(S24) - PT 4 - Trial by Fire

[ddrector]

David Rector has had a nice career so far with lots of ups and downs. His one season of time in the DSFL playing for the Norfolk Seawolves was mostly uneventful, but after being drafted in the third round of the NSFL draft to the New Orleans Second Line he was immediately thrust into the fire and spent his first two seasons playing at safety. He struggled mightly in his rookie season amassing very few tackles and no other stats other than one tackle for loss and one pass deflection. He had more success at safety his second season with 3 interceptions, 6 sacks, 6 pass deflections, and a couple forced fumbles and a fumble recovery. After that he moved over to corner back which immediately had a major impact on his stats jumping way up to 19 pass deflections on the season. The season after the Second Line reached its peak as they won the Ultimus championship and David had a decent season as well. The next year David had an amazing season with 5 interceptions and won Most Improved Defensive Player as well as Best Performance for a game he had 3 interceptions in. With 6 full seasons under his belt David is now in the second half of his career, and he hopes to help New Orleans add at least one more Ultimus while he is on the team.

[Beefstu409]

James Gath had always dominated the game when he was younger.  Attending a Division 2 college he continued to dominate.  He showed up on tape, he won championships, and he did it all as the top competitor in his league.  Then the DSFL came.  Gath started week one after being taken number 2 overall with just as much confidence as when he left college.  It didn't take much longer than the first quarter of week one for that to be reeled in.  The Grey Ducks faced the Royals and Gath with all of his confidence was a part of the secondary that allowed 320 passing yards and 3 touchdowns.

This would have been bad enough if it weren't for a twitter tirade that Gath went on talking smack before the game started.  On gameday just four hours before kickoff he tweeted: "I was getting nervous for tonight then I realized it's just the @RoyalsDSFL lol".  That tweet would not age well.  After a tirade of replies and justified smack talk back from Royals players, Gath was humiliated.  Simply tweeting "Ready for week 2" after the game.  This wake up call was something he hadn't had before in his life.  Humbled, he continued to work on his game, but some believe his confidence is so shook that he'll never fully reach his potential.

222 Words

[ZootTX]

Football has always been in Zee Rechs’ blood. His father played college football, and Zee played the game from an early age. Honestly, Zee has faced two pivotal moments that he feels define his football career. The first was more of an off the field decision, rather than one made on the field. Despite excelling at football and athletics in general, Zee went largely unrecognized in high school. No colleges made him an offer, and he resigned himself to community college. His father, an alumni himself, convinced Zee to go to Texas A&M instead, where Zee’s college career took off and reignited his passion for the game of football. If not for that heart-to-heart conversation with his Dad, Zee would probably be working the 9-5 grind in a cubicle somewhere. The second pivotal moment, and Zee’s “Welcome to the League,” was his first ISFL start. It was the Wraiths vs Liberty. While Zee had largely been successful in high school, college, and the DSFL, he knew that his ISFL games would be what defined his career as a football. His first game was underwhelming, a boring 11 yards on 3 receptions for a sad 3.7 yards per catch. Instead of moping around, though, Zee has bounced back and had a much greater impact on his team’s play going forward.

221 words

[SomeSay...]

Written Option: Reflect on our player’s career, from their first football game to their current career in the ISFL or DSFL, and expound upon one particular story where your player faced their “welcome to the league” moment. How did the change in competition between college and the league, or between the DSFL and ISFL, initially challenge your player? Did they suffer a drop in stats or an ugly debut game? How did they rebound from it?

Well, Krause faced a interesting challenge in his rookie year in the ISFL, that not only was a test of his work ethic but would also test him on the field. When drafted by San Jose in the 7th round( what a steal for them) they already had a few good corners. One had just gone IA but had enough TPE to play one more season, that left me without a spot, but San Jose only had one available Saftey, so for my rookie year I was asked to make the switch. And what a shock stats wise it would be. After coming off what could of been a DSFL CBOTY award season. I had to come into camp, learn a different position, all while competing at the highest level. Well we put in the work and it all seemed to come together the first few games. Hell, first play of the season I ran a saftey blitz and snagged my first sack and ISFL tackle. The following game was a able to force a fumble and recover it to seal a victory. Then well, things went "south" not that I played bad, but there just wasnt any outstanding performances, it was a lackluster year and a welcome to the league moment for Krause.

[IHateBobNutting]

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[Cincyfan96]

Adam Schell came into the DSFL on a major high. He was coming off of an incredible senior year at the University of Kentucky where he set defensive records and represented his team as a nominee for the national defensive player of the year. The prospect bowl did nothing but boost his confidence as Schell recorded double digit tackles in multiple exhibition games as well as a pick and several sacks to go along with his impressive showing. Coming off of all of these highs, Schell felt confident that he would make an immediate impact on the DSFL and continue his winning ways. However, as happens for so many rookies, the speed of the game really affected Schell's performance in his first season in the DSFL. He leaned heavily on veteran linebacker Nat Wright and watched fellow rookies Petra Sabor and Maverick Bowie get off to electrifying starts, making impact plays for a defense that struggled overall during the course of the season. Schell was no bystander; he was involved in 5 tackles in his debut and most games recorded between 4-7 tackles, but this is mostly assumed as a linebacker and was nothing really noteworthy. The lack of immediate success drove Schell into the team's workout facility as he became one of the first to arrive and last to leave the gym at any and every opportunity. Week 10 of his rookie season was when this began to show, as Schell racked up 9 tackles and a sack against the Minnesota Grey Ducks, outshining fellow rookie Alejandro Chainbreaker, who was vying with Juan Domine for the top linebacker spot in the league. Week 12 Schell recorded his first two tackles for loss as his improved strength and quickness began to show themselves more prominently and week 13 he put together an 8 tackle, 2 sack performance that was likely his best of the year. While the Luchadores were unable to put together a winning season, Schell's improvement throughout the course of the year was drastic. What shows it even more is what he has done in year two. After 9 weeks, Schell currently sits atop the league in tackles and has already eclipsed his total from last season in tackles for loss, passes defended, and forced fumbles while matching his totals in sacks and fumbles recovered from a season ago. He is certainly in the conversation for defensive player of the year a season after not even being the best rookie linebacker on his team last year. Fast starts to a career are great, but improving year to year is what GMs really look for from their players, and Schell has delivered just that in his sophomore season. His will certainly be a career worth watching.

[Gravtx]

Clay Stallworth has been playing football for as long as he can remember. It was one of his first loves. As he first came into the DSFL Clay was disappointed that he fell to the fifth round. Even more frustrating was the fact that he was drafted to the same team as Felix Archstone, the first offensive lineman taken in the draft. He was beyond intimidated all through training camp, workouts, and even preseason. Archstone was racking up pancakes left and right, and Stallworth didn’t know what his place in this league would be. Stallworth would earn a starting spot for the Coyotes and some of the anxiety would fade, but deep down Clay wasn’t sure how he would ever be ready for the ISFL even if he did figure out what he was doing in the DSFL. As the season progressed Clay didn’t allow a sack and found himself leading in total pancakes. Stallworth’s true welcome to the league would come in week 7 against the London Royals. It seemed like the game slowed down. Stallworth could feel all of his work paying off, and began to exert his will over his opponent. In the second quarter alone, Stallworth would record 8 pancakes. By the end of the game, Stallworth would have 13 pancakes, a DSFL record. Seemingly without missing a beat, Stallworth was able to elevate his game to that of his opponents. Welcome to the league Clay Stallworth.

[Drizzy]

SHL CW (username is dankoa)

[Oneski]

Lionel Rumper was always a big kid for his age, and always an athletic one at that. Starting off as a true two way player at Southside High School Fort Wayne, Rumper imposed his will early and often as a punishing runningback as well as a defensive force at linebacker and safety.

Coming into college and still posting a high level of athleticism for his 6'1" 226lb frame, he found himself playing very comfortably as a box safety for the Wake Forest Demon Deacons. An enforcer in the run game, who specialised at punishing runners and receivers working underneath routes. 

Rumper never shyed from using his size and power to his advantage, and it lead him to very fortunately being drafted by the Dallas Birddogs in the third round of the 2039 DSFL Draft, after a rather exciting trade.

However, this is where issues arose. During the prospect bowl, Rumper was made acutely aware his style of play, and lack of elite speed, simply wouldn't be enough to suceed at the next level. And with dreams of becoming a DSFL starter and eventual draft pick for the ISFL, Rumper was forced to make changes not only to his style of play and approach to the game, but also his physical conditioning.

Dropping just over 10lbs to get down to a lean 215lbs, Rumper worked massively on his speed, and has transitioned rather successfully to the free safety spot on the Dallas defence. He's still learning the position from there, and with very different coverage responsibilities and reads, he's developing his game on the back end. He still however is an ever present force in the run game, already recording tackles for loss and a couple of sacks for the Birddogs defence, taking every advantage whenever he's moved back to his comfort zone in the box. And one thing is certain, you always know if he's given the chance, he's gonna hump with that rump and bring that thump.

[Dagumpa]

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