweather, who will miss just five of 16 regular-season games due to school commitments, are well aware of the step up in level of competition.

“Each level gets a little harder,” said Torrence. “From high school to college and from college to the pros, it gets a little faster each time, but I just want to go as far as I can.”

The speed of the game is just part of the difference the two will face in the Arena League, and as offensive linemen in a pass-heavy system, both Torrence and Manyweather will be asked to pass block far more.

“A lot of people don’t get the Arena game and how it’s different from the outdoor game,” said Manyweather. “But my pass blocking is something I’ve been working a lot on over the past year.”