UPDATE: The Sounder also acquired UCLA midfielder Andy Rose from Real Salt Lake in exchange for Leone Cruz, a second round pick a year ago who did not make the team.
There is an excitement offered to watching a rough diamond polished, in tracking and following their progress. When Seattle Sounders FC picked Tim Pontius, Jason Banton, Abdul Aman and Wes Feighner, four more potential diamonds were picked. One of these may make the squad ala Mike Fucito and Josh Ford. Others are likely to go the way Jamel Wallace or Seedy Bah. Of the many players brought in to try to make the 2012 squad, these lesser knowns have to show just a bit more.
In Tim Pontius Seattle grabbed a defender who has an amazing goal to his name already. He's also the younger brother of D.C. United's Chris Pontius. The UC Santa Barbara player will be reunited with a backline mate in Michael Tetteh. His ability, not the rare goal or familial relations, will be why he makes the team.
Banton bumped around various teams in England. Already fairly popular on Twitter, he'll have to show the promise that had him in systems like Liverpool and Arsenal as opposed to the roughness that caused Leicester City to loan him down to Burton Albion.
Abdul Aman played only one season with the University of Washington Huskies scoring 2 goals in 11 appearances. Ethiopian born and Seattle raised Aman joins two other drafted Huskies (Finch and Hustedt) as well as Brent Richards, Andrew Duran and three other Creighton players coached by Jamie Clark who will have the opportunity to make 2012 MLS rosters.
Wes Feighner is out of Cal Poly SLO. The left back was a multi-year captain at the central coast school. Keeping track of his academic awards can be difficult as they are numerous. He was also recognized with a CLASS award for his combination of classroom, character, community and competition.
Each of these players are rough. If they weren't, they wouldn't be Supplemental Draft picks. Each with a different appeal, you have the oppurtunity to 'discover' one and track their progress through what could be a short stay in training or a multi-year career when you can tell your seat mates "I first heard of that guy back in ..."