Ex-Florida Gator Reche Caldwell runs through passing drills at the United Football League ‘combine’ Saturday at Florida Citrus Bowl. (STEPHEN M. DOWELL/ORLANDO SENTINEL) (June 9, 2009)

When the subject of the United Football League surfaces, the only thing most everyone wants to know is if this thing is going to fly.

But if you listen to anyone involved with the UFL, they are quick to erase any doubtful thinking and litter the conversation with optimism ala a Barack Obama campaign speech. UFL officials not only plan to kick this league off in October, but to also do things the right way.

“It’s not going to be some kind of slappy league to the point where we’re just throwing something out here,” said former NFL quarterback Quinn Gray, a former Jacksonville Jaguars backup to Byron Leftwich and most recently David Garrard.

“The commissioner is going to put out the best talent. You’ve got a bunch of former NFL players, a bunch of former NFL coaches, and so it’s going to be a competitive league,”

Gray, 30, a former star at Florida A&M, was on hand Saturday as 52 free agents showed up at the Florida Citrus Bowl for a combine-type workout.

Orlando is one of four franchises in the inaugural season, along with San Francisco, Las Vegas and New York. And unless Michael Vick remains suspended from the NFL and ends up in the UFL, Gray could be the leading candidate as Orlando’s quarterback.

Regionality will play a big part in the league’s placement of players and Gray relishes the idea that he may wind up back in the Citrus Bowl where he took part in some great Florida Classic battles with Bethune-Cookman.

“The city of Orlando, they’ve been yearning for a team for years, regardless of what it is,” Gray said. “They had the Arena team and they’ve got the bowl games and of course the Florida Classic, so Orlando is going to be a great place for this team.

“The more guys from Florida A&M, Florida State, Florida — guys from this area … who are on this Orlando team is just going to bring more fans.”

Former Florida Gator and recent NFL castoff Reche Caldwell was another player working out Saturday.

“I played college here … I played here [Florida] my whole life until I got to the NFL,” said Caldwell, 30, a Tampa native, “so it will definitely be a great opportunity for everybody to come see me play if I get a chance to play here.”
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With nine starters returning on offense, the competition to become USC’s starting quarterback probably won’t be determined by who makes the most plays.

It could come down to who makes the fewest mistakes.

Sophomore Aaron Corp arguably took an early lead Tuesday by avoiding what befell junior Mitch Mustain and freshman Matt Barkley: interceptions.

Meanwhile, Corp emerged unscathed in the turnover department as the Trojans completed the second of their 15 workouts.

“There’s room to improve, but overall I think I did pretty good,” Corp said.

On a day when senior Garrett Green was relegated to work at receiver and special teams, Barkley and Mustain shined at times but struggled at others and tried to shake off their mistakes.

Sophomore safety Drew McAllister intercepted a pass by Barkley during a five-on-five drill and another during the full-team scrimmage period.

Barkley said he needed to “just get used to throwing to the backs and let them make plays as opposed to trying to force throws when I kind of see a window but it’s not definitely open.”

Mustain was victimized early by several dropped passes and receivers who slipped. Safety Will Harris intercepted a pass by Mustain that was thrown toward the right sideline.

“It’s part of it,” Mustain said of the interception. “Just a simple mistake.”

Coach Pete Carroll again refrained from identifying a leader in the battle to replace Mark Sanchez, who passed up his senior year to enter the NFL draft and met Tuesday night with representatives from the Seattle Seahawks and Jacksonville Jaguars.

“It really isn’t a day-to-day evaluation to assess who’s where and what’s up,” Carroll said. “We need hundreds of plays here, which we’ll get by the time we’re done, and we’ll see where it fits.”

Green will apparently continue to be on the outside looking in.

“Until we get some turns and get us going I want to keep it in a three-guy rotation,” Carroll said.

Quick hits

Tight end Anthony McCoy and defensive end Everson Griffen practiced after missing the Trojans’ initial workout because of disciplinary action taken as result of academic and absenteeism issues. . . . More than 100 NFL coaches and scouting personnel are expected to attend the Trojans’ pro-day workout today. The event is closed to the public.

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