There has been a bit of discussion on this Web site about the caliber of players on United Indoor Football teams' rosters.

Detractors claim the squads contain mostly former high school and lower-level college players from area schools, while some of the more rabid fans see the league as a stop on the road to the NFL.

The truth lies somewhere in between.

Sure, there are plenty of guys who didn't star or even start for Division I or Division I-AA colleges. However, don't expect to see many of them among the league's leaders as there is plenty of talent on the field.

With the UIF announcing that its inaugural all-star game is coming to Bloomington at season's end, I figured now would be a good time for a breakdown of just who may play in the Aug. 18 contest.

What follows is a list of the top offensive players, statistically, at each position in the Eastern Conference, of which the Bloomington Extreme is a member. Included are the players' season credentials and a summary of what they've done outside of United Indoor Football.

The Western Conference offensive stars will be reviewed next followed by defense and special teams for both conferences.

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Quarterbacks

Ben Sankey leads the UIF with 2,241 passing yards and 37 touchdowns for the Rock River Raptors. He's also scored on the ground three times. He averages 224 yards a game, while completing 69 percent of his passes.

Sankey signed with the expansion Houston Texans in 2002 after being a back up for the Calgary Stampeders of the Canadian Football League for two seasons. He threw for 1,255 yards and 14 touchdowns in 2001, a season in which Calgary won the Grey Cup.

Sankey had previously signed with the Green Bay Packers after leading Wake Forest to an Aloha Bowl win over Arizona State in 1999 and being named the game's MVP.

Both NFL teams released Sankey just before the start of the regular season. He also spent time with the Montreal Allouettes and Hamilton Tiger-Cats of the CFL.

Dusty Burk has completed 66 percent of his passes, while throwing for 1,292 yards and 28 TDs in just six games for the Bloomington Extreme. He's thrown for an average of 215 yards a game, second-best in the UIF. He's also reached the end zone on the ground eight times.

Burk was the Gateway Conference Freshman of the Year in 1999 and played for three seasons at Illinois State before transferring to Truman State.

He replaced the injured Kevin Glenn at quarterback midway through his freshman season and led ISU to its first Gateway title and a spot in the Division I-AA playoffs. ISU won two playoff games with Burk under center before losing in the national semifinals. Burk completed 74 percent of his passes, threw seven touchdowns and rushed for 141 yards in that postseason

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Running backs

Muhammad Abdulqaadir is the UIF rushing leader with 528 yards on 124 carries for the RiverCity Rage. He has scored 16 rushing touchdowns and caught three TD passes.

Abdulqaadir was a first-team all-Gateway selection as a senior in 2003 after leading Southern Illinois in rushing with 1,041 yards and 11 touchdowns on 183 carries. He was a first-team Division I-AA All-American in 2002 after setting the SIU record for touchdowns with 21.

Rayshawn Askew has racked up 416 yards and 17 touchdowns on 127 carries for the Lexington Horsemen. He also has two TD receptions.

Askew is the all-time leading scorer and rusher in indoor football history on any level and played briefly for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers of the Canadian Football League. On the collegiate level, he ran for 2,134 yards over four seasons and led Elizabeth City State University in rushing three times and receiving twice.

Ray Kirkley has run the ball 115 times for the Evansville BlueCats to the tune of 365 yards and 15 touchdowns. He's also thrown a scoring pass and hauled in a TD reception.

Kirkley was a three-year starter at Pitt, rushing for 1,708 yards and 11 TDs. He also caught two touchdown passes and accumulated 410 receiving yards in his college career.

Patrick Hall II has scored 15 rushing TDs and run for 284 yards in 89 attempts for the Rock River Raptors. He has 22 receptions and two receiving touchdowns.

Hall finished his college career as Coastal Carolina's all-time leading rusher with 2,144 yards. He was the Big South Conference Player of the Year in 2004 after running for 1,107 yards and reaching the end zone 13 times on the ground.

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Receivers

Lawrence Bady averages 86 receiving yards a game for the Rock River Raptors. He leads the UIF with 75 receptions for 862 yards and has caught nine TD passes.

After his senior season at Boise State, Bady signed with the Atlanta Falcons in 2005 as an undrafted free agent but injured his hamstring and did not make the squad.

Harry Lewis started at quarterback for the Lexington Horsemen recently, but leads the team with 51 receptions for 604 yards and nine touchdowns. He averages 67 receiving yards a game.

The Horseman's Web site says Lewis signed with North Carolina before transferring to Louisville, but I was unable to track down any information on his college career after leaving UNC.

James Walton is tied for the league lead with 12 receiving touchdowns. He's caught 40 passes for the Bloomington Extreme, while averaging 64 yards receiving in the eight games he's played.

Walton played for Truman State, catching 131 passes for 2,259 yards and 12 touchdowns in four seasons.

Glenn Johnson has caught 32 passes for an average of 63 yards in seven games for the Bloomington Extreme. He's hauled in eight scoring passes.

Johnson caught 89 passes for 1273 yards and seven touchdowns at Indiana in 2002 and 2003 combined.

Jeremiah Thompson trails only Walton in the Eastern Conference with 11 receiving touchdowns for the Rock River Raptors. He has 45 receptions for 581 yards.

Thompson caught 34 passes for 433 yards and three touchdowns while playing his college ball at Morehouse.

Reggie Gray completes the trio of talented Bloomington Extreme receivers. In nine games, he has 44 receptions for 503 yards and nine TDs.

One of only three players from Western Illinois to earn all-conference honors each of his four years, Gray finished his career as the school's all-time leading receiver with 2,372 yards on 137 receptions.

Statistics are from games played before June 8