Stuttgart Surge

Stuttgart Surge
Based in	Stuttgart Germany
Stadium	Gazi-Stadion auf der Waldau
Established	2021
Division	Central Conference
Colors	Blue, lime  
Website	https://www.stuttgartsurge.com/

Uniform of the Stuttgart Surge football team in 2023.

The Stuttgart Surge are an American football team based in Stuttgart, Germany, that plays in the European League of Football (ELF) since 2021.

History

The Stuttgart franchise is one of the founding members of the European League of Football, which was launched in 2020, and was originally supposed to adopt the name of the Stuttgart Scorpions from the German Football League (GFL). After this was rejected by a majority decision of the Scorpions' club members, the team competes in the ELF under the name Stuttgart Surge. The translation of the new name as the Surge can also be found in the logo design of the franchise and was chosen in reference to the Sacramento Surge team. The team played from 1991 to 1992 in the World League of American Football (WLAF), a predecessor league of the NFL Europe and won the World Bowl in 1992. The name Surge was able to prevail internally, among other things, against the resumption of the name of the Stuttgart Stallions, which were active as an American football team in the 1980s and 1990s in Stuttgart. The franchise is operated by the American Football Club Stuttgart GmbH, whose managing director Timo Franke was previously active with the Stuttgart Scorpions.

2021 Season

Former German national team coach Martin Hanselmann was hired as head coach and offensive coordinator.

The team won its first league game on June 19, 2021, against the Barcelona Dragons, 17-21. A week later, the team lost to the Frankfurt Galaxy in its first home game, in front of 750 spectators allowed due to the pandemic.

The average attendance at home games was 1429 spectators due to pandemic restrictions. On June 28, 2021, the Surge parted ways with U.S. quarterback Jacob Wright in response to accusations of racism against him. Even before the game against Berlin Thunder in Week 3, a new quarterback, Aaron Ellis, was presented on July 2, 2021. After losses in the last two games of the season, the Stuttgart Surge team, with a total of two wins out of ten games, finished fourth in the South Division and thus failed to qualify for the playoffs.

2022 Season

Before the start of the 2022 season, Suni Musa became the new general manager. The previous general manager, Timo Franke, took over sales and sponsorship. In addition, NFL player Jakob Johnson became co-owner of the Surge. Johnson had previously been an ambassador for the Surge. Stuttgart also joined Frankfurt in the new Central Division for the 2022 season, where they will face the two expansion teams from Austria.

The first home game of the season was lost to the Barcelona Dragons in front of a crowd of 2690. On July 2, after a season opener with four losses in four games, the Surge announced that Martin Hanselmann had resigned as offensive coordinator. His replacements in that regard are George Streeter for the running game and Fabian Birkholz for the passing game. Streeter, who has also served in a number of NFL roles, most recently coached the Stuttgart Scorpions' U19 team. Birkholz was previously a position coach and coordinator with various teams in the GFL.

On July 20, after three more consecutive losses, Stuttgart announced that Martin Hanselmann was also stepping down from his position as head coach. His interim successor was running game coordinator George Streeter, whose position was filled just as temporarily by former defensive backs coach Marvin Washington. However, the team failed to improve noticeably and finished the season without a win. After the season, Streeter became Director of Player Personnel and Development.

2023 Season

On October 18, 2022, the Surge announced the signing of Jordan Neuman as its new Head Coach and Offensive Coordinator. Neuman was most recently Head Coach of the Schwäbisch Hall Unicorns and won the German Bowl 2022 with them. Also joining the Surge coaching staff from Schwäbisch Hall are Johannes Brenner as defensive coordinator and Cody Pastorino as his assistant.

For the first time in its history, Surge finished the regular season with a positive record of 10-2 and advanced to the playoffs. In the wildcard round, the #3 seed faced the #6 seed, the Panthers Wrocław. The game was clearly won with 37:14.

In the semifinals, they beat the #2 seed, the Vienna Vikings, 40-33 in Vienna.

In the championship game, the #1 seed Rhein Fire awaited, against whom the team lost 34:53.

Stadium

The Waldau-Stadion, known as the Gazi-Stadion auf der Waldau for sponsorship purposes, is a multi-use stadium in the Degerloch district in Stuttgart, Germany. The stadium is situated approximately 200m southwest of the Fernsehturm Stuttgart and holds 11,410 spectators

Players

Top Players

Quarterback	Year	G	COMP	ATT	CMP%	YDS	TD	INT	SCK
Reilly Hennessey	2023	7	130	204	63.7	1679	14	3	4
Kenyatte Allen	2023	7	112	174	64.4	1531	10	5	15
Aaron Ellis	2021	7	82	161	50.9	1173	9	7	33

Receiver	Year	G	RRC	TGT	YDS	CTCH %	YPG	YPC	LNG	TD	TD/G
Louis Geyer	2021-23	22	69	125	1313	55.2	59.7	19.0	78	10	0.5
Paul Steigerwald	2021-23	32	80	123	998	65.0	31.2	12.5	41	9	0.3
Yannick Mayr	2023	11	50	66	770	75.8	70.0	15.4	74	5	0.5
Darrell Stewart Jr.	2023	8	59	78	754	75.6	94.2	12.8	48	5	0.6

Running	Year	G	ATT	YDS	AVG	YPG	LNG	TD	TD/G	FMB	FML
Phileas Pasqualini	2022-23	15	184	703	3.8	46.9	34	6	0.4	7	4

2024 Roster

2024 Stuttgart Surge roster

	Quarterbacks  4 Reilly Hennessey 🇺🇸 16 Lars Heidrich 🇩🇪 Running backs  2 Kai Hunter 🇩🇪  6 Levin Liebenow 🇩🇪 22 Nicolas Khandar 🇫🇷  37 Maximilan Merwarth FB 🇩🇪 41 Bryan Yankson 🇩🇪 43 León Helm FB 🇩🇪 Wide receivers  7 Louis Geyer 🇩🇪  8 Darrell Stewart Jr. 🇺🇸 10 Florian Lengauer 🇩🇪 14 Yannick Mayr 🇦🇹  18 Paul Steigerwald 🇩🇪 19 Emil Rabin 🇩🇪 20 Drammeh Sarrow 🇩🇪 81 Jan Pietsch 🇩🇪 82 Leonell Fritzen 🇩🇪 87 Marcel Baumbach 🇩🇪 Tight ends 80 Philip Eichhorn 🇩🇪 88 Emmanuel Häfele 🇩🇪		Offensive linemen 55 Alessandro Antonio Vergani 🇮🇹  60 Nathan Kalemba Mvemba 🇩🇪 61 Luca Jokiel 🇩🇪 65 Francesco Runco 🇮🇹 🇩🇪  HG 66 Sascha Beck C 🇩🇪 67 Markos Dubravkic 🇩🇪 71 Sven Fischer OG 🇩🇪 74 Robert Hager 🇩🇪 75 Noah Nnabuo 🇩🇪 76 Lukas Maier 🇩🇪 77 Jan Steiger 🇩🇪 78 Benhur Arya 🇩🇪 Defensive linemen 13 Chris Mulumba 🇫🇮  17 Neville Krüger 🇩🇪 54 Alexander Kreß 🇩🇪 59 Lorenzo Deiana 🇩🇪  🇮🇹 70 Maximilian Dommermuth 🇩🇪 91 Sadik Busch DL 🇩🇪 92 Simon Butsch 🇩🇪 97 Leander Strathmann 🇩🇪 99 Patrick Schorn DL 🇩🇪		Linebackers  0 Christopher Ezeala ILB 🇩🇪  1 Jelvani Sasan 🇩🇪 11 Majan Jelvani 🇩🇪 23 Leander Winter 🇩🇪 25 Luis Leatherman OLB 🇩🇪 26 Luca Siebert 🇩🇪 32 Luis Bach 🇩🇪 42 Simeon Okonta-Wariso 🇬🇧  44 Maleka Japhet Mbala ILB 🇩🇪 47 Nikolas Knoblauch ILB 🇩🇪 49 Felix Födinger 🇩🇪 51 Omar Ahmed Dittrich 🇩🇪 Defensive backs  3 Chad Walrond S 🇬🇧   5 Konstantin Katz 🇩🇪  9 Lasse Engel 🇩🇪 12 Christian Tutt 🇺🇸 21 Julian Jakob CB 🇩🇪 24 Mitch Fettig 🇺🇸 27 Marko Vidačković 🇩🇪 28 Thiago Siebert 🇩🇪 29 Julian Mayorga 🇩🇪 31 Nick Wenzelburger S 🇩🇪 33 Ben Wenzler CB 🇩🇪 Special teams 34 Lenny Krieg 🇩🇪				Rookies in italics Roster updated May 13, 2024 4 A-import, 6 E-import, 54 homegrown 64 active, 0 inactive, 0 practice squad

2023 Roster

2023 Stuttgart Surge roster

	Quarterbacks  4 Reilly Hennessey {{{4}}} 🇺🇸 12 Janis Kaiser {{{4}}} 🇩🇪 Running backs  2 Kai Hunter {{{4}}} 🇩🇪  6 Levin Liebenow {{{4}}} 🇩🇪 22 Nicolas Khandar {{{4}}} 🇫🇷 37 Maximilan Merwarth FB {{{4}}} 🇩🇪 41 Bryan Yankson {{{4}}} 🇩🇪 Wide receivers  3 Aurieus Minton {{{4}}} 🇩🇪 7 Louis Geyer {{{4}}} 🇩🇪 8 Darrell Stewart Jr. {{{4}}} 🇺🇸 10 Florian Lengauer {{{4}}} 🇩🇪 13 Joshua Haas {{{4}}} 🇩🇪 14 Yannick Mayr {{{4}}} 🇦🇹 18 Paul Steigerwald {{{4}}} 🇩🇪 86 Emil Rabin {{{4}}} 🇩🇪 Tight ends 80 Philip Eichhorn {{{4}}} 🇩🇪 88 Emmanuel Häfele {{{4}}} 🇩🇪		Offensive linemen 55 Alessandro Antonio Vergani {{{4}}} 🇮🇹 57 Marlon Werthmann {{{4}}} 🇩🇪 61 Luca Jokiel {{{4}}} 🇩🇪 66 Sascha Beck {{{4}}} 🇩🇪 67 Markos Dubravkic {{{4}}} 🇩🇪 73 Paul Jakob {{{4}}} 🇩🇪 74 Robert Hager {{{4}}} 🇩🇪 76 Lukas Maier {{{4}}} 🇩🇪 78 Benhur Arya {{{4}}} 🇩🇪 79 Lenny Sadzik {{{4}}} 🇩🇪 Defensive linemen 54 Alexander Kreß {{{4}}} 🇩🇪 59 Lorenzo Deiana {{{4}}} 🇩🇪 70 Maximilian Dommermuth {{{4}}} 🇩🇪 75 Brice Ulrich Tchouadje DT {{{4}}} 🇬🇭 HG 92 Simon Butsch {{{4}}} 🇩🇪 95 Aslan Zetterberg {{{4}}} 🇸🇪 99 Sercan Vardar {{{4}}} 🇹🇷		Linebackers  1 Sasan Jelvani {{{4}}} 🇩🇪 11 Majan Jelvani {{{4}}} 🇩🇪 25 Thomas Frach {{{4}}} 🇩🇪 26 Luca Siebert {{{4}}} 🇩🇪 27 Khaylan Kearse-Thomas {{{4}}} 🇺🇸 32 Luis Bach {{{4}}} 🇩🇪 43 Benjamin Spieß {{{4}}} 🇩🇪 44 Maleka Japhet Mbala ILB {{{4}}} 🇩🇪 47 Nikolas Knoblauch ILB {{{4}}} 🇩🇪 53 Lukas Storz {{{4}}} 🇩🇪 Defensive backs  5 Goran Zec {{{4}}} 🇷🇸  9 Lasse Engel {{{4}}} 🇩🇪 15 Konstantin Katz {{{4}}} 🇩🇪 21 Julian Jakob CB {{{4}}} 🇩🇪 24 Mitch Fettig {{{4}}} 🇺🇸 28 Thiago Siebert {{{4}}} 🇩🇪 29 Diego Cardenas {{{4}}} MEX 31 Nick Wenzelburger S {{{4}}} 🇩🇪 33 Ben Wenzler CB {{{4}}} 🇩🇪 Special teams 34 Lenny Krieg {{{4}}} 🇩🇪				Reserve lists 35 Phileas Pasqualini RB {{{4}}} 🇫🇷 91 Raphael Zistler DT {{{4}}} 🇩🇪 19 Bryce Nunnelly WR {{{4}}} 🇺🇸 Practice squad 16 Jan Weinreich QB {{{4}}} 🇩🇪 82 Luca Faschian WR {{{4}}} 🇩🇪 20 Janis Hackenberg RB {{{4}}} 🇩🇪 23 Guiseppe Della Vecchia LB {{{4}}} 🇮🇹 38 Nelson Stegmaier WR {{{4}}} 🇩🇪 39 Martin Körber CB {{{4}}} 🇩🇪 81 Paul Böhringer WR {{{4}}} 🇩🇪 30 Kai Singer FS {{{4}}} 🇩🇪 36 Mark Scherenberg CB {{{4}}} 🇩🇪 Rookies in italics Roster updated 18 August 2023 4 A-import, 6 E-import, 44 homegrown 54 active, 9 practice squad

Staff

Head Coaches

Name	Tenure	Record		Titles
		W	L
Martin Hanselmann	2021-20 July 2022	2	15	–
George Streeter	20 July 2022-Sept 2022	0	5	–
Jordan Neuman	2023-current	12	3	–

2024 staff

2024 Stuttgart Surge staff

	Front office Owner – Steffen Korinth, Erwin & Martin Schmidt, Jakob Johnson General Manager – Suni Musa Director of football operations/personnel – Robin Hammer Chief Financial Officer – Florian Burger Head coach Head coach – Jordan Neuman Offensive coaches Offensive coordinator – Jordan Neuman Offensive consultant – Rick Webster Quarterbacks – Running backs – Joshua Tapscott Wide receivers – Joseph Joyner Tight ends/fullbacks – Jochen Holzinger Offensive line – Fabian Hoeller			Defensive coaches Defensive coordinator – Johannes Brenner Assistant defensive coordinator – Cody Pastorino Linebacker – Daniel McCray Inside linebacker – David Zeller Defensive line – Justin Bernthaler Defensive backs – Primo Lursini Special teams coaches Special teams coordinator – Assistant coaches Analytics coach – Friedemann Hees Defense Assistant – Nadine Nurasyid Strength and conditioning Strength and conditioning – Head of Strength and conditioning – Staff updated February 20, 2024

Total record

	Games	Win	Loss	Win %	P+	P-	PDiff
Stuttgart Surge	37	14	23	0.378	768	1143	-375

Record per oppenent

	Games	Win	Loss	Win %	P+	P-	PDiff
Milano Seamen	2	2	0	1.000	118	53	+65
Paris Musketeers	2	2	0	1.000	43	26	+17
Munich Ravens	2	1	1	0.500	58	41	+17
Helvetic Guards	2	1	1	0.500	60	50	+10
Raiders Tirol	4	2	2	0.500	47	108	-61
Barcelona Dragons	6	3	3	0.500	114	183	-69
Panthers Wrocław	3	1	2	0.333	62	76	-14
Vienna Vikings	3	1	2	0.333	53	116	-63
Leipzig Kings	4	1	3	0.250	72	139	-67
Rhein Fire	1	0	1	0.000	34	53	-19
Cologne Centurions	2	0	2	0.000	32	58	-26
Berlin Thunder	2	0	2	0.000	19	78	-59
Frankfurt Galaxy	4	0	4	0.000	56	162	-106

Source: https://elfdata.eu/