Arizona Rattlers quarterback Dalton Sneed scans the field for an open receiver against Jacksonville on April 28, 2024. (Photo courtesy of Arizona Rattlers)
GLENDALE – Four players with deep roots in the Valley will be counted on this season as the Arizona Rattlers aim to become the third team ever to repeat as Indoor Football League champions.
The Rattlers have started their 2025 campaign 4-0, leading the league in offensive points per game and ranked No. 6 in defensive points allowed. Going back to 2024, the Rattlers have won 10 straight games, including the IFL National Championship.
The Rattlers defense stole the show in a one-sided finish 52-16 over Massachusetts. The 36-point differential is the largest in IFL National Championship history, and gave the Rattlers revenge over the Pirates, who beat them in the 2021 National Championship. Quarterback Dalton Sneed threw for just 67 yards, and the team only needed 254 yards of total offense. However, that offense ranked No. 5 in points per game, and No. 2 in total touchdowns.
This offseason, the Rattlers lost three of their top five pass catchers, and will look for others to step up in 2025. That includes fifth-year veteran Isaiah Huston, who along with Sneed and running back Jamal Miles will be important pieces to the Rattlers offense this season. The offensive trio — along with defensive back Rashie Hodge, who leads the Rattlers with two interceptions this season — all share a special connection to the Valley.
“From a young age, just knowing the dominance of the Arizona Rattlers and their franchise; grew up knowing who they were, went to a few games, was always intrigued,” Sneed said. “It’s a blessing being able to play in front of all my family and friends. They get to enjoy the experience. That’s what I love. I have a huge family with cousins and uncles and aunts, so just being able to have them at the game and share that experience with them, it’s awesome.”
Wide receiver Isaiah Huston celebrates a touchdown with a teammate against Tucson on March 30, 2025. (Photo courtesy of Arizona Rattlers)
Huston, Sneed, Miles and Hodge all grew up in the Valley. Hodge went to Mountain Pointe High School before playing at the University of Arizona. Sneed grew up in Scottsdale and attended Horizon High School. The Scottsdale talent threw for more than 3,500 yards his junior and senior years, ran for nearly 1,000 yards his senior season and accounted for 42 total touchdowns.
“I think the thing that I miss most, or I guess enjoyed the most about high school football is you’re playing with guys you grew up with, right?” Sneed said. “Elementary, middle school, and then once you get to high school, now it becomes a lot bigger than Pop Warner. But it’s still the same group you came up with. So, (I) loved playing high school football.”
Huston grew up in Anthem and went to Boulder Creek High School. He was named an Honorable Mention Athlete on the 2012 Arizona All-State Team and the All-Purpose Player by Scout.com and The Arizona Republic.
After Boulder Creek, Huston continued his football journey at Phoenix College, where he was named a preseason NAIA All-American. Then, Huston transferred to Arizona Christian University and reeled in 681 yards and eight touchdowns over two years.
“I love Arizona, born and raised. I have my friends and family out here. It’s a great thing for me,” Huston said. “I have a lot of connections and people that help me out and look out for me. So, just being able to stay around that family base was definitely a big thing for me.”
Huston attended Rattlers open tryouts in 2020, and was one of the few athletes who made the team from those tryouts, and has seen significant time on the field. It wasn’t the most conventional journey to playing for his hometown team, but he’s thankful for the journey and the obstacles he overcame.
“I think it’s just a credit to my discipline, coming out of college, coming off an injury, being able to get in the weight room and train the right way and prepare myself so that when I did get an opportunity, I was ready to take full advantage,” Huston said. “Being able to stay here and play professional football in front of family and friends, it’s a blessing and don’t take it for granted.”
Miles, the longest tenured Rattler of the four natives, is in his eighth season with the team. The veteran running back began his journey at Peoria High School before playing four years at Arizona State University.
Miles was a lethal all-purpose yardage athlete earning first-team All-4A Conference honors rushing for 2,168 yards as a senior in high school, and earned Honorable Mention and second-team all conference honors in back-to-back years at ASU with a school record 1,866 kick return yards. Miles was the sixth-ranked prospect in the state at Peoria, and chose to stay close to home to be close to his family.
“Staying home was important to me because I had just had a little sister and little brother that was born, and I wanted to stay home to help take care of them. And I wanted my family to see me playing at the next level,” Miles said. “So, it was very important for me to stay at home.”
The Valley native was signed as an undrafted free agent by the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2013 before being waived later that year. Miles spent time with the Canadian Football League’s Edmonton Eskimos before signing with the Rattlers in 2017.
“I love the fans, the atmosphere – everything about it,” Miles said. “You can’t ask for anything better than playing in front of the friends, family and the fans that watched you grow up here.”
While each player is doing their part on the field to help the Rattlers achieve success, they each have their own off-field successes as well.
Miles recently became the running back’s coach at Raymond S. Kellis High School, and is working with his players to get them acclimated with the playbook. RSK hired a new head coach earlier this year, Chris Miranda, who played wide receiver with Miles at Peoria High School.
Arizona Rattlers running back Jamal Myles makes a leaping catch at the back of the end zone for a touchdown against Jacksonville on April 28, 2025. (Photo courtesy of Arizona Rattlers)
While coaching and playing, Miles also works at a drug and alcohol rehab facility as a behavioral health technician. While he may be busy, he knows there’s people who could use his help and if he has the time, he wants to do his part to contribute.
“It means a lot, seeing people turn their lives around and actually want to turn their lives around, and being an influence on that is great,” Miles said. “Seeing them go out and get off the drugs and alcohol and living a positive lifestyle is exciting.”
As for Huston, he’s found another way to impact his community. The former ACU football player created the SKOL Athletic Club, which trains high school and youth athletes. The club offers strength and performance training and football skill position training. SKOL has a gym located in Phoenix and uses ACU’s facility for field work training.
“When I was in high school or even college, if I had a chance to train with a professional – you have former professionals, but somebody who’s still doing it, active – I think it would be a big thing for me,” Huston said. “Just wanted to give back to the kids.”
Huston also wants his camp to be a space for young athletes to realize that even if they don’t make the NFL, he can be an example of someone who was still able to play football and start a business to be able to provide for his family, and his camp can be a place for connections and networking as well.
This isn’t the first football camp in the Huston family though. Huston’s dad played quarterback at Northern Arizona University and started the Level 5 football camp in Anthem, which has grown to have four locations now that have flag football camps during the summer.
“My dad coached me throughout Pop Warner and stuff. He played quarterback up at NAU so he was always my coach growing up. I went through (the camp) with my friends and stuff, and when I got old enough, (I) started coaching there and kind of branched off and created my own thing,” Huston said. “That only goes during the summer, but all those other nine months of the year I have my stuff going on, so kind of works hand in hand.”
Similar to Huston, Sneed runs his own company outside of football. Sneed Diagnostic works with technology that helps for advanced driver assistance systems like lane departure warnings and pre-collision assist.
In addition to Sneed Diagnostics, the Rattlers’ quarterback works with a financial advising firm, which he connected with through the Rattlers and other partnerships. Sneed is the Director of Business Development at Quantum, which is a wholesaler in life insurance and annuity working with financial advisors. Sneed works on building relationships with the financial advisors the company works with, which relates to his ability to build relationships with his teammates on the football field.
With three jobs that require high concentration to have success, Sneed values being present wherever he is.
“You have to be able to attribute 100 percent of your focus to whatever you’re working on at that point. So, when I come out here and I’m with the Rattlers, I’m not thinking about Quantum, I’m not thinking about Sneed (Diagnostics), I’m thinking about nothing else but football,” Sneed said. “But when I leave here and I go to Quantum, now I’m 100 percent focused on that. And if you don’t do that, like if I go to Quantum, and I’m thinking about practice in the back of my mind, I’m not giving 100 percent of myself to what I’m trying to do. So, I’m not going to get the results I’m looking for.
“So, it’s training my mind, training myself, that, ‘Hey, wherever my feet are at is where my mind needs to be. I’m going to focus on this during this time of the day.’ It’s all about time allocation. So, that helps not getting overwhelmed, but when you’re structured in all facets of your life, everything else falls into place. So, when you have success in one area of your life, you should have success in other areas because that’s the way you structure it. You’re very disciplined in the way you attack things.”
Family is another massive part of Sneed’s life. However, it adds another chip to the table. But, he approaches it with the same mindset: When he is home, that’s all he thinks about and gives his full attention to his family.
“When I decided to come back and play for the Rattlers, I sat down with my wife. We’ve been together since high school, married for three years now, and I told her, ‘When I come home, 100 percent of my focus is going to go to you,’” Sneed said. “If I don’t give 100 percent of me to wherever I’m at, that’s going to fail. If I don’t give her what she needs and 100 percent of myself and my focus when I walk home, then I’m failing her, and as a husband.
Arizona Rattlers running back Jamal Myles high points the ball in the end zone for a touchdown against Jacksonville on April 28, 2025. (Photo courtesy of Arizona Rattlers)
“It’s understanding you have to be where your feet are. I can’t stress that enough. I don’t go home and take all the baggage of a bad practice and a financial advisor being upset with me. I don’t take that home to my wife. It was learning that, because I wasn’t always like that. I’m learning every day, just trying to get better. It’s one thing to say it, it’s another to live it.”
Sneed, Miles and Huston are all finding their own versions of success off the field and in the community, but on the field, it’s their roots in the Valley that help generate trust, relationships and success for the Rattlers.
Sneed knew Huston in high school when they’d play against each other and they both watched as Miles made his way to ASU and put up impressive numbers as a Sun Devil. Reuniting with the Rattlers made it easy to build bonds and immediate connections because it wasn’t like meeting someone for the first time.
With their knowledge of the Valley, they’re able to help their teammates get used to the area and feel comfortable.
“When the new guys come out here and they start asking about what’s good to eat or where should we hang out and stuff, we’re able to show them and just build that team chemistry and kind of be a leader,” Huston said. “If guys need rides and stuff with cars, you know, just kind of being a leader and building those relationships.”
Those relationships have led to success on the field. The reigning IFL National Champions have started 2025 4-0, and have the No. 1 offense and No. 6 defense in the league. Huston leads the team with 233 receiving yards, Sneed has 698 passing yards and 12 touchdowns and leads the team in rushing yards, and Miles is running, receiving and returning kickoffs.
The Rattlers success on the field comes from the love of the game. For Sneed, and many of the players, that love started from a young age and contributes to the hard work and dedication given to the sport.
“You play the sport of football because you love it, at least I’d hope. I started at a young age. I love competing,” Sneed said. “When you do that, good things happen, right? So, when you come out to practice – and everybody should be wired this way – it’s not, ‘Man, I have to practice.’ No, it’s, ‘I get to practice.’ We come out here. Everyone loves coming out. Guys are smiling, you’re competing.
“When you have that kind of culture, that’s where the winning comes. That’s where the success comes. You build that team. You build that camaraderie. Everyone wants to work. Iron sharpens iron. Success comes from that. It’s the model.”
That culture of camaraderie and joy for the game led the Rattlers to their second IFL National Championship last year, now they’re tasked with the challenge of going back-to-back, and they know it won’t be easy.
“Coming off a championship, every team that you play is going to be treating you like their Super Bowl, trying to knock you off,” Huston said. “So, we’re going to get every team’s best shot, and so we have to show up each week and be ready to roll.”